Need a lift?

Kevin Lacosse drives people to and from medical appointments, banks and grocery stores for free, but he insists he’s the one who gets the real lift.

Lacosse has been volunteering for Interfaith Caregivers of Ozaukee County for a year and loves it.

“I get back way more than I put in,” he said.

The 70-year-old Port Washington resident does what he calls “concierge service” multiple times per week.

“Every run that I do, it’s like I’m on a date. I go up to the door, say hello, introduce myself,” he said.

He parks the Interfaith Caregivers van as close to the entrance as possible, and under any kind of overhang he can find when it’s raining or snowing, then puts down the ramp if the client uses a wheelchair.

“You do everything you can to make them safe,” he said.

Sometimes he sits in the waiting room with clients or helps with grocery shopping.

“I know the Sendik’s in Mequon and Piggly Wiggly in Cedarburg quite well. I know where everything is,” he said.

When clients don’t need Lacosse to come into their homes, he listens to medical industry podcasts or talks to his adult children on the phone as he waits for passengers.

When dropping clients off, Lacosse makes sure they get back inside their homes and often helps carry in groceries.

“Making sure your date’s dad is happy, that’s how I look at it. The way the group’s charter is set up they’re able to provide more services like that,” he said, as opposed to Ozaukee County’s Shared Ride Taxi, which is a door-to-door service only.

Volunteering is in Lacosse’s genes and has always been in his plans. His stepfather volunteered at St. Vincent de Paul for years and his mother worked at clinics in the Manitowoc area where the family lived.

Lacosse recalls his mother’s advice: “If you have a chance to do something good, do it.”

Interfaith Caregivers turned out to be the perfect match for the Port Washington resident who retired a few years ago after a 45-year career in the medical industry.

Lacosse found the organization by chance. He tried Meals on Wheels, which wanted to hire him instead of having him volunteer, and he visited the Food Pantry Inc. in Port Washington. Someone there suggested Interfaith Caregivers.

“I was really impressed with their onboarding process. Organizationally, they’re very competent. They know the job to be done. They’ve got a tough job to do — the demographic of people who volunteer, it’s all old people. That brings its own set of challenges,” Lacosse said.

“And the people creating their revenue stream do a great job because they offer the service at no charge. People who are homebound and shut-ins are on very limited income — so being able to go places and not have it cost a lot of money is a terrific thing. Those things really helped me make my decision to go with Interfaith.”

It doesn’t hurt that Lacosse lives half a mile from the Ozaukee County Highway Department, one of the spots where the organization parks its vans.

“It couldn’t be more convenient for me,” he said.

Lacosse makes his own schedule, usually making trips on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays since his wife has off on Tuesdays and Wednesdays from her dog training business in Grafton.

“They put no pressure on anybody. You can do as much or as little as you like,” Lacosse said.

The dynamic during trips is a little different than when Lacosse worked full time as an application specialist for X-ray machines and in X-ray machine sales for GE HealthCare, often traveling the country and world.

“Usually I’m used to carrying the conversation. Now, there are a couple of key phrases and people just take off. They’re just talking nonstop,” he said. “They’re at home watching TV, there’s not a lot of excitement in their life. They get to go out, meet somebody.”

Lacosse always calls to confirm appointments and often talks to clients’ children who set their parents’ schedules. Once he was told one of his regulars passed away.

“It kinda hit me a little harder than I thought it would,” he said.

Lacosse’s background in medicine molds his approach to clients.

During demonstrations of X-ray machines, Lacosse fielded questions from CEOs, surgeons and physicists, as well as radiologists who knew technical details on equipment giving orthopedic surgeons live views of operations such as putting someones ankle back together with screws.

“I’ve always liked physics, so that helped me,” he said.

Lacosse also interacted with many engineers.

“They have this fabulous complex mind. Unfortunately, God didn’t see fit to give them many social skills,” he said. “There’s a price for everything. If you can do advanced calculus, you might have some problems with small talk.”

Lacosse has been blessed with the gift of gab and empathy, which he applies to clients.

“I treat people exactly the same as I did in the hospital,” he said.

When he was trained by operating room staff, “they said you comport yourself exactly as if your mother was on the table. I do the same thing here. I look at it as absolutely anything I can do to make them more comfortable.”

It’s not the only similarity between the Lacosse’s career and volunteering.

“You’re spending your day helping people. That was incredibly rewarding,” he said. “That was one of the aspects of being in health care. You’re making money, sure, but when it comes down to it, you’re helping people.”

Interfaith Caregivers has about 120 volunteers, about 90% of whom are drivers, Executive Director Paul Schultz said. The others do friendly phone calls to check on people.

The organization does fundraising mailers in spring and fall, and it receives funding through a Federal Transit Administration and through AmeriCorps, but the latter is on hold as the federal government determines its future.

Interfaith Caregivers has about 325 clients in the county, a number that is consistently growing.

“Our goal is to keep people in their own home,” Schultz said.

Statistics, he said, show that longevity increases when people are able to live somewhere they’re familiar with.

“Nobody wants to remember their grandparents or parents in a nursing home to celebrate their anniversary or birthday,” he said.

For more information or to become a volunteer, visit www.interfaithozaukee.org.