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Visually Impaired People, Inc. (VIP) is seeking assistance to establish a transportation service for Dallas County’s visually impaired residents.

While the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic certainly isn’t helping visually impaired people access transportation, VIP CEO William Bowman said it’s difficult – regardless of any circumstances – for the visually impaired to find transportation.

“Across the board, finding transportation is a big deal,” said Bowman.

Bowman, who is visually impaired himself, relies on hiring drivers to get him to and from grocery stores, pharmacies, and doctor appointments.

“It can be really hard to find anyone who’s reliable and that treats you with respect,” he said.

While checking in with other visually impaired people throughout Dallas County during the current COVID-19 pandemic, Bowman said he’s found others in similar situations regarding transportation.

“People have had a really hard time finding someone to get them from point A to point B,” said Bowman. “They’ve been brushed off and treated with disrespect.”

To help the visually impaired population of Dallas County deal with this issue, Bowman is trying to raise $100,000 to get the transportation service started.

Bowman said the $100,000 amount should be a good starting point to pay for a vehicle, insurance, a driver and everything else associated with his vision for the transportation service.

“This is simply a way to get people from point A to point B,” said Bowman. “I just want to find a vehicle, a driver with kindness and patience who will treat the visually impaired with kindness and patience and the means to pay [the driver] what they’re worth.”

Those interested in contributing in the project can visit VIP’s Facebook page at facebook.com/visuallyimapiredpeople or visuallyimpairedpeople.org.

For more information, contact Bowman at (334) 354-4015.