A blind and isolated pensioner, whose regular taxi firm said she could no longer use them for her weekly cafe visits, has been saved by a local charity.
Sheila Childs, 70, was upset and confused when Fenay Bridge Taxis ended their arrangement.
But now the Denby Dale Centre has stepped in to ensure she can still make it to her only social outing of the week.
Sheila has signed up to the charity’s ‘Valleys Volunteer Car Service’, which pairs volunteer drivers with isolated elderly people in the Holme Valley, Colne Valley and HD8 areas.
Sheila, who has lived in Kirkburton all her life, thinks her old taxi firm stopped taking her because she needs some assistance getting to and from the car.
But the Valleys Volunteer Car Service caters to disabled people as well and Sheila’s first journey with them - on Tuesday - appears to have gone well.
Sheila said: “The lady was very nice. She helped me as much as I needed.
“They were pleased to see me at the bread shop.”
The Denby Dale Centre has also pointed Sheila in the direction of some of its other services, including a ‘ring and ride’ program and a ‘luncheon club’ where she could meet new friends over food and games.
Sheila is taking things one step at a time, however.
“Definitely it would be nice to meet people,” she said. “At the moment I’m taking it easy though. I don’t want to do it all at once because if I found it difficult I might not want to continue.”
Sheila, who lost most of her sight at the age of 13 following a bout of meningitis, paid £10 to become a member of the Denby Dale Centre and gain access to all of their services for a year. £10 was the amount Sheila had agreed to pay a new taxi firm to take her on the 3 minute journey to her local cafe.
Paul Jones, Chief Officer of Denby Dale Centre, said: “Our new members tell us that they feel their health improves by 40% and happiness improves by 30%; I do hope we can achieve a similar story for Sheila and I look forward to keeping in touch with her as we continue to provide services for her.
“Our current mission is to recruit new volunteer drivers, who drive their own cars, across the rural areas of Kirklees.”
One such new recruit signed up after reading Sheila’s story in the Examiner.
Geoff Wilson is currently in the process of joining the Valleys Volunteer Car Services and is likely to become one of the drivers helping Sheila to the cafe each week.
