For many in Canada the idea of simply running out to the shops or making it to an appointment can be exhausting, time-consuming, even impossible. Canadian Red Cross transportation services help elderly and disabled Canadians maintain their independence, dignity, and quality of life. All while ensuring they get to their appointments on time. 

The service is provided by volunteers who assist elderly and disabled members of the community who need to get out for medical appointments, shopping, or social meetings, but do not have private means of transportation, and cannot use public transportation. Each community presents unique challenges in terms of connecting people and services. The Red Cross manages these challenges by coordinating the efforts of volunteers with a range of vehicle types, including accessible ones, and knowledge of the local area.

The Red Cross embraces opportunities to share its expertise, including its experience with transportation services. The Chapleau Hospital’s transportation services (Chapleau, Ontario) were developed by a Community Support Services Coordinator from the Red Cross office in Wawa, Ontario. Once volunteers were trained and the program’s procedures and structures were set up, the Chapleau Hospital took over the program. The Red Cross also worked with the province of Newfoundland to develop transportation services.

"Transportation services are crucial for meeting health-care needs and helps prevent social isolation."

Aside from helping clients meet their day-to-day needs, transportation services are also crucial for meeting healthcare needs and preventing social isolation. They are also at the heart of the history of the Red Cross. Ambulance services in war zones are among the earliest and most important services offered by volunteers and leaders of the Red Cross in Canada and abroad.

Canadian Red Cross founder, Dr. George Sterling Ryerson, first used the Red Cross symbol in 1885, to mark his horse-drawn medical services cart as an ambulance, during the Battle of Batoche in present-day Saskatchewan. During the First World War, the Red Cross mobilized the humanitarian concerns of people in many belligerent countries by using their donations to fund frontline ambulance services, and transportation for homefront hospitals. These efforts helped cement an international reputation for impartiality and inclusiveness. 

Today you can see Canadian Red Cross vehicles on the road from coast-to-coast serving in various capacities.