For Ray Sweeney, an unemployed Navy veteran in Santa Rosa, getting to and from medical appointments is a real challenge.
"I had to pawn my bicycle the other day to cover some stuff," Sweeney, 53, said.
Without other transportation options, Sweeney relies on donated bus vouchers to get him to an outpatient clinic for military veterans on Brickway Boulevard near Sonoma County's airport.
"It's hard enough to get a (medical) appointment," Sweeney said. "Being able to get there and not miss it is pretty important."
But funding increases announced Friday could result in more veterans benefiting from the program.
The difficulties that military veterans have accessing medical care is a national issue right now because of a scandal involving wait times at facilities across the country.
Veterans advocates say the transportation challenges facing some vets locally are not of the same magnitude as problems in other communities. But for those individuals who have no independent means of getting to their appointments, it's a very big deal.
"If I can't get to the clinic, it's hard to get the service," said Kathy King, rural health coordinator for the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Medical Center.
The voucher program may be small, but it "fills a really cool niche and makes an impact on these men and women's lives," said Tim Miller, CEO of the regional American Red Cross chapter.
Sonoma County's medical center for veterans is seven miles by car from downtown Santa Rosa. When the facility opened in 2009, some veterans said it took them most of a day to make the round-trip journey by city and county bus.
About 100 veterans each month obtain bus or taxi vouchers for trips to medical appointments through Sonoma County Vet Connect, said Richard Jones, president and CEO of the nonprofit agency.
He said most of these men and women "have no money, no resources" to get themselves to the Santa Rosa clinic, which serves veterans from across the North Bay.
Sweeney said he was honorably discharged in 1986 after serving six years in the Navy, including aboard the USS Enterprise as an aviation structural mechanic. He said he was doing well in civilian life until his wife died and he spiraled downward.
"I crawled inside a bottle of Jack Daniels and didn't come out for two years," he said.
Sweeney said he was laid off from a warehouse job last year. He rents a studio apartment near the Sonoma County Fairgrounds in Santa Rosa with the aid of federal housing assistance.
With the travel vouchers, Sweeney said he's been able to be seen and treated for a range of medical issues at the Sonoma County medical center, including for his routine annual physical.
"If you don't have a medical emergency, they can pretty much take care of you," he said.
Jones of Vet Connect said many of the veterans who use bus vouchers are homeless. A snapshot survey in 2013 found 400 homeless veterans living in Sonoma County. Advocates say the number may be much higher.
About 29,000 Sonoma County veterans were eligible in 2012 for enrollment with veterans affairs, the most recent year for which statistics are available, King said.
Jones said it's been a struggle finding resources to underwrite the transportation voucher program. A book of about 100 round-trip bus tickets costs $140.
"We've had to beg, borrow and steal to help these veterans," Jones said.
PG&E, which last year provided funding for the voucher program through Vet Connect, announced Friday that it is increasing its contribution and expanding the program with the assistance of the Red Cross, which will administer the money.
The grant, which amounts to $11,275, will be distributed to several veterans groups in Sonoma and Lake counties. About half of the money will be used to provide bus and taxi vouchers at the Sonoma County medical facility, restoring a service that has been unavailable for several years, according to King.
She said that will make the vouchers accessible to veterans who aren't connected with other agencies. "You don't have to be homeless to get a bus voucher or taxi ride," she said.
The Santa Rosa clinic offers an array of services, including radiology, podiatry, physical therapy and dental care. Mental health services also are available.
Veterans also can take a free bus from the Santa Rosa clinic to the Veterans Administration Medical Facility for Northern California. The center, known as Fort Miley, is just south of the Presidio in San Francisco.
You can reach Staff Writer Derek Moore at 521-5336 or derek.moore@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @deadlinederek.
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