Jordan Babineaux and Assure Ride

*The following is the output of transcribing from an audio recording. Although the transcription is largely accurate, in some cases it is incomplete or inaccurate due to inaudible passages or transcription errors.

And Welcome to answers for elders radio. Everyone, I am here with a special guest. are very wonderful former Seahawk Jordan Babineau. Jordan. Welcome to the program. Thank you for having me. It’s good to be here. You know we’re here. First of all, you participated last month with us with twelve days of goodness and we’re so thrilled that you did what you did for us and and sponsoring events and everything like that. I really wanted to have you back this month and talk about your brand new enterprise, which is so badly needed in this area, and that is like non medical transport and it’s your company’s called a sure ride. Is that correct? Yep, for sure. A little bit about it. Well, it sure right. kind of got started write in my kitchen and I was exposed to it by some family friends down in Pasadena who have the same type of Transportation Company, and from there I began to explore what the market was here in Seattle and start to understand needed. You know what that what that really entails? So not emergency medical transportation here and a puga sound really kind of expands far beyond age, mobility and disability. What I found out was the transportation bearer here in a pugd sound down you know, goes as far as education, employment, economics, and nearly fifty percent of our population in the puget sound falls somewhere in between those seven factors of transportation barriers. And, for instance, you look at Microsoft now, who has the Microsoft shuttle right the the connector you look at t mobile, who has, you know, two thousand or so employees but only have four hundred parking spaces. Yeah, right. So those are huge issues. And of course we don’t even want to talk about what Amazon’s doing down there. They completely changed the housing market of the entire city. But those barriers right there are right in alignment with what I’ve began to see throughout my research when dealing with seniors and wanting to provide and a solution for those who don’t have adequate transportation to and from medical appointments. And you know, what you’re providing to a senior is really the ability for them to be self reliant. You know, one of the things I think is the hardest thing for a senior is to give up driving. And I remember the day that we had to go to the doctor’s office and I put it on her doctor, to my mother’s doctor when we had a conversation, that she can’t drive anymore, and I will never forget get the look on her face. It was like taking that last piece of independence away from her. And to have a service like yours that says, you know, you can still be independent, you can pick up the phone and you know we’ll take you to doctor appointments, will take your shopping, will help you get in and out of the vehicles, so you know you don’t have to worry about, you know, walking, especially in these winter months, across an icy parking lot, you know, a different things like that. You have the ability now to make life more self reliant but also safer or seniors, and I think that’s exactly what it is. It’s it provides a safety mechanism to us, well one, because I would imagine you know how mom felt when when the doctor said that you can no longer drive because it’s too hazardous. You can mean there’s there’s a problem that could happen or your health won’t all on your eyesight just doesn’t your reaction time right. So, whatever the case may be, kind of stripping them up that last piece of independence, as you said, but there are services, one in particular and the reason that another reason why we wanted to to create this one. For me now, you know, five years removed from the game of football, how will I can continue to help other people? And my biggest thing and purpose that I’ve found for myself is impact. So what’s my impact? How do I continue to expand my impact? I’ve been on the field, I’ve touched people. I’ve had stories where former military have called and told me personally that I was a part of the reason that they’re still alive because they found a connection to what I was doing on the field to them being in combat. Sure, now there’s so many parallels. It’s and I was, I was blown away by it, and you know now. I mean there have been many times I’ve, you know, spoke to and and had conversations with youth. I coach High School football now. It’s the reason I wanted to take on coaching high school football. But, but, but, providing this this service for transportation for seniors and really those who needed there’s a the safety mechanism that I say that we institute with what we do is very different than what you’ve seen from on demand rides like your Uber and lift, and the difference is is that we really specialize in training our drivers on the people that were serving. Correct. We talked about an aging society and the growing population of baby boomers, dementia training, working with the all timers association. Eventually will partner with the Kidney Foundation of America when we’re able to pick up patients who need to go to dialysis. Right. We’ve had continuous conversations with the American Cancer Society as well, and I think that’s the difference from the from who we are as a transportation company to what you see, what the Ubers in the lifts right, that our drivers have that specialty and sensitivity training for safety, and you know that is such an important piece. And we are talking here today with Jordan Babineaux, former seahawks depend defensive back. Yeah, Jordan back. When did you have? When did you play for the Hawks? So my last season was two thousand and twelve. I came here in too, I’m sorry, two thousand and ten. I came here in two thousand, two thousand and four as an undrafted free agent from Southern Arkansas. What a dream. And we’ve talked about a difference between Arkansas and Seattle and growing up in Texas. You know, we’re from Texas to Arkansas on a first class flight to Seattle as let me say, wow, life is good. You know that’s talked about an appreciation, you know, getting here, but really just an opportunity. You never left Seattle? Yeah, state. Yeah, I mean when I first got here I was I was blown away. I was like what a wonderful city. You know, coming from Texas, where everything’s fight and all spaced out, to Arkansas, where there’s more farmland and and cow pastors that you could smell, to being here and what seemed like every direction was a postcard view. Yeah, you got snow capped mountains, houses on the hill and a lake underneath, and then the people to go with it. So you know, really Seattle is a special place. The seahawks organization also holds a special place because that was the organization that gave me an opportunity. Right, and you did play for a couple other teams, so didn’t you? Well, when I left here in two thousand and ten, after Peek carrol came in here and really clean house after making five hundred thousand, six hundred twenty two million transactions in one year. I know he did what he did half of that in a day. I was shipped out to Tennessee, but there was a lot of familiarity with Tennessee because a lot of the front office that was here in Seattle from home. Grand Yeah, went went and became part of the front office, whether through, you know, an increased roll in the front office. Huh. You know. So there was some familiarity there. And then Nashville itself really kind of very symbolic of seattle. I really, you know, really great light Nashville quite a bit. You know, got a chance to go to the country music awards for the first time. How Fun is that? Yeah, so Nashville. And Nashville’s a great place as well too. So get back to a sure right. What areas do you serve primarily? So, right now, our introduction really came to serving people through an opportunity with the rent and school district. Okay, so education I mentioned as one of those barriers for transportation. What you don’t know or even probably think of, is the kids who live out of district, the kids who have behavioral and learning disabilities that don’t or can’t ride the normal bus rod right. So there was a gap there that I met with the Rent School district and not just renting them. Seattle School district. Their their gap is twice the size of renting and and it’s really throughout really the state of Washington, you know, for us, from the state line the state line. So the gap that we feel there with the rent school district is providing transportation for out of district kids and those who have those disabilities, whether it’s behavioral or learning. And then there’s training there. You know, we spend time with the district as well with understanding the students that will deal with. How do we handle the problems from a referral standpoint to know, you know what the district does in alignment for discipline that we that we can do us well, that’s directly supporting what the what it is and and the the procedures that they have in place. Well, and you know, I want to talk basically about specifically what your service could mean too. Are Not only our seniors but the adult children of seniors. So many of them have to take time off work to take parents to doctors appointments and that, course puts your job in jeopardy oftentimes. I know, for me taking care of my mom, I was gone so much because my mom was in such bad shape I lost my job. Yeah, and that is a real thing. It’s forty percent of adult children lose their jobs over to care of senior loved one. Well, forty percent. It’s caring for another person in itself as a job, right, and really, and that I’ve I’ve met with several caregivers. I’ve met with several case managers as well that that are right in the lament would dealing with the family and really close in that gap of providing the resource, whether be transportation or housing. And so, you know, here’s another here’s an avenue for adult children to take for the care of their parents, right, and and and it’s common. It’s very common because now, now, where we are, we start to see our population and and humans living longer, right, and so it’s easy to see three generations for generations in a single house. Exactly, very easy. It’s easy. I mean that’s like normal now. So again, a sure ride is is that answer. And I think that, you know, really it starts with an opportunity. Right. So people go through, you know, their their vetting process of you know, do we have the right qualifications? Do we have the right timing and what is our insurance based on? Sure ape the ability to provide that for and we’re able to accomplish all of that. That’s awesome. So, Jordan, how do we reach you? Well, there’s plenty of ways to book a ride. You can check out check out our website at a sure ridecom. That website will give you a lot of information about our services and tell you more about the company and how you can book a ride and you’ll see our nice sprinter vance rolling around town sometime. And what’s the phone number that we call? Well’s tool six nine hundred thirty three ninety two. And I tell people we are we like to build trusting relationships with people so they feel great about, you know, US providing that service. That’s great, and the website is ass you are a sure ridecom. Okay, absolutely, Jordan. Thanks so much. All right, thank you for having me. It’s great to talk with you.