RIDE Program
rides provided last year
5
clients on the waitlist
5
free roundtrip rides per month
1
JFS Orlando’s RIDE (Reliable Independent Drivers for the Elderly) Program provides round-trip rides to vital medical, grocery, and other essential appointments for qualifying, low-income seniors or disabled adults. This in turn increases independence, promotes well-being, and improves access to healthcare. Program participants are entitled to two free roundtrip rides per month within a ten-mile radius of their residence. The program is for Orange and Seminole County residents only.
Client Impact Statements
Janice lives in senior living apartments and is on a tight budget. She doesn’t have a car anymore and was struggling to find reliable and affordable transportation to her doctor appointments. But one day, JFS Orlando's RIDE (Reliable Independent Drivers for the Elderly) Coordinator visited her apartment complex to offer the program to residents. Janice was so grateful! She said, “It was a gift from God. It saved our lives.”
Participating in the RIDE program for a few years really helped Janice stay on budget and still receive the vital care she needed. However, money soon got even tighter due to recent family financial trouble. Janice needed to find other ways to alleviate her situation. Luckily, she found out that, in addition to the service she already received, JFS Orlando also had a food pantry that could help her. “This is my first time at the Pantry, but I plan to use it again. I’m so grateful we could come here to get food!”
Participating in the RIDE program for a few years really helped Janice stay on budget and still receive the vital care she needed. However, money soon got even tighter due to recent family financial trouble. Janice needed to find other ways to alleviate her situation. Luckily, she found out that, in addition to the service she already received, JFS Orlando also had a food pantry that could help her. “This is my first time at the Pantry, but I plan to use it again. I’m so grateful we could come here to get food!”
“I don’t drive. Never have,” says Ken. “My step-dad tried to teach me when I was young. The stick shift jammed, and the truck lunged out of control, and hit a tree. I walked away telling myself that I didn’t need that aggravation, and I never got back behind the wheel. I always lived in a city with bus transportation, or I walked.”
Ken and Merry Bell have always been independent. Both worked in the hospitality industry, Ken as a maintenance man and Merry a housekeeper. Their marriage, now 28 years strong, blended two households of one son and one daughter each. One of their sons moved to Orlando, they followed and moved into the Kinneret apartments.
Merry’s illness has left her weak and needs a wheelchair, which is very difficult for bus transportation. Their insurance allows reimbursement for 4 roundtrips to doctor appointments, but Merry needs to go often to multiple doctors.
“If we didn’t have the RIDE program, we would have to change doctors, or not go at all. We like the drivers. They are very courteous and show up on time. They give us a text when they are outside the apartment building and we come on down. This is very helpful so we don’t have to wait around downstairs.”
Ken and Merry Bell have always been independent. Both worked in the hospitality industry, Ken as a maintenance man and Merry a housekeeper. Their marriage, now 28 years strong, blended two households of one son and one daughter each. One of their sons moved to Orlando, they followed and moved into the Kinneret apartments.
Merry’s illness has left her weak and needs a wheelchair, which is very difficult for bus transportation. Their insurance allows reimbursement for 4 roundtrips to doctor appointments, but Merry needs to go often to multiple doctors.
“If we didn’t have the RIDE program, we would have to change doctors, or not go at all. We like the drivers. They are very courteous and show up on time. They give us a text when they are outside the apartment building and we come on down. This is very helpful so we don’t have to wait around downstairs.”
