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A free ride can be the difference between making an appointment and missing it. Danny’s Ride is a nonprofit started by a Pennsylvania mother after her son died while in recovery.
The organization has now provided more than 100,000 free rides to people going to addiction treatment, medical appointments, work and recovery meetings across four states.
According to WFMZ the service uses rideshare companies such as Uber and Lyft. People can use the rides to get to outpatient appointments medical care work job interviews or AA meetings.
The idea is pretty simple. If a ride helps someone stay on track with recovery it counts.
How Danny’s Ride Works
Health care professionals arrange the rides for patients. A counselor case manager or someone on a clinic team can set up the trip.
That can take one more task off someone’s plate during a difficult part of recovery. The list of destinations is also important. Danny’s Ride doesn’t only cover trips to treatment.
Someone might need a ride to an outpatient appointment one day and a job interview the next. Another person may need to get to work or make it to a medical appointment.
Those things can have a direct effect on recovery. Missing a job interview can make it harder to stay housed. Missing a medical appointment can create another problem on top of addiction.
Why Nancy Knobel Started It
Nancy Knobel started Danny’s Ride after the death of her son Danny. Danny was in recovery when he died after taking kratom.
After his death, people who knew him kept telling Knobel about how willing he was to give other people rides.
She decided to build something around that part of his character. Ten years later Danny’s Ride operates in Pennsylvania New Jersey Rhode Island and North Carolina.
Knobel told WFMZ that she felt something good had to come from the loss. Starting the organization could never replace her son but helping other people gave her a way to honor him.
100,000 Rides and Counting
The 100,000-ride milestone shows how much transportation can matter during recovery.
A person can have a treatment appointment and still miss it if they can’t get there. The same problem comes up with work medical care and recovery meetings.
Danny’s Ride works through partner providers who refer patients. That makes the service available to people who may otherwise have trouble paying for transportation.
It also points to a larger issue with treatment costs. A program may be affordable on paper but still be out of reach if someone can’t afford the trip there.
How to Get a Free Ride
Health care professionals arrange Danny’s Ride trips. If you’re in treatment or looking for treatment in one of the four states it serves, ask your counselor, case manager or clinic whether the service is available in your area.
Danny’s Ride also accepts donations to help keep the rides free. The organization has a website along with Facebook and LinkedIn pages where people can learn more.
If Danny’s Ride isn’t available where you live there are other places to check. Ask a treatment provider about Medicaid non-emergency medical transportation. You can also call 211 or ask local recovery organizations about transportation assistance.
Finding Affordable Treatment
Transportation is only one part of the problem. Treatment costs can be another.
Rehabs.org lists free and low-cost addiction treatment programs across the country. Some accept Medicaid while others offer sliding-scale fees or receive public funding.
Call
800-914-7089
(
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to ask about free and low-cost addiction treatment in your state and transportation options that may help you get there.
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