The battered maroon van may not be much to look at, but it is reliable transportation, and roomy enough for all six members of the Blackmon family of Rogue River. Best of all, it was free.
The 1989 Plymouth Voyager is the tax-deductible donation of Medford City Councilwoman Jill Stout, and the first of five vehicles donated to Driving-Out Poverty — a new program spearheaded by LeArta Romero of Medford and designed to provide low-income families with "lien-free" transportation.
Stout originally acquired the van to transport her 180-pound Great Dane. When she bought a new dog-toting vehicle, the functional but funky van languished in her garage as attempts to sell it proved unsuccessful, she said.
Then Stout learned Romero was looking for folks with cars to spare for her humanitarian efforts.
Having once been a single mom, Stout said she felt blessed to pass on the Voyager to the Blackmons.
"It's really great to help a struggling family out. And it felt really good they'd be able to go places as a family," said Stout.
Romero, a bank executive for PremierWest, said the idea for Driving-Out Poverty came during a life-changing United Way seminar in January.
When Executive Director Dee Anne Everson asked who was willing to stand up and break the cycle of poverty, Romero stood.
Romero had just heard that about 400 families within Jackson County who do not own vehicles can be considered poor or "near poor."
"Ownership of a private vehicle is an essential element of success in obtaining independence," said Romero.
Cars provide access to education, jobs, health care, child care, social support and even self-esteem and family/community relationships, Romero said. Finding public or group transportation in rural areas is nearly impossible, she added.
But when a guest speaker from Portland talked about how a car dealership and a financial institution came together to assist low-income families in purchasing a vehicle in the range of $3,500, "with special rates and terms," Romero said she was left shaking her head.
"All throughout her speech I was unable to comprehend why we would want to make a loan to a family or individual on a vehicle when most would not be able to afford the first payment," Romero said. "I found myself committing to working on a solution to end a transportation problem by obtaining donated vehicles and presenting them to those in need."
Romero said a disclaimer is given to both the donor and recipient as a legal safety measure for both parties. No vehicle given to any selected family/individual may be sold for monetary gain. All vehicles are donated with no commitments. But recipients are asked to consider providing some of their time to a nonprofit agency of their choice as a way to "pay it forward," Romero said.
"No obligation is placed upon them as it is completely their choice to act upon a simple request," said Romero.
The Blackmons' van arrived just days before Razilee made her entrance to the world, said her mom, Jessie Jimenez.
Jimenez also is mother to 18-month-old Haddix Blackmon and stepmom to 29-year-old fiance Jared Blackmon's two sons, Donovan, 8, and Kristian, 7.
The family has a smaller car. But with three kids still in car seats, the only way they could go anywhere as a family was in a van, said Jimenez.
"We'd bought a van a year ago. But it didn't even last a summer. We didn't have money to fix it, so we were walking," said Jimenez.
Jared Blackmon will use the family's smaller car as a work vehicle, and the family can ride together in the van, she said.
"The first place we went was to the park," said Jimenez.
Donovan and Kristian are still awed at Stout's generosity.
"It was nice of the lady," said Donovan. "I was surprised she was doing it for free. I think it was very nice. It feels pretty good to ride with my family."
Since the first vehicle was donated, Romero has been able to provide several other recipients with vehicles as well. But with so many families in need, Romero is always on the lookout for Good Samaritans willing to offer a free ride to those less fortunate.
"Hopefully this will be an added enticement for an individual or company to offer a vehicle as a donation," said Romero.
Anyone interested in donating a reliable, used, lien-free, tax-deductible vehicle can reach Romero via e-mail at drivingoutpoverty@yahoo.com or by calling 541-531-0580.
Reach reporter Sanne Specht at 776-4497 or e-mail sspecht@mailtribune.com.
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