Silver Key Seeks Community Support for Transportation Crisis: Rides for Older Adults at Risk
The Abram and Ray Kaplan Foundation matches donations up to $50,000 to offset shortfall
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | September 16, 2026
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – For an older adult, a ride can mean getting to dialysis, buying groceries, attending worship, visiting a loved one’s gravesite, participating in the community, or simply staying connected to the people, places and routines that give life meaning.
At Silver Key, all those rides matter in the Journey of Aging.
Beginning in January 2027, Silver Key is preparing for a significant reduction in transportation funding totaling approximately $36,000 per month — an annualized impact of $432,000.
The loss will place even greater pressure on a transportation system already unable to meet current community demand.
Silver Key’s Reserve & Ride program provides approximately 34,000 rides annually to more than 1,500 older adults, connecting people to physicians, dialysis and other healthcare appointments as well as grocery stores, food resources, community activities, places of worship and other destinations that support independence and connection.
“At Silver Key, we believe a ride is never just a ride,” said Jason DeaBueno, President and CEO of Silver Key. “A ride to dialysis protects someone’s health. A ride to the grocery store protects independence. A ride that allows someone to remain connected protects belonging. We believe all three matter in the Journey of Aging.”
That philosophy reflects Silver Key’s broader approach to aging: health cannot be neatly separated into medical and nonmedical needs. Transportation, nutrition, housing, behavioral health, social connection and access to care all influence whether an older adult can continue living safely and independently in the community.
Public health research reinforces that connection. The U.S. Surgeon General has reported that insufficient social connection can increase the risk of premature death to levels comparable with smoking as many as 15 cigarettes per day.
“For too long, we have treated the ride to the doctor as essential and the ride that keeps someone connected to their community as optional,” DeaBueno said. “Silver Key does not believe aging works that way. Connection is health. Independence is health. Belonging matters.”
Silver Key’s transportation model also serves older adults whose mobility needs require more than a traditional ride. Trained staff provide assisted transportation for individuals using wheelchairs, walkers, oxygen and other supportive devices. Volunteer drivers are an invaluable part of the program, but they cannot replace the trained staff, accessible vehicles and operating infrastructure required to safely serve individuals with more complex needs.
Demand already far exceeds available capacity. Over the past year alone, Silver Key was unable to accommodate more than 5,000 requested rides because available drivers, vehicles and resources could not keep pace with community need.
The January 2027 funding reduction therefore does not create a new transportation challenge. It deepens an existing gap between the transportation older adults need and the resources available to provide it.
A Community Challenge — and a Community Opportunity
The Abram and Ray Kaplan Foundation has stepped forward with a $50,000 challenge grant to help Silver Key respond to the projected shortfall and encourage others to join the effort.
Silver Key is calling on foundations, businesses, healthcare partners, donors and community members to help meet the challenge and protect transportation access for older adults while the organization develops a more sustainable model for the future.
Community support will help preserve transportation capacity while Silver Key develops new partnerships, explores service-model innovations and diversifies the resources needed for long-term sustainability.
“This is bigger than replacing a funding source,” DeaBueno said. “The Abram and Ray Kaplan Foundation has given our community an opportunity to decide what we value. Older adults need access to medical care, but they also deserve the opportunity to remain connected, independent and part of the community they helped build.”
Silver Key’s goal is not simply to preserve today’s transportation model. It is to build one capable of meeting the future needs of a rapidly aging community while protecting what matters most: health, independence and connection.
Silver Key serves more than 11,000 older adults annually through an integrated continuum of services.
34,000 rides provided. More than 5,000 additional rides we could not accommodate. A projected $432,000 annual funding gap. And a $50,000 challenge inviting our community to help shape what comes next.
Because ultimately, the destination is only part of the journey.
Aging Is All of Us.
About Silver Key
Since 1970, Silver Key has worked alongside older adults throughout the Pikes Peak region to support independence, health, dignity and connection. Through transportation, nutrition, health and wellness, behavioral health, housing, community navigation and other services, Silver Key helps ensure older adults have the resources and relationships they need throughout their Journey of Aging.
Media Contact:
Jacqeline Forrest
Director of Marketing and Communications
jforrest@silverkey.org
(719) 884-2325
Silver Key
1625 S. Murray Blvd.
Colorado Springs, CO 80916
(79) 884-2300
