AFTER losing her sister in a car crash in 2020, a local woman is doing her best to make sure other people don\u2019t go through her experience.<\/p>\n
Tiffany Willoughby offering her time, and car, as a designated driver for vulnerable women throughout the city to help get them home safe and well.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe was a statistic on the road, not from drinking, but she went out with friends and ended up in a car accident,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I\u2019ve heard so many stories about women being spiked or not having a way home, having to wait or just having unpleasant experiences with taxis or Ubers.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, I thought this would be a nice offering for the community.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since putting her plan on Ballarat Facebook community pages about three months ago, Ms Willoughby has driven four strangers home from venues across town.<\/p>\n
With bottled water provided, Ms Willoughby said she\u2019s had no problem building a rapport with her passengers.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost as if they\u2019re hopping into a friend\u2019s car,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
So far her offer has been taken up on weekends, although Ms Willoughby said she\u2019s available \u201cwhenever.\u201d<\/p>\n
As a way of expanding the community service, she said she\u2019s aims to get a second mobile and will make the number public to be more accessible.<\/p>\n
Ms Willoughby\u2019s acts as a designated driver for free, and with her job as an elderly support worker with a local social service provider, she said she\u2019s always had a focus to help others.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been a really rewarding experience, and it goes without saying the importance that at least someone has offered this, that it\u2019s there for you to take,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s late hours, 1am or 2am, but you get to know the people in your town. I tell them I don\u2019t expect any fuel money or anything from them.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just want to know that they\u2019re getting home safely and that they don\u2019t become another statistic.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AFTER losing her sister in a car crash in 2020, a local woman is doing her best to make sure other people don\u2019t go through her experience. Tiffany Willoughby offering her time, and car, as a designated driver for vulnerable women throughout the city to help get them home safe and well. \u201cShe was a […]<\/p>\n