Most residents of Hastings move freely around town as needed, to those who have that freedom, it is part of everyday life. Those who have transportation challenges understand how important the ability to get around can be, especially for appointments and basic shopping needs. For many, losing that basic ability is borderline demeaning and certainly contributes to depression and loneliness. The Hastings community stepped up in a huge way to help mitigate those issues.
The bus is a brand new, 12-14 passenger bus, depending on the configuration that is needed at the time. There are eight permanent seats plus the driver with spots for up to four wheelchairs. Two of the wheelchair spots also have fold down seats to allow four more able bodied riders and still have two wheelchair spots.
“We expected this to take two years, and it would have to be a used bus,” said an emotional Anna Amy, Director of Housing with Cassia. “But, thanks to this amazing community, we were able to get it done in about a year and it is brand new.”
The bus, which had all of 1,300 miles on it, has been in use for about a month at the Cassia location in Hastings. VFW Post 1210 was one of several donors and they had the opportunity to get a close up look at the new tool serving seniors and veterans at Cassia.
“Cassia’s quest for a new bus was brought to the VFW,” explained Post Commander Mark Gelhar. “The VFW is all in on Veterans and Community, and we knew this was both since there are about a dozen veterans living at the home. A bus for all the residents was good for the Community, so it was a perfect fit. It will help local businesses because now they have reliable transportation to take residents shopping and sightseeing.”
Mayor Mary Fasbender stopped by to bring treats to the veterans during their normal Saturday morning gathering, but ended up with a surprise of her own, an up-close tour of Cassia’s new bus.
“I was not expecting this, but I stopped down to give the veterans some treats for Christmas, and lo and behold, there was Cassia Health and Senior Living’s, new bus, and I was so fortunate to be able to see it. It's so lovely to be able to see this in our community, driving around, knowing that there are seniors being transported to doctor appointments or the grocery store or whatever, or just viewing our beautiful community,” said Fasbender.
The new bus is a welcome addition to the Hastings Cassia facility located at 930 16th St. West and with it, the residents are excited to have the ability to get around town more often for whatever they need.