New Ride Program for Seniors Who Can't Drive

Submitted by Mystic Valley Elder Services.

Mystic Valley Elder Services, an agency serving elders and adults living with disabilities in Melrose and seven other cities/town, is collaborating with the to unveil a new program to help elders get where they need to go, even if they can no longer drive.

Through the TRIP Metro North program, Melrose seniors and adults with disabilities make their own arrangements with drivers, whether they be friends, neighbors, acquaintances, or in some special cases, relatives. Participants in TRIP can have their drivers take them anywhere they want to go, including to medical appointments, out shopping, and to social events. The drivers work together with their passengers to keep track of the mileage they use.  At the end of each month, TRIP Metro North reimburses the drivers for the number of miles they have driven.

“Transportation to shopping and important medical appointments is a critical need for seniors and adults with disabilities in Melrose who cannot drive themselves,” says TRIP program specialist Annie Kirsch.  “Mystic Valley Elder Services specifically developed TRIP Metro North to help meet this demand.”

“TRIP is such a positive step forward in the transportation struggle seniors face because it harkens back to the way things used to be - with neighbors helping one another to keep people from feeling isolated and alone,” says Dawn Folopoulos, executive director of the Melrose Council on Aging. 

She adds, “With TRIP, people have the comfort of riding with someone they know to do their errands or visit friends whenever it's convenient for them.”

TRIP Metro North is available to elders and adults with disabilities living in Melrose who don't drive, don’t qualify for The Ride, and have no other transportation.  (The program is also open to elders and adults with disabilities who reside in Everett, Malden, Medford, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, and Wakefield.) For more information about qualifying for TRIP Metro North, call (781) 324-7705.

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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.