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Ruth Sullivan got an early Christmas present when she stopped into a health clinic at her housing complex recently.
In addition to having her blood pressure checked, Sullivan was handed 25 $1 vouchers for taxi rides of her choice. An initiative of the Haverhill’s Breakfast Exchange Club, Happy Rides program seeks to break down social isolation and promote social connection by offering low-income seniors the trip vouchers which they can use for what they like.
“For an older adult to get out of the house to go shopping, get a haircut, go to church or have dinner with friends when they feel like it makes such an impact,” said club member Bonnie Sisson, noting the Happy Rides program restores independence, dignity and choice for older adults
In its most recent distribution, the club gave out 15 packs of the fun trip voucher at the American Hellenic Educational Progressive Association’s apartment complex on Buttonwoods Avenue during a Haverhill Council on Aging blood pressure clinic. Sisson said Happy Rides vouchers are one of several initiatives the service club sponsors in the Greater Haverhill community. The club partners with the Council on Aging, which manages the taxi voucher program.
Sullivan said she is planning to use a few of her vouchers for a shopping trip. The vouchers, she said, were “like receiving little Christmas presents.”