Page 25 - SWTDD ANNUAL REPORT

Blount County SMiles
The Blount County Community Action Agency’s Office on Aging developed and implemented the SMiles (Senior Miles) Program in 2013 after two years of research, planning, and community input.
Blount County SMiles Volunteer/Driver Spotlight
The program has provided over 29,000 trips to 475 older adults since its inception, utilizing volunteers driving their personal vehicles. More than 50% of these trips were for medical services. SMiles has also provided technical assistance and guidance to nine other communities in Tennessee looking to implement senior volunteer transportation.
Submitted by Nan Taylor, SMiles volunteer driver
Betty was a tiny woman, weighing around 100 pounds. Her
husband, Rob, didn’t weigh much more and had an eternal slight
smile. Although small, Betty’s personality was anything but! She
dominated conversations, partly because she couldn’t hear well, and
she kept a running commentary going most of the time, except when
interjecting some command to Rob who always rode in the back seat.
Looking at him in the rear-view mirror, I could see the slight smile as
he gave a gentle response. I worried about them as I dropped them
off at the local community free meal. I worried that they would be
waiting too long for me before I returned to pick them up. I worried about them with all the steps into their house or them falling once inside.
Sadly, Betty was moved to a local retirement center; they said she could go home when she was able to walk on her own again. I would take Rob to visit his wife. He would bring the local paper and a treat or two to share with his beloved. On the way home he would tell me about their visit. He always finished with, “I just hate the leaving. She begs me to take her home, she says that she is strong enough and she wants to be at home.”
These are the things I learn as I drive for SMiles: that people hold dear their homes
even when it is unsafe; that love of family, of home, of pets, of old habits is stronger than common sense or a doctor’s order; that people are very grateful for the least little gesture of kindness; that so many of our riders would be helpless without our transportation; that there are many more who need us. I am fortunate to build relationships with my riders and invest in their lives.
Betty passed not long after moving to the retirement center. I attended her graveside service. It was a small group, mostly family. The words spoken were loving and comforting. Sitting between his sons, Rob looked so sad. Within a few months Rob passed, too. I still cherish the memories of this couple – and all I did was give them a ride.
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