CHILLICOTHE, Ohio — This week, Traci Harris, the Ross County Mobility Manager, and Gerod Rickerd, the Pickaway County Mobility Manager, hosted a one-day workshop at the Ross County Service Center for regional human services agencies and transportation providers. The workshop aimed to brainstorm strategies to overcome persistent transportation obstacles, specifically related to employment and medical transportation. The event brought together representatives from Adams, Brown, Highland, Jackson, Pickaway, Pike, Ross, and Vinton counties, as well as several state-level representatives.
The attendees had diverse backgrounds that fostered rich dialogue on transportation hot topics such as contracting, funding, and coordination between agencies. During the group breakout exercises, workshop participants discussed solutions to issues such as transportation as a barrier to employment, arranging transportation across county lines, and coordination of non-emergency medical trips. Representatives of Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted also participated in the dialogue of seeking transportation solutions for work and medical appointments.
Facilitator Bill Wagner, the National Center for Mobility Management Deputy Director, said of the workshop, “This meeting happens all around the country. It’s about getting people from Point A to Point B. It’s really pretty basic. My first objective is to engage the people who came here today and increase their awareness of both the issues, the barriers, and the resources available to start trying to match them up.” Wagner conducts similar workshops all over the United States as a representative of the Community Transportation Association of America.
“The communication, engagement and participation of different agencies and seeing people from such a broad network who are concerned” was one of the highlights of the day, host Traci Harris concluded after the workshop. Today’s activities were a positive step forward in a continuing conversation to meet mobility needs in Ross County. “It was the multiple moments of just watching a group that diverse and of that size really engaged and enthusiastic about finding solutions,” host Gerod Rickerd agreed.