SOLANA BEACH, Calif. (KGTV) \u2013 A new pilot program in Solana Beach is helping senior citizens who have started to give up driving a new chance to get around town.<\/p>\n
Rae Klien, who lives in Solana Beach and is about to turn 97 in August, sometimes needs help getting from place to place.<\/p>\n
\u201cBecause I have macular degeneration,\u00a0I’m very sensitive to glare\u00a0that I’m really not secure driving,\u201d Klien said. \u201cI would maybe drive as far as Trader Joe’s and Encinitas,\u00a0and that’s it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Klien doesn\u2019t have to worry about getting to things like her physical therapy appointment.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It’s thanks to a new program in Solana Beach<\/a> that launched in June, according to the City of Solana Beach.<\/p>\n \u201cThey provide rides to the pharmacy,\u00a0to shopping,\u00a0to medical appointments,\u00a0and pretty much anywhere\u00a0somebody needs to go,\u201d Maureen Glaser, Director of Transportation Operations-On the Go, Jewish Family Services of San Diego, said. \u201cOur older adults in Solana Beach, as they start to give up driving for whatever reason.\u00a0It may be medical, it may be just it’s time to get off\u00a0the road; that sort of decision is often\u00a0has a lot of emotion with it like,\u00a0am I going to be a burden to my friends and family asking them for rides,\u201d Glaser said.<\/p>\n Glaser says their On The Go program gives free rides for seniors here in Solana Beach and in 50 other zip codes through volunteers.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ali Pearlman has been volunteering her time to give Klien a ride from time to time.<\/p>\n \u201cThe very first pickup\u00a0that I met Rae,\u00a0she got in my car and I accidentally opened up the\u00a0front, because a lot of the times they sit in the back, and she sat down and we just started talking as if\u00a0we have known each other our entire lives,\u201d Pearlman said.<\/p>\n The two have formed this special relationship during these rides.<\/p>\n \u201cI can’t tell you\u00a0how I feel about All Perlman. It,\u00a0it’s like manna from heaven finding a volunteer like that that just sort of\u00a0latches on to you and just makes herself available,\u201d Klien said.<\/p>\n
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Jewish Family Services and its On The Go program<\/a> partnered with the City of Solana Beach on the transportation pilot program.<\/p>\n