Safe Rides Program Seeks Adult Volunteers
More than two decades ago, a Daniel Hand High School student died in a drunk driving accident. It was an incident that shook the town. Daniel Hand students responded by establishing a Safe Rides program, which operated independently and successfully for some time.
When the town established Youth and Family Services, the program migrated there. Now Madison’s Safe Rides is one of the few programs of its kind still operating in the state and Melissa Balletto, Safe Rides administrator, is seeking adult volunteers.
“Adults oversee the student volunteers. The students are the drivers and riders and dispatchers,” Balletto says. As she explains in an informational letter to adult volunteers, “Your basic responsibility is to be there for and with the other shift members as an advisor. The kids run the nuts and bolts of the program, but your wisdom will sometimes be needed in judgment call situations.”
For the full story, see the Oct. 20 issue of The Source and go to zip06.com.