ALPENA — Many veterans in Northeast Michigan depend on a Disabled American Veterans van stationed in Alpena to get to and from doctors appointments downstate, but, for the last three months, those vets have been unable to utilize the service because of a mechanical failure with the transport vehicle.

A new van likely won’t be acquired until February, and that is dependent on enough money being raised by the local DAV Thunder Bay Chapter 61 and the Alpena Veterans Council by the end of October to cover its portion of the cost.

DAV Chapter 61 Treasurer Rebecca Mott said the van provided more than 1,100 veterans from the Alpena area transportation to Saginaw, Ann Arbor, and Detroit for medical appointments.

Typically, such a van will last about seven years, she said, but the DAV’s last van only lasted a touch over five.

That shortened the time the organization had to fundraise for a new vehicle.

The DAV in Alpena is required to cover half of the price of the van, and the Columbia Trust at Ford Motor Co. pays the balance.

The total local DAV share is about $17,000, and Mott said the organization needs to raise about $5,000 more by the end of October to ensure a new van is purchased and delivered early next year.

“The van died sooner than what we expected, and it really shortened the amount of time we had to fundraise,” she said. “Right now, we are really struggling.”

Alpena County Veterans Affairs Director George Stevens said losing the van has forced veterans to miss appointments or rely on friends of family to give them rides. He said some don’t have such people in their lives and are left with little choice but to wait for medical attention.

“Unfortunately, the veterans in this area will be pretty much out of luck for six or seven months,” Stevens said. “We have fielded a lot of calls, and we apologize, but it is just the way it is right now, and there is little we can do about it. This is quite a hard thing for the veterans.”

Even if money is raised soon, Mott said, by the time the van is purchased, delivered to Saginaw, and forwarded to Alpena, it will likely be late January or even February before rides can begin again. She said that, if it takes longer for the needed money to be raised, it could be even longer and veterans would have to continue to provide their own transportation.

Asked if volunteers can provide transportation for the veterans, Stevens said they can, but the volunteer must pick up the cost of all of the expenses of the trip and that can be costly.

“The best option really is to use the van,” he said.

Stevens said he made a request to the DAV in Saginaw for a van to use until a new one can be purchased, but said there weren’t any extra ones available to loan out. He added that the old van was beyond repair, unsafe to drive, and was towed away to Saginaw. It had more than 180,000 miles on it.

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 at sschulwitz@thealpenanews.com. Follow him on Twitter @ss_alpenanews.com.

Donate

Disabled American Veterans Chapter 61 in Alpena is accepting donations for a new van. Send money to DAV Thunder Bay Chapter 61, 486 S. Ripley Boulevard, Unit 117, Alpena, Michigan, 49707.