CINCINNATI — For more than a decade Joe Augustine has sat behind the steering wheel of a van — telling jokes, talking about the weather and listening to his passenger’s stories.
“I go down this little street, and this guy comes out, popping out of his house, and he says to me ... 'The paid drivers don't like to talk to me, OK?' And I said, 'Why is that?' He said, 'Because I'm a bullsh—er.' So I started laughing. I said, 'Well, sir, what's the problem?' So he got a kick out of that. But we're all bullsh—ers in some way. We've all got a story to tell,” said Augustine.
The Marine Corps veteran served in Vietnam and always said when he retired from his civilian life he’d like to volunteer and give back to fellow veterans.
To date, as an all-volunteer driver, he has driven over 3,600 miles taking veterans to and from their medical appointments at the Cincinnati VA Medical Center.
“I think it's nice to be able to help people,” Augustine said. “Veterans need a lot of help — the Vietnam era veterans in particular.”
The Veteran Transportation Services office stays very busy organizing paid and volunteer drivers and scheduling veterans’ pick-ups and dropoffs. Edward Pineda heads up the office and said their 2023 numbers speak to the growing demand.
“We did about 5,500 trips for VTS. We do have four volunteers that do assist us as well,” Pineda said. “For fiscal year 23 they ran about 6,300 miles, and they did serve approximately 375 veterans in the area.”
Disabled American Veterans (DAV), headquartered in Erlanger, has provided additional vans for the transportation service and vets the volunteer drivers who sign up to help.
“Volunteers perform a critical role in VA,” said John Kleindienst, DAV National Voluntary Services Director.
Kleindienst said for years DAV volunteers have assisted with the VA mission on a number of levels and the organization is encouraging more volunteers to come forward.
“We just want to see that number grow and do what we can to ensure veterans get access to the care that they've earned,” he said.
Nationally, he said they have over 17,000 volunteer drivers and they would like to see that number double. He clarifies that volunteers don’t have to be veterans.
“We have a home at DAV for everyone, so this is a great opportunity to consider,” Kleindienst said. "We're really just looking for individuals that can give us one day a month. See how that fits their ticket and consider becoming a volunteer driver and help us get veterans access to the care they've earned as a result of their military service.”
Those wishing to volunteer with the DAV as a driver can visit their website DAV.org.
In addition to the current drivers and vans, the CVAMC has resources tied to UBER Health to provide additional modes of transportation. Veterans looking for assistance with transportation needs can visit the Cincinnati VA website.
If you have a veteran story to tell in your community, email homefront@wcpo.com. You also can join the Homefront Facebook group, follow Craig McKee on Facebook and find more Homefront stories here.
