SCM Community Transportation, Inc.

Medical Dial a Ride (DAR) is our most cherished program. With the funding of community and hospital grants, we provide thousands of trips monthly to hospitals and doctors' offices. Central to this service is the caring, door-to-door assistance that we provide each rider. Indeed, in ice, snow or rain, the most treacherous part of a trip is often between one's front door and the awaiting vehicle. DAR is a critical safety net for those who do not qualify for the MBTA's paratransit service, the RIDE, but who cannot easily access public transportation. It relieves participants from depending on friends and neighbors for a lift. It removes the headache and expense of traffic and parking. DAR thus increases the likelihood of getting preventative and follow-up care, and our riders are healthier because we are here. DAR is also our most vulnerable service financially, as our traditional grants and contracts have remained flat or declined over the past decade.

SCM operates twelve shopping shuttles weekly. We get our riders to and from the grocery store, and we assist them with up to five bags of groceries each.

Door2Door to the Arts facilitates access to cultural and arts activities primarily for senior citizens, but also for persons with disabilities. Arts riders enjoy the well-studied cognitive and mental health benefits that come with access to cultural engagement. Without this program, most of our participants would not otherwise have access to the arts.

As described throughout this narrative, SCM's new mobility management platform is responding to the growing need for coordination between sectors, agencies and vendors as well as for hands-on skill building and counseling for those who need help with their transportation options.