By Sandra Hamameh

In mid-September, two 14-passenger vans operated by Paratransit Community Outreach Ambassadors kicked off a new program that will provide homeless people in Sacramento, California, with transportation, employment, search services, health resources and training about how to use public transit. Paratransit’s Mobility Training and Job Search Shuttle Service for the Homeless, more commonly known as Wheels to Work, is the product of a unique collaboration between Paratransit Inc., Women’s Empowerment, the Sacramento Housing Alliance, Sacramento Steps Forward, the Department of Human Assistance, the California Department of Rehabilitation and other homeless and housing service providers. The vans will be used to transport homeless men and women to job interviews, training programs, access a mobile computer lab, and reach several key service sites.  Without the transportation, they would be unable to perform these most basic activities to gain steady employment.

The partnership began in 2009 when a local casino donated two passenger shuttle vans to a sub-committee of Sacramento Steps Forward (SSF) that addresses homeless employment issues.  The donation immediately sparked an idea in Bob Erlenbusch, chair of the sub-committee and Executive Director of the Sacramento Housing Alliance.  “A recent survey of homeless people shows that thirty percent of the responders identified transportation and access to transportation as a significant barrier to employment,” he explained.   “We needed to develop a plan to directly address those barriers.  We started by collaborating with our community partners to find real solutions for change.”  Continue reading. . .