My sister has been on paid medical leave from her teaching job for over a year. She has chronic vertigo and can not drive. She has to get back to her job in September when she runs out of sick days. She said a friend suggested that there may be a way to get the state to pay for her daily transportation but we don't know how to pursue that. Public transportation is not possible/realistic (from Somerville to Lexington). She also travels between schools every day. The only other idea I had was to rent/buy property in Lexington but OMG it is sooooo expensive.
Any suggestions would be VERY much appreciated!
Thanks,
K.
K., google "state services for disabled adults in MA" and see what comes up. My step dtr is disabled and there are services in place for her. Good luck!
Hi there,
Well, I feel for your sister, as I have vertigo as well. I am able to drive, but when it first happened (from head trauma), I couldn't drive for 6 months. It got very taxing on my husband, family and friends. Then, we sent an email out to everyone we knew asking if anyone knew anyone that wanted a part time gig as a driver. We were lucky to find someone right in town; she was a godsend and by the end, didn't even want to take my money (of course, we did not accept that!). We paid her $10/hour cash and it worked out great for both of us. She was between jobs and just needed a little something to get her through.
Good luck!
Federal law, American Disabilities Act, requires that disabilities be recognized and allowances made. It might be possible to eliminate the between schools travel if she's qualified or can get qualified to teach all day in one school.
Our public transit system will go to a specific address to pick up and take them to a specific address when arrangements are made in advance. You might call and see if yours has the same service and if they'll do it on a regular basis.
I also suggest that she try catching rides with co-workers, like car pooling only she'd just contribute towards expenses.
She also might be able to make arrangements with a taxi service and pay a reduced rate because it's a constant. Keep in mind that owning a car and it's upkeep cost a bundle and a taxi agreement could cost about the same or less.
Depending on her location and the location of the school, perhaps she could hire a teen to take her morning and afternoon.
Social service agencies often have volunteers that drive clients. I doubt that she could find a full time volunteer but an agency might know of someone who would do it for a fee. Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul are a couple. We have some local non-profits that do this too.
How far apart are Somerville and Lexington? It could be that moving to Lexington is the only thing that she can do. It's a bummer but that is the way life goes at times.
What about applying for The Ride? This is an arm of the MBTA that supports people with disabilities. I believe it is $2 a ride. They pick you up where you tell them.
Definitely ask social services in her area for advice. Catholic Charities is a good one to call as far as non profits go, they have lots of volunteers that do many different things for the disabled, getting a driver could definitely be one of those things.
