A longtime volunteer in Sudbury is encouraging others to step forward and help out this holiday season.
Jim Robinson is the volunteer coordinator with Safe Drive Home Sudbury. The group recently took over the service from Operation Red Nose. Like Operation Red Nose, Safe Drive Home Sudbury offers impaired drivers and their vehicle a way home at the end of the night.
Robinson has been volunteering with both organizations for the past eight years.
"I know that late at night, public transportation options are difficult in town and during the festive season, the taxi services are pressed to the limit," he said.
Jim Robinson has been volunteering with Safe Ride Home Sudbury and Operation Red Nose for eight years. (Supplied/skidrobinson.ca/)
"Somebody who goes out and has a few more drinks than they expected suddenly finds [themselves] without a lot of options on how to get home."
In the last few years, Robinson has volunteered every night the program has been operating.
"It's very rewarding," he said. "The people that you meet, the people that you work with, there's a really camaraderie that builds up."
Robinson says the drawbacks are few, but adds working in unpredictable winter conditions can be challenging.
"You've got to be really careful at that point," he said. "We haven't ever had a night where we've called it off due to the weather."
Crews have been able to keep up with demand so far, but Robinson says more volunteers would be helpful.
"So far we've been keeping up, but we're coming into the busy part of the season now," Robinson said.
"The more [volunteers] we have, the more people we can look after."
