Buffalo Rising Online

Oct 6th, 7:17am By buffalorising

Last week, Mayor Brown announced programs that assist with efforts that will benefit both youth and the elderly. One program is directed towards assisting First Student fill a desperate need for school bus drivers. The other helps keep the elderly safe by announcing their medicinal needs. Both speak to the Mayor’s continued commitment to the community – to those denizens who drive those beginning their lives and those enjoying their golden years.

First Student Bus Company has had a shortage of bus drivers that has kept many students waiting on the street for their bus to pick then up – sometimes longer than thirty minutes. With winter soon approaching and temperatures in the early morning hours dropping, it is becoming a matter of some urgency to fill those positions quickly so that students aren’t left out in the cold. To be eligible for the job, applicants must be 21 years old, pass a criminal background check, pass a drug test, and must have been a licensed driver for at least three years.

To help find potential drivers, Mayor Brown is enlisting the help of the Department of Economic Development, the Department of Permits and Inspections, and the Division of Workforce Development Initiatives. They will partner with First Student, the Buffalo Public Schools, and the Buffalo Employment and Training Center (BETC) to help find potential recruits. Through the partnership, recruitment will be promoted to the NYS Department of Labor and BETC partner agencies.

Right now, two on-site employer recruitments have been planned at the BETC at 77 Goodell Street for October 14th and 15th to garner applicants and begin the search. This initiative by Mayor Brown and the City of Buffalo will help keep children of the city safe this coming winter from the bitter cold. The other program the Mayor announced helps keep the elderly safe, but in this case, not from the cold, from potential medical complications.

The File of Life Project is centered on the knowledge needed for immediate care in an emergency situation. Senior citizens fill out information about their personal and health-related information on File of Life cards. File of Life then provides protection in three different forms. There is a door decal to allow first responders and emergency personal about their participation in the program. They are give a magnetic refrigerator card with their information that first responders can access and they are given a wallet-sied card for when they travel from home.

This program was started in 1995 and over 1,6000 communities across the nation have adopted the program. The City of Buffalo is beginning theirs through a collaboration with the Buffalo Fire Department and the Division for Senior Services. With the information so readily available to first responders, it helps prevent a medical mishap through drug complications and by allowing first responders to know what medical conditions the senior might be suffering from. What it amounts to is better emergency care for senior citizens.

Senior citizens will be able to sign up for the program at select housing complexes, churches, and at senior centers. The Division for Senior Services and the city’s Youth Department will be available to help seniors fill out their File of Life cards. To get a complete list of places seniors can sign up, you can call the Division for Senior Services at 851-4141.