HANOVER COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) – A Hanover County organization is helping older adults and those with disabilities get rides to places like work and doctor’s offices.

When Hanover DASH started in 2019, thanks in part to a grant from the Virginia Department of Rail and Transportation, Cynthia Brandon was one of the first people to sign up for a ride.

Hanover County Department of Community Resources senior services specialist Susan Richards helps run Hanover DASH. She remembers the day Brandon signed up to get help from the program.

“I enrolled her the day after we started service, December 13th,” Richards said.

Brandon needs the rides every week to get to her job at the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind.

“It makes it easy on our seniors,” she said. “It was the best thing that ever came to Hanover County.”

There, Brandon gives back to others who have the same devastating diagnosis she got at 56 years old.

“I went blind all of a sudden,” she told 8News in an interview.

She said she went two years without knowing why.

“You’re in the prime of your life. I mean, you’re ready to go with the flow,” she laughed.

Brandon wants to keep the independence she has always had and she said Hanover DASH allows her to do just that.

“Your family, can, you know, get a break from taking you to doctor’s appointments and taking you to the grocery store,” Brandon said.

Brandon gives back to Hanover DASH as a surveyor to make sure clients are happy with the ride service they’re getting.

“If I can give back, then I’m going to. That’s just me,” she smiled.

To learn how to get a ride with Hanover DASH, click here. The rider copay per trip is $6.