Friends In Service Here (FISH)—a non-profit, all-volunteer driving service offered to residents of Chester, Deep River, and Essex—is seeking additional volunteers in the tri-town area to step up and help due to high demand for its services.

“Being a volunteer for the FISH for the past 19 years, has been one of the most rewarding things I have ever done,” said Essex resident Henry May, the president of the organization.

FISH was founded in 1970 by an Essex resident who wanted to help others, and started driving those in need to doctors’ appointments and medical exams. From there it grew to all three towns. Currently, there are approximately 50 drivers who volunteer for FISH. The non-profit operates on a budget of approximately $8,500 a year.

“All of our services are free,” explained May. “There is a definite need for this in the area, and I don’t think people realize it, because these are affluent towns. However, there are still many people who are on budgets and can not afford to pay for another form of transportation. In addition, it seems has though there is an increase in the number of calls we are receiving as the population in the area, in general, is aging.”

In 2018, FISH provided 943 round trip rides, free of charge to people in need.

“That’s about 70 rides a month,” said dispatcher and driver John Heiser, who has been a volunteer for the past 11 years. “We need at least another 10 drivers to help out with the high demand.”

The FISH driving service provides transportation to and from doctors’ or dentists’ offices, clinics, and hospitals in the area as far west as Guilford, as far north as Middletown, and as far east as New London. The service, available five days a week from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., is available for ambulatory residents who don’t have other means of transportation.

People in need of a ride call the FISH answering service at 860-388-2693, no later than the morning of the day before the appointment and no later than noon Friday for an appointment the following Monday. Callers should be prepared to provide the operator with the following information: the rider’s first and last names, pick-up address and telephone number, the date and time of the appointment, the address and telephone number of the facility to be visited, the expected duration of the appointment, and the name of the caller if the call is not made by the patient. The FISH dispatcher assigns the case to the driver who is on call for the day of the appointment. The driver calls the patient to work out the details of the trip.

Driving volunteers are asked to commit to volunteering twice a month for a full day. They must have a clean driving history and be younger than 80 years old.

“Sometimes you will have three pick-ups in one day and sometimes just one, it really depends on the day,” explained Heiser.

In addition to providing safe, reliable driving services to those in need, volunteers get the chance to partake in the annual get-together held each year in November honoring their hard work.

“It’s our way of giving back to the volunteers and getting everyone together to have a good time,” said May, who encourages others to get involved and volunteer with FISH.

“It is a very rewarding experience, you meet a lot of new people whom you are helping out. These people are so grateful, often times they are basically homebound and driving to these appointments is their outing for the week. They love to chat and you learn a lot about town history. You also feel good about yourself, that you are helping others and doing something good for those in your own community,” said May.

For more information about becoming a FISH volunteer, call 860 388-2693.