The Barry County Transit has received supplemental grant funding from Carewell Services and the Region 3B Area Agency on Aging. The $2,500 grant will help pay for non- emergency medical transportation for Barry County Seniors who cannot afford the transportation, Transit Director Bill Voigt said.

“For our seniors in financial difficulty, this grant will pay 50 percent of the transportation cost for rides to medical appointments both in and out of area - Grand Rapids for example,” Voigt said.

Due to overwhelming demand, the original $7,500  grant was exhausted within six months, providing 52 round trip rides for Barry County Seniors in need, he said. In the same period, Barry County Transit also provided 95 additional non-emergency medical trips for seniors who did not require the financial assistance. 

“I think we were all surprised by the demand for this special brand of transportation. In addition to the primary benefit in getting our seniors to their out-of-area medical appointments, this grant allowed us to put numbers to a previously unidentified need. 

“Our sincere appreciation goes out to Carewell Services for their understanding of our communities need for this non-emergency medical transportation,” Voigt said. “We will put the additional $2,500 grant funding to very good use.”