Wheelchair-accessible van rolls in
Van operator sought as years of fundraising for accessible transportation finally pay off
April Hudson
Northern News Services
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
KANGIQLINIQ/RANKIN INLET
Years of holding raffles and bingos and collecting donations has finally come to fruition for Lynn Rudd, whose dream of bringing a wheelchair-accessible van to Rankin Inlet will finally be realized in October.
Lynn Rudd stands by a rock overlooking a lake near Rankin Inlet. Rudd has just secured a wheelchair-accessible van for the community after a years-long effort. - photo courtesy of Lynn Rudd |
It has been a four-year journey for Rudd, who fundraised a total of $71,000 through raffles, Bingos, baking and penny sales for a vehicle she says is needed in the community.
Rudd secured the van last month and it will be arriving in the community in October. Her next hurdle is finding an operator.
Rudd says she plans to write letters to community organizations as she searches for someone to run the vehicle. She's saved enough for start-up costs.
"If someone could come up to me and say, 'Hey, we're willing to operate it,' that would be ideal, but I don't think that will happen," she said with a laugh from her home in Rankin Inlet on July 25.
"It's very much needed here. There's a few people in wheelchairs, and for elders it's very hard for them to get into a vehicle that's too high," she said.
"If someone who's running it could use it as an elders' van as well, that would be very ideal."
Rudd started on her quest for the van in 2013, after the death of her father, Pierre Karlik.
Karlik was in a wheelchair and found it difficult to get from one place to another or to appointments.
"Near the end of his life, we had to call an ambulance to pick him up in their gurney. It wasn't for emergencies -it was the only mode of transportation we had," Rudd said.
"He had wished for a vehicle with wheelchair accessibility."
That started Rudd on her search. However, wheelchair-accessible vehicles are tricky in the North; she needed one without a hydraulic lift, so it could operate in the winter.
And although she had a groundswell of support from the community in terms of donations, the responsibility for finding a vehicle fell to Rudd alone.
"I've been looking on the Internet for the past few years. They're everywhere, but you don't know if they run properly, since you're not there," she said.
"I would hate to get one up here from Kijiji to find out it's not running."
She also hit dead ends with car dealers, who quoted her vehicles beyond her budget, before finally finding success with Winnipeg automotive company Wise Guys.
"They had asked me if I wanted a brand new one or a used one. I thought, if it's a used one then it's already ready and it's probably cheaper," she said.
"They came back and said they could do a brand new one, a brand new vehicle, for $58,000."
When contacted for details on the van, Wise Guys stated in an e-mail the van is a 2017 Dodge Grand Caravan.
The company is currently installing a rear-entry conversion package, according to sales managers Holly Spencer and Sam Hunt.
"This allows a wheelchair to enter from the rear of the van," they stated.
"Once this is added, it is possible to seat six passengers and a wheelchair, as the rear-entry model allows for a bench row to be added in the back."
The van will be arriving in the community on the last cargo ship of the season, sometime in October.
As for the end of her years-long quest, Rudd says she's just thankful so many people supported her throughout the process.
"Everyone who has helped me up to this point, all the organizations that donated, the encouraging words that were said, have helped a lot and motivated me to actually get this into the community," she said.
"That's always been my goal."
