Cultivating connections to help seniors and people with disabilities age and thrive at home.
Harvey Castro lead a spirit workshop at Ruth’s Table followed by a walk around the Mission to capture some of the images on cell phones or tablets, followed by a session upon their return on how to share the photos with others. This is such a fun idea that we are planning another session in other neighborhoods, including a Photowalk in the Chinese community. Stay tuned to our newsletter for. more information.
One of the earliest contributors to the Community Living Campaign was Judy Auda, who passed away on May 25 after a long struggle following a major stroke. We want to celebrate her works with us and with a number of community organizations along the way. For CLC, she helped ran our first computer training program, developed our annual events, created the Seeds of Hope Garden party journey, and organized several City Hall events for us with support from the Dept. of Disability and Aging, including the Alzeheimers and Dementia Summit, the Health Aging Summit, and the Aging and Disability and Technology Summit. Plus so many fun activities and adventures along the way. There were civic events that she helped organize and some mementos are included in the slide show below. Judy was always a kid at heart and was gifted in terms of thinking up fun community events for kids young and old. Think of the fun event with balloons, the “belly laugh”, and kites flown from hilltops across the city. She organized 49 Night at the SF Zoo, the 50 year anniversary at Fort Mason and it USO club. She helped organize the Golden Gate Bride Centennial with a special plaza to mark the opening of the Golden Gate Bridge. And because we wanted to be fun like Judy, we stood on street corners across the City and all sang the San Francisco song that Jeanette MacDonald made famous at the appointed time. And oh yes, there was the Pacific Ha, an organized minute of laughter that stretched the length of the West Coast. Her imagination and attention to detail made her our pied piper for community engagement and we’re not sure what we will do without her.
Thanks to the Coalition of Agencies Serving the Elderly (CASE) and support from the Department of Disability and Aging Services, a series of articles that highlight how 8 organizations transformed to meet the needs of their participants once the Pandemic changed all our lives. Judy Goddess was commissioned to interview each organization and write a short narrative with pictures to tell the story of how each organization “pivoted” their programming and their outreach during Covid.
Read about CLC here as well as all of the organizations profiled.
Ms. Taylor has been such a strong and committed leader to San Francisco, with a history of excellent work in other communities through out her life. Ms. Taylor fought hard to stay with us, but her time on this plain ended. Her obituary that includes her life of service and advocacy for justice here.
Not long ago, Judy Goddess did the interview with Beverly which is posted on the Senior Beat Website.
And an interview from 2020 with Beverly where she talk about growing up at https://vimeo.com/682932784
For yet another year, and perhaps a year when needed most, the communities gathered in the Bayview, OMI, and at the City College Parking lot to distribute more than 5,600 turkeys and bags of groceries to seniors and families across their communities. The events in the OMI, Bayview, and Park Merced on December 8 were organized by the CLC Food Networks, lead by Deb Glen and Chester Williams, with great support for turkeys and fixing from Glide. The CLC teams have been meeting weekly throughout the pandemic without missing a beat to bring healthy food and staples to over 230 households with older adults and adults with disabilities. The Feeding 5000 event at the City College parking lot was organized by the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) in partnership with the San Francisco African American Faith-Based Coalition and other local community-based organizations hosted a holiday giveaway event called “Feeding 5000” on December 11 via a drive-through service at City College of San Francisco with strict COVID-19 safety procedures in place.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, one in four San Francisco residents were at risk of hunger due to income shortage. With an increased number of residents out of work, the number of people struggling to afford enough nutritious food is also increasing and the City’s nonprofit partners have reported a surge in demand for food. In this effort, SFDPH is joined by
This collaborative effort
The sixth annual Good Neighbor Award Event brought us together to celebrate the kindness and good work of some special neighbors. If you missed the event or just want to relive, you can view the video of Good Neighbor Summer activities , meet the first round of honorees and the second round of honorees. Or gosh, just sit back and view the event in it entirety.
SAN FRANCISCO REGIONAL FORUM SPOTLIGHTS URGENT NEED TO ADDRESS CRISIS IN HOMELESSNESS FOR SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
October 27, 2021
The CA Master Plan for Aging San Francisco Regional Forum: Ending Homelessness Among Seniors and People With Disabilities
Over 400 people, including policymakers, stakeholders, and service providers in aging, disability and homeless services, joined together on October 26, 2021 to address the growing crisis of unhoused older adults and people with disabilities in the San Francisco region. Organized by the Long-Term Care Coordinating Council of San Francisco, the “ENDING HOMELESSNESS AMONG SENIORS AND PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES” forum initiated discussions about implementation of The California Master Plan for Aging (MPA) in San Francisco with an emphasis on homelessness as a top priority.
The event opened with a welcome video by San Francisco Mayor London Breed and a keynote address by Dr. Margot Kushel, Director of the UCSF Benioff Homelessness and Housing Initiative.
Dr. Kushel provided data showing that the homeless population in San Francisco is aging with every calendar year, with those 50 and older growing from 37% in 2003 to about 50% today. She also brought attention to the troubling health outcomes of people experiencing homelessness in older middle age, noting that health conditions worsen much faster than for those in the general population. For those experiencing homelessness, said Dr. Kushel, we found that “50 is the new 75.” Dr. Kushel ended her remarks with a “call to action” for the system to be more responsive to older adults with a “housing first” model that includes collaborations between aging and homeless services to address their specific needs.
Dr. Kushel’s remarks were followed by a dynamic panel discussion moderated by Del Seymour, Founder and Board member of Code Tenderloin. Panel participants included Shireen McSpadden, Executive Director, San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing; Kelly Dearman, Executive Director, San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services; Yolanda Harris, Commissioner, San Francisco Housing Authority; and Beth Stokes, Executive Director, Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco. The panelists shared highlights of collaborative responses underway, including some that emerged from the pandemic
crisis response, and took questions from the virtual audience.
A hallmark of the event was its inclusive access with live captioning, ASL, Chinese and Spanish interpretation, and an open Q &A to ensure accessibility in a virtual Zoom setting. Access was also made possible through viewer watch parties for residents who have experienced homelessness, hosted by partnering service providers – Curry Senior Center, Episcopal Community Services, PRC, and the Felton Institute. Episcopal Community Services held a watch party with residents at the Sanctuary Shelter, and the Felton Institute watch party was held for those who lived in Shelter in Place Hotels during the COVID Pandemic. All of the watch parties fostered conversations among residents and with staff about their own experiences and challenges of finding secure housing in San Francisco and what the City should be doing to address the problem.
The event, sponsored by the Scan Foundation, the Metta Fund, the Dignity Fund Coalition, Homebridge, the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, and the San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services, was especially notable for bringing together service providers, advocates and government leaders who are not often at the same table, yet share a part in forging solutions to the crisis: homeless services, IHSS and older adult services, and disability services. The event generated the beginnings of a common message platform on the issue and raised awareness about the City and County of San Francisco’s current initiatives and potential gaps which can be addressed with increased coordination and collaboration among providers.
For more information about the event and follow-on activities, go to: https://www.sfdignityfund.org. To watch the “Ending Homelessness Among Seniors and People with Disabilities” forum, go to: https://fb.watch/8WCnt3Uuv1/.
The California Master Plan for Aging (MPA), developed with the input of many leaders and advocates in older adult and disability services in the San Francisco region and released by the Newsom Administration in January 2021, outlines five bold goals and twenty-three strategies for implementation by state and local government, communities, and private and philanthropic organizations, including a focus on ensuring housing with appropriate supports and services for
older adults and people with disabilities.
Successful rally on October 28 bought an impressive crowd to urge the City to fully restore the MUNI service in San Francisco.
September was Latino Heritage Month and Community Connectors Nicky Trasvina and Olivia Franco helped assemble some 
great opportunities for us to learn and enjoy Latino culture.
The month included a curated visit to one of Diego Rivera’s murals
Then Aztec dancers
This dynamic team brought us into their kitchens to prepare some tasty treats – here is a sample – come back soon for 
highlights of this enjoyable program.
You can enjoy their handwork in the kitchen with a video here. And by request, here are their LATINO HERITAGE RECIPES.
And as an extra treat, see Nicky in her kitchen preparing her special Guacamole recipe.
And everyone enjoyed a prize-laden game of Loteria. Thanks Nicky, Olivia and tech back-up Jennifer for bringing this program to the Community Living Campaign.
Good weather and good friends inspired several journeys in over the past month.
Ten CLC participants/SF Giants fans attended the San Diego/SF Giants game on a beautiful day , Thursday, Sept 16, 2021. Everyone had so much fun. We enjoyed the day and received all kinds of positive feedback by text, email and VM saying “the only thing that could have made it better would have been if the Giants had won!”
