PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Since 1979, a volunteer ambulance service has been helping seniors on the Treasure Coast and those without a ride and in need of medical help. But the service is running out of gas and now needs the community's help.
It's been a staple in Port St. Lucie. For more than four decades, the Port St. Lucie Volunteer Ambulance Service has been helping people being discharged from the hospital, or driving them to a doctor's appointment if they didn't have a ride.
But this rig has been sitting parked inside headquarters for the past two months.
"I miss my patients," said Jasmyne Santos. a volunteer driver who's unable to help her patients because the service is running out of money.
"It would be devastating to them because financially you can't. Some of the other services in the area charge a lot of money," said Chief Tina Vasquez.
But this ambulance service is free, run by volunteers, and operates solely off of donations.
But since COVID, patients have been using the service even more, but those donations have come to a screeching halt.
"If we do not get support within the next month we're done. The service is going to be closing," Vasquez said.
Now Vasquez is pleading for the public's help to keep the service running that's been a lifeline for so many in this community.
"Without us to help those that need us the most they're going to be lost and unfortunately not able to be able to get where they need to go. And if they do get there it's going to be in a way they can't afford," Vasquez said.
The chief said the ambulance service needs around $50,000 to survive through the end of the year.
If you would like to donate and help, you can send donations to 1514 Southeast Village Green Drive in Port St. Lucie, Florida, 34952, or P.O. Box 802634985
There are other ways to donate on the Port St. Lucie Volunteer Ambulance Service's Facebook page.
