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Community Corner

Senior Transportation Program Up, Running, And Appreciated

A Malden senior has been among the first to test out the Mystic Valley Elder Services TRIP Metro North program, and it's working out well for her and her driver.

Article and photos written and provided by Erin Kate Ryan of Mystic Valley Elder Services

Virginia, an 89-year-old Malden resident, visited her good friend of nearly 70 years just last month. It was the first time Virginia had seen Ellie in nearly a year, because Ellie lives in a nursing home 10 miles away and Virginia doesn’t drive.

Seven decades couldn’t separate these friends, but just 10 miles could. That is, until Buck, a Stoneham resident, stepped up to be Virginia’s TRIP driver and to help her get where she needs to go: the doctor, the market, and to see her oldest friend.

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Virginia and Buck were among the first participants in the new program from Mystic Valley Elder Services.  Together, the two of them keep track of her mileage, and at the end of each month, the TRIP program sends Virginia a reimbursement check so that she can give something back to Buck.

 

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Keeping seniors connected...

“It’s piece of mind for me,” says Virginia. Together, Virginia and Buck have also worked together to get Virginia to various medical appointments. There are no limitations to how elders can use the TRIP program: they are free to make plans with their drivers to go anywhere they need to go, including family visits, out to lunch, to the beauty salon or barbershop, to houses of worship, or out shopping.

The TRIP program is open to adults 60 years and older and adults with disabilities who are not drivers, who are not eligible for The Ride, and who live in Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, or Wakefield. There’s no requirement that drivers live in those cities or towns.

Through the TRIP program, participants make arrangements with friends, neighbors, or other folks interested in helping out (including relatives, in some special cases) to drive them where they need to go. TRIP is a one-on-one program: the passenger and driver make their own schedule. However, TRIP participants are also welcome to work with more than one driver at a time, if that’s what suits their needs.

 

...and engaged. 

Meanwhile, for Virginia and Buck, the rides have become more than simple driver/passenger transactions. Virginia has enjoyed pleasant telephone chats with Buck’s wife when she calls to make arrangements for rides, and Buck looks forward to the nice conversations he shares with Virginia during their travels.  Buck is involved in community theatre, and Virginia has begun promoting his dramatic efforts within her building. She also hopes to attend a play once the weather becomes milder. “He helps me and I help him,” she says.

For more information about qualifying for TRIP Metro North, call (781) 324-7705.

Mystic Valley Elder Services provides key resources, support, and information to elders, adults living with disabilities, and caregivers living in Everett, Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, and Wakefield. More information can be found at www.mves.org.

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