Bennington Project Independence, a not-for-profit adult day service for people with disabilities and elderly people, is down two transport vehicles after their catalytic converters were stolen Monday night.
One of the organization’s drivers discovered the issue on Tuesday morning when he checked the vans as he does every day, executive director Linda Wichlac said. One of the vans will be out of service for at least a month as supply chain issues make it difficult to obtain the correct part.
“We just hope that the person or persons who did this don’t attempt to vandalize the remaining two vans, which would really have a major impact on our program,” Wichlac said.
Bennington Project Independence allows the elderly and people with disabilities to get out into the community by transporting them to activities, doctors appointments and grocery stores. With two vans out of service, Wichlac said the organization has had to rework routes to make sure they can still provide essential services.
Green Mountain Transit has offered to help the organization until the two vans are fixed, Wichlac said. Meanwhile, lower participation levels due to Covid-19 make it easier for routes to be reworked in order to cater to everyone who needs transportation.
“If we had been at pre-Covid levels then there would be some people that we couldn’t serve,” Wichlac said.
Wichlac said that for many, the loss of the two vans has led to isolation anxiety from many of the people that the organization serves.
“They’ve already experienced the negative effects of isolation on their health and their mental health,” Wichlac said. “The prospect of potentially not being able to attend our program because of a problem with the transportation has really caused some anxiety for our members and their families.”
The vandalism was reported on Tuesday morning to Bennington police, who are still investigating.
— Kathryn Field
