Birmingham’s roadways accommodate tens of thousands of cars on its interstates on a daily basis. But not everyone who passes through our city is able to reach their destination on their own. Sometimes, things take a turn for the worse, leaving travelers stranded and desperate. People get stuck in town with no way out. Sometimes they are exploited into coming here or abandoned by travel companions, they may fall victim of a carjacking or other crime, tickets are lost or stolen, cars break down, or they may be disabled and unable to determine what to do.
Within our own community, there are thousands of residents who face daily transportation dilemmas. If you don’t have a running car, the transit system is unavailable or unmanageable for you, and there is no family able to help, you can have real difficulty managing transportation for even the most basic needs. Think now about the aged and disabled who have very meager incomes. Paying for a ride, like a taxi, is out of their financial reach.
These are very real issues that people face on a daily basis, solving how to get home when a travel plan turns into a crisis or how to get to a medical appointment for those no longer able to drive. Transportation is often an indispensable link in someone’s ability to resolve a crisis situation or even to access basic and necessary essentials like health care.
At Travelers Aid we work daily to help resolve these problems and to offer a transportation lifeline to help keep people “on the road” to home and health care.