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Fall 2012

David Tannehill Special Employee Award:
Chloe Cook’s Volunteer Driver Program Opens New Vistas for Isolated Seniors

Chloe Cook helps ease isolation for West Marin seniors by connecting them with volunteer drivers through the TRIPtrans program, a viable transportation option for medical and other trips. (Photo: Noah Berger)

When Marin Transit approached Chloe Cook with a request to establish a volunteer driver program to serve seniors, she quickly pointed out that the proposed pilot was too impersonal to be successful in rural Marin County. Cook redesigned the program to fit the character of her close-knit community, introducing the concept of “neighbors helping neighbors” instead of randomly assigning drivers to clients.

A West Marin native and the director of volunteers at West Marin Senior Services, Cook worked many unpaid hours to establish the grassroots program, which eases the isolation seniors experience when they lack access to transportation. Called TRIPtrans, the program encourages seniors to find their own volunteer drivers, which means they can stay in their comfort zone and tap friends and neighbors. The program reimburses the drivers for taking seniors to medical appointments or to the grocery store. TRIPtrans also emphasizes the well-being of those it serves by reimbursing drivers for trips that meet the seniors’ social and emotional needs — such as to see family, visit an art gallery or attend the theater. Eighty-nine West Marin seniors are registered for the program.

In existence since 2010, TRIPtrans reimburses its 100 volunteer drivers for over 4,000 miles per month, which is the equivalent of driving from the Bay Area to Los Angeles 10 times per month. TRIPtrans is successful because of the relationship-building aspect and because of Cook’s own personal qualities. Cook exemplifies the theme of the David Tannehill Award, named for a dedicated and talented MTC planner who passed away in 2001.

“She is a very warm person, she connects to people very well, and she’s certainly a problem solver,” said Sue Beittel, the retired chair of the Commission on Aging in Marin County. “She’ll take many difficult situations that some of us may back off from and tries to find a way.” Cook’s motivation and dedication can be attributed to her grandmother, who declared the loss of her driver’s license as “the end of her life.” Cook noted that seniors can experience frightening isolation, and as the population of Marin County grows older, mobility becomes one of the top concerns for older adults.

Isolation is compounded with the fact that transportation options for seniors are few or nonexistent in West Marin. “Just to know that someone cares about you is a tremendous morale boost while you are going through terrible stress,” said Ewell McIssac, a TRIPtrans participant. “I don’t know what I would do without (the program).”
— Leslie Lara

Transactions Fall 2012 Issue: Contents