Unsung Heroes

Easy Lift of Santa Barbara

By Erica Rascón on Dec 9, 2015 in Giving, People

Organizations throughout Santa Barbara strive to make the community an even better place to live. Easy Lift is one such organization that has provided affordable transportation for seniors, children, and the disabled since 1979. Transportatio

n is a vital yet often overlooked need in our community. Yet for 363 days each year, it is Easy Lift’s top priority.

When it comes to the lifestyle of a public servant, few foresee their future in private transportation. Ernesto Paredes, Executive Director of Easy Lift, was no exception. In 1991, as a recent USC School of Gerontology graduate, Paredes accepted a job in the transportation industry. He figured that he could use the experience before moving on to the next opportunity.

Paredes recalls, “I thought, ‘Transportation isn’t the sexiest field out there but I’ll start with that, get a couple of years of experience and then move on.’ I’m still figuring out where my ‘move on’ position is!” he laughs. “I’m inching up on 24 years with the organization. I love what I do and I love who I do it for.”

For Paredes, the who and why of public service has always been more important than the how. “It’s not the tires and oil changes that fire me up about being a part of this organization, though that is part of what we do,” he says. “I really like improving [clients’] quality of life. People want to be independent for all long as they can. They have an alternative where they can look to our Dial-A-Ride program and be as independent as possible.”

Dial-A-Ride is an Easy Lift service that provides transportation to seniors who are unable to take advantage of Santa Barbara Metropolitan Transit District services. Fares are only $3.50 one way, offering seniors with mobility challenges access to medical appointments, grocery shopping, and social activities. For many, transportation expenses can be covered by insurance.

“Clients depend on Dial-A-Ride so that they can get access to health care and nutrition. Without those two, that is where the downward spiral truly begins. Yet when those needs are met, clients branch off to other services, programs, or gainful employment. It definitely has a rippling effect when you can get someone somewhere safely and affordably.”

For children, Easy Lift offers Children’s Accessible Transportation (CAT). CAT transports youth to and from programs on behalf of agencies that are unable to garner transportation. Since 2008, CAT has collaborated with more than 66 youth agencies to provide over 8,000 rides to children.

“There is a need for access to affordable, dependable, safe transportation within our community, to get to programs and services—some of which Yardi also supports–and we’re all about getting them there,” Paredes says. “We provide transportation for other people’s programs so that they don’t have to go into the transportation business by default. We can do what we do best, which is provide transportation. Then they get to do what they do best, which is obviously their own personal program. We have one van that services up to 40 different organizations.”

CAT enables locals programs to be more successful by bypassing unhealthy distractions and dangers en route to and from the program. Paredes explains, “By having that direct transportation to the program, not only do we assure that kids will get to these programs, we can assure the families that kids will get home safely, especially in the winter months when it gets dark sooner. The service industry is really big here in Santa Barbara. You have some adults that are working two jobs and they aren’t around to take their kids to after school programs. The CAT program makes that link.”

Easy Lift conducts about 6,200 rides each month. The workload could be exhausting for small business staff. To maintain fervor for his career, Paredes relies on two insights that he gained as an Ironman triathlete.

The first insight was to develop gratitude. “I see people who have disabilities and challenges in their lives that prevent them from being as active as they want. I never take for granted every run, bike or swim. It’s such a gift and I want to maximize it,” he says.

The second is perseverance through persistence. “The impossible is possible. There might be programs and you think, ‘Oh, there is not enough funding or support.’ But I never thought I’d ever do an Ironman tri. I could barely swim a few lengths of the pool! But we persevere. There is the old adage, ‘You can do anything that you put your mind to.’ I truly believe that. When we train for Ironman, we don’t do an Ironman everyday. We do a little bit everyday. The same is true with the professional world. You do something everyday to improve your communication with the community and let them know what are you doing and how are you doing it. Soon, you’re able to celebrate accomplishments that you thought were impossible before.”

The small steps of community members make the low-cost services of Easy Lift possible for those in need. In turn, those contributions benefit other necessary services in the area. “We don’t offer programs but we allow programs to be successful. We’re that link so that programs can thrive and get the support that they need from their funders. We’re part of the community fabric of making everyone successful in terms of getting everyone to their programs.”

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