It was never just a ride. I learned about their lives; they learned about mine.
Helen Lehrer’s husband, Harold, worked until he was 80 years old. By then, his Parkinson’s disease had advanced, and he was also forced to stop driving. The couple had health aides helping them out at home, but after Harold fell in the bathtub, they realized he needed skilled nursing care around the clock.
Helen drove every day from Port Chester, where the couple lived, to visit him at United Hebrew of New Rochelle where he had moved. But, as time went on, and as she, too, was elderly, she began to lose confidence behind the wheel. The year was 2011 when Helen made the difficult decision to stop driving. Her family pitched in. Her two adult sons (one in White Plains, the other in Croton-on-Hudson) took turns driving her to visit their father.
This was also about the time that Helen learned about TRA, a newly created service providing free volunteer rides to medical appointments, and referral services to older adults and adults with vision impairment. With its focus on rides to medical appointments, TRA wasn’t able to bring Helen on her daily visits to visit Harold at United Hebrew. But founder Catherine Wynkoop referred Helen to Westchester County’s Paratransit service and assisted with completing all of the required paperwork. At the same time, Helen began using TRA to get to her own medical and dental appointments.
“If Catherine hadn’t helped, I don’t know what I would have done,” recalls Helen. “I would have had to ask my children, who had their own busy lives, or pay for expensive taxis. With TRA, I had someone to depend on.”
An essential service — and so much more
For the next few years, Helen depended on TRA volunteers to drive her to essential medical and dental visits on a weekly basis. She decided to sell the nine-room Port Chester home where she and Harold raised their children, and applied for housing on United Hebrew’s campus, where new senior independent living apartments were being built. It was a chaotic time, according to Helen. She was packing up 25 years’ worth of belongings while continuing to visit Harold daily. Throughout it all, TRA continued to help.
“I actually loved going to the doctor because of the people volunteering to drive me,” Helen explains. “It was never just a ride. I learned about their lives, they learned about mine. Our conversations picked up where we left off the week before. It was really something.”
She shared stories of her days as a makeup artist and stylist for Broadway shows in New York City. (She says he helped keep all the female leads’ hair in the 1948 musical “Up in Central Park” in just the right shade of red.) She also told tales from her years as a receptionist to the president of Manhattanville College. For her part, Helen heard stories of her drivers’ marriages, children, and professional lives.
“Everyone has a story to tell,” Helen notes. “The drivers, they listen because they really care about you.”
Helen says she was especially struck by the kindness permeating the organization. One week, she had an approaching appointment scheduled but TRA had not yet secured a ride for her. Call Center Director Ibrahim Abdallah called her and said he’d found a ride. She asked him who would be driving her and was surprised to find out it was he.
“I was amazed. If they can’t find a ride, the staff steps in to fulfill it themselves. They had their own busy lives, but they found time to help me!”
Sadly, Helen’s husband died just one month before she moved into her new apartment. They’d enjoyed a 70-year marriage, filled with interesting friends and travels, including trips to Italy, Israel, and Alaska. In the five years since he’s passed, Helen says she’s made wonderful new friends in her building and enjoyed her continued relationship with TRA.
Helen is now 94 and it is harder for her to walk. She’s grateful for the service TRA provides, which allows her to have safe, convenient, and door-to-door service to her medical appointments. She’s “extraordinarily thankful” for the compassion of the organization’s staff and volunteers. When she hasn’t called in a while to request a ride, the staff calls to check in on her health and well-being.
To show her appreciation for her volunteer drivers, “who won’t accept my tips,” she says, she brings sweet treats to express her gratitude. When she found out one of her drivers preferred healthier fare, she swapped chocolates for almonds. She’s made her own donations to the organization.
“They’re such wonderful people. They treat me so nicely, even when they have their own issues to deal with. What would I do without TRA? I’d have to pay for expensive taxi rides with strangers. But instead I have met these lovely, lovely people.”
TRA is urgently in need of more drivers to help people like Helen get to critical medical appointments. Will you join us? Here’s how.
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