Our most recent clients demonstrate the inescapable connection between personal transportation and physical health. A community can have the best doctors, nurses, and hospital facilities in the world, but if patients can’t get to those medical providers because they lack transportation, it’s all for naught.
Ruby in her new Corolla, excited for new-found independence.
Ruby, our 127th client, lives in rural Burleson county ten miles from Caldwell, her nearest town. She lives down a dirt road in an isolated home. While her income can support her basic needs, it is not enough to buy a car. As a result, she has to walk miles to get to town, or pay an exorbitant amount for a ride-share such as Uber. This severely limits her access to medical care, and could be life-threatening in the case of an emergency. Fortunately, Ruby had a good friend in her advocate, Mary, who works with a ministry called Fishes and Loaves that has delivered supplemental groceries to Ruby every other week for years. Mary saw how lack of transportation threatened Ruby’s health, and made simple tasks like getting to the grocery store incredibly difficult. So with Mary’s compelling nomination, OnRamp donated a Corolla to Ruby to ensure she has access to the medical care, grocery store, and community services that make like possible.
Cassidy and Rami tag-teamed to give this sweet Toyota to our 128th client.
Our 128th client, whose identity we’re keeping private, is a young single mom who was diagnosed last year with a debilitating, incurable illness. She works hard, is well-organized, and had proven self-sufficient as she cared for her child, began treatment, and held down a job. But the wheels came off when her high-mileage car broke down shortly after her diagnosis. Without reliable transportation, she had no way to get to work, school, church, or to medical appointments. Fortunately, we were able to donate a reliable Toyota to her, restoring her independence and self-sufficiency as she faces this significant medical challenge.
Health policy scholars have long documented that lack of transportation is a barrier to employment opportunities, access to healthcare, and access to safety-net social services, particularly for poor single mothers and older adults. OnRamp aims to meet this need throughout the Brazos Valley so that our neighbors can experience better health in 2023 regardless of their income level.
Totally unrelated but fun update: our first-ever OnRamp office is coming along nicely! I can already feel my productivity rising thanks to triple screens, new dry erase board, spotify chillhop, and Stirling Moss/917 inspiration :-)
