Narrandera Shire Council is involved in providing access and social inclusion to the aged and transport disadvantaged members of the Narrandera and Leeton Shire communities through the Narrandera and Leeton Community Transport service which is funded by Transport for NSW on behalf of the Commonwealth Government.
Clients aged 65 years and over, or 50 years and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, access Community Transport through the My Aged Care referral portal.
Community Transport works in partnership with organisations such as Murrumbidgee Local Health District, Murrumbidgee Primary Health Network, Marathon Health, Narrandera CanAssist and Leeton CanAssist to provide transport options to residents needing to attend medical appointments in Wagga Wagga, Griffith and Albury.
Community Transport also works with the Narrandera Flag booking provider, providing vouchers to eligible clients for local out-of-hours transport needs.
Equally important is the transport provided to access the local community for shopping and social events. Where possible, pre-scheduled bus services are provided from Barellan to Leeton, Barellan to Wagga Wagga, Leeton to Wagga Wagga, Leeton to Griffith and Narrandera to Wagga Wagga.
In 2022-23 the Narrandera-Leeton Community Transport provided 14,254 trips to residents and travelled over 214,869 kilometres, providing services to over 1400 active clients. Many of the clients used the service on a regular basis as their sole means of transport.
Wheelchair accessible vehicles are located in both Narrandera and Leeton Shires, with the service increasing its wheelchair accessible vehicles from three to four to accommodate the loss of a wheelchair accessible taxi in Leeton.
CanAssist had limited opportunities for fundraising due to the COVID-19 pandemic so to ensure CanAssist was able to continue to support local community members, Community Transport provided free transport to CanAssist clients.
Narrandera and Leeton Community Transport relies heavily on the incredible generosity of 22 volunteer drivers who worked a staggering 8800 hours within the reporting period.
Social isolation is a critical issue for the aged and through Social Support services provided by CHSP workers and volunteers, eligible clients are assisted to remain integrated in the community, leading to better health and well-being. Under this program, a staff or volunteer companion assists clients to attend social activities of the client’s choice. This is a flexible program which has been highly successful in making a real difference to socially isolated people.
For the 2022-23 reporting year, over 2786 hours of combined Social Support was provided to 68 clients located within both Narrandera and Leeton Shires.
Social support services include day trips and outings, coffee shop visits, shopping, running errands, a quiet drive, or even a cup of tea and chat at home. Narrandera Leeton Social Support also offers large groups outings such as trips to the Whitton Malthouse and Altina Wildlife Park.
A small program for respite care is provided, primarily for the benefit of carers of frail aged people or people with a disability. It allows the carer to have time out to attend to personal matters.
Those who are transport disadvantaged can access Community Transport by registering for the service at the Community Services Building, Leeton Community Transport Office or by telephoning 6959 5558.
