NEXT Village SF is anti-isolation. We helps seniors to age in place by providing volunteer support for things like help with grocery shopping, carrying groceries up to their apartment, rides to the doctor, physical therapy, companionship, etc. We also work to reduce isolation by hosting 80 social, cultural, and educational events each year. We would like to front load our LYFT fund so that we can say YES to whatever our members want, instead of sticking to transportation requests that are connected to a medical event.

We have 250 members- 80% live alone, less than 2% drive. Your world just gets smaller and smaller when walking downhill to catch a bus is no longer feasible for you, or walking that big hill home, or when you feel like it's not ok to ask for a ride to go somewhere that seems unnecessary. Last year we provided 216 rides... a challenging thing to do in SF. (It's a mystery... There are so many cars, and so few drivers). We created a first in the nation partnership with LYFT so that we could arrange friendly rides when we cannot find a driver. The majority of our members do not yet have smart phones, and therefore, can't participate in the online sharing economy. Since LYFT is an app, we contact LYFT, speak to the driver so they know we would like them to show a little extra TLC, and pay for the ride and the tip.

We want seniors to be able to go where they want to go when they want to go. We don't think it's unreasonable to ask for a lift to Macy's to window shop, or to go to your favorite grocery store instead of the corner one because your favorite is too far to walk.