With ride-sharing apps out like Uber and Lyft, transportation has become much easier. Nonetheless, these easy rides haven’t expanded their reach to the small towns beyond Monroe County quite yet.
For most of us, this is tolerable, considering there isn’t heavy traffic flow and drivers can get around fairly well. But, what about those of us who can’t drive? For example, the beloved seniors in our community. Often, some senior citizens are unable to drive to important medical appointments like doctors’ visits, dental check-ups, physical therapy and the like. Luckily, we have a local service for that.
“You’ve saved my bacon,” says a client as she is dropped off to a medical appointment through the HF-L Friends in Service Here (FISH) organization.
In this neighbor-helping-neighbor service, HFL FISH is always on call to give rides to elderly individuals who can no longer get themselves to health-related appointments.
The organization is run entirely by volunteers, who provide their time and vehicles at no cost to the clients. FISH works closely with their clients. Instead of just dropping them off, the driver will walk the client to the car, as well as assisting them into the building of the appointments and all the way to their caretaker’s hands.
Originating in England, “Fishes” were organized in England during World War II when individual neighborhoods set up their own block project. Each block of rowhouses established headquarters where volunteers donated and distributed goods and services free of charge to the needy. To ensure that everyone could understand where to find the services, each headquarters was marked with an Icthos, which is the Greek symbol for “fish” as well an an ancient Christian symbol of recognition and hospitality. One only had to be told to go to the door with the fish on it for help. As it is today, each “FISH” is sponsored by its community for its community. The idea was so successful that it spread to other countries, including the United States. FISH got its start in Monroe County in the early 1970s.
A long-time volunteer, Sally Zimmer, has given her time to FISH since 1974.
“Many of our volunteers live pretty far out from our community, which makes it difficult to put them on the schedule,” says Zimmer. “Our goal is to reach out to people closer to home who would be willing to volunteer.”
Recently the organization has hit a rut in picking up new volunteers.
“At this rate, we aren’t sure if we’ll be able to sustain FISH,” Zimmer explains. “If we don’t have people who are willing to take positions in the steering committee and volunteers to be dispatchers and drivers, FISH is not going to continue. Or if it does, it might be limited. We’re hoping we don’t have to do that.”
One person whose been helped by the service at FISH describes the organization through his favorite Bible verse.
“A faithful friend is a sturdy shelter, he who finds one finds a treasure. A faithful friend is beyond price. No sum can balance his worth. That’s what FISH is to me.”
“FISH isn’t just a comfort to the people whom it serves, but also a light to the volunteers. It truly is a win-win situation,” says Zimmer.
If you’re interested in volunteering with the Friends in Service Here organization, please contact Sally Zimmer at (585) 624-1085.
