A decision by one social service agency to help another created havoc last week and has led the guardian of one disabled client to pull her from an employment program.

Goodwill Industries of Colorado Springs on Aug. 1 took over transportation services for 39 developmentally disabled clients of The Resource Exchange to help the financially strapped organization and ensure the clients could get to and from their jobs at various Goodwill locations.

But the program hit a snag Wednesday when a bus driver got lost for hours with seven clients on board.

Lucinda Lopez said her 38-year-old sister, Mary Lopez, who has Down syndrome and uses supplemental oxygen, was on the bus for more than five hours en route from her job at Goodwill's administration building on West Colorado Avenue to their home in Security.

The Resource Exchange coordinates services such as job training and speech therapy for about 2,000 people with disabilities in El Paso, Teller and Park counties and funds job training and rehabilitation programs. Those pro grams include one at Goodwill, where Mary Lopez, a Resource Exchange client, has worked for 18 years.

Goodwill Industries spokeswoman Melissa Lyby said the one-time incident happened because the bus driver was new, got lost and had poor cell phone coverage.

Lucinda Lopez said her sister is usually back at home when she gets home from her job at an Applebee's restaurant about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday, Mary Lopez wasn't there.

Lucinda Lopez said at 5 p.m., she called the Goodwill office, which was closed. She tried The Resource Exchange and was told the bus driver was lost. Another hour passed and no word.

"The head of transportation finally called me and said he was trying to figure it out. By then, it was 7 p.m.," Lucinda Lopez said.

At 8 p.m. Lopez received a call that the driver was 21/2 miles from her home. Lucinda Lopez got in her car and met the bus at 8:15 p.m. She said her sister was "freaked out," had urinated and defecated in her pants, was thirsty and hungry and started crying.

"I'm mad this happened," Lucinda Lopez said. "They should have had a dispatch system. I don't think they treated her right, and she couldn't speak up for herself. Nobody even called to see if Mary was OK."

The bus left Goodwill on time at 2:45 p.m. Wednesday, Lyby said, and picked up some clients from another site. But the driver was new and unfamiliar with the southeast area that includes Security, she said.

"He had very bad cell phone coverage and was trying to get a hold of someone. He tried to backtrack his way to the starting point and got even more lost," Lyby said. "Certainly, that's not something we want to have happen again because our primary concern is the safety of participants and getting them home on time."

Thursday, the bus was equipped with a GPS device, Lyby said, and another Goodwill employee rode along with the driver for a few days after the incident to familiarize him with the route.

"As soon as we knew the bus was running late we put backup procedures into place, but we had a lot of strikes against us because of the lack of cell phone coverage, few streetlights and street signs and it was getting dark," she said. "Everyone was home before 9 p.m. - later than they should have been but safe and sound. Our hope is to make this the best situation in providing transportation for the clients."

But Lucinda Lopez said Monday that she decided to pull her sister from the Goodwill employment program.

"It'll be shocking for her, but I don't want her going back there," said Lucinda Lopez, who is Mary Lopez's guardian.

Goodwill took over bus service for the clients that work for Goodwill programs because the agency "felt it was right, missionwise," Lyby said. "We didn't know what else they were going to do, and we have a lot of experience transporting program participants."

Transporting clients to jobs became a hardship for The Resource Exchange, which ran into financial problems this year that threatened to shut it down, said David Ervin, executive director.

"With changes in the way our services are funded, we lost the ability to subsidize substantial losses in transportation with gains in other areas," he said.

Goodwill agreed to transport 39 of the 52 affected clients, Ervin said. Community Intersections, which provides residential care, assumed services for several more, and other clients are using Metro Mobility, a service of Metro Transit, the city's bus system, he said.

"Goodwill has been a magnificent partner with an eye toward maintaining service. Without that, folks would be in desperate straits," Ervin said.

-

Contact the writer: 636-0235 or debbie.kelley@gazette.com