Community Living Campaign

Cultivating connections to help seniors and people with disabilities age and thrive at home.

Cultivating connections to help seniors and people with disabilities age and thrive at home.

People & Stories

Resilient Neighborhoods: Miraloma Park, OMI, and Parkside/Sunset

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This month, we held a roundtable conversation with three of Community Living Campaign’s amazing Community Connectors. We heard from Deb Glen of the Oceanview-Merced-Ingleside (OMI) Food Delivery Network, Margaret Graf of Senior Power in Sunset/Parkside, and Darlene Ramlose of Miraloma Park Community Connectors. These leaders invited us to listen and learn about what Resilient Neighborhoods look like in virtual environment we are living under during this COVID-19 pandemic. The common thread among all our Connectors is their deep roots in their neighborhoods prior to the pandemic.

OMI Food Network Keeps Delivering Groceries Every Week

With the Shelter in Place Order for San Francisco residents, the OMI Food Network faced a number of challenges: most of the neighborhood volunteers are older adults vulnerable COVID-19, and the Minnie and Lovie Ward Recreation Center where they had been packing groceries was needed for childcare for essential workers. And of course, they needed to make sure they could pack and deliver groceries in a way that is safe for staff, volunteers and recipients.

Deb Glen (right) and her son DanteThe intergenerational OMI Food Delivery team, which includes two sets of parents and their adult children, has been working together for years. They adapted quickly to the new reality. They relocated outside to the parking lot of the local Catholic Charities. Deb and her team use a camper to store supplies, set up tables to pack the 80 grocery bags, and organized their weekly Tuesday food delivery to neighborhood seniors and people with disabilities. The dedicated group is continuing an effort started in 2009, delivering groceries, making weekly check-in calls, and creating connections within the larger community: from the volunteers who help pack and deliver groceries to neighborhood activities and other local resources. 

Miraloma Park Community Connectors Works Closely with Organized Neighbors to Help Vulnerable Residents

Darlene (left) with her neighborsMoving a few miles to Miraloma Park, Darlene stated that 32% of the residents have at least one senior in their household.  Darlene brings her background in working with older adults, nutrition, and emergency preparedness to her work in the community. Soon after she moved to the neighborhood, she got involved with Miraloma Park’s Neighborhood Emergency Response Team (NERT). When the neighborhood organized with District 7 Supervisor Yee’s office to get funding for a Community Connector Network, Darlene joined CLC as  to help lead the network.

During this pandemic, Miraloma Park’s team of Community Connectors, NERT team-Block Champions, Miraloma Park Improvement Club members, and senior volunteers have come together – a combined force in making calls, sending emails, shopping for shut-in neighbors and working with Supervisor Yee in the SOS program to make Wellness Calls to seniors.  In addition, the Miraloma Park Community Connector members join in CLC’s Zoom-based exercise and other activities, and are still gathering (virtually) every week for Ukulele lessons. This month, Darlene will also be facilitating discussions on senior nutrition every other Tuesday. 

Senior Power Transitions from In-Person Meetings to Calls, Virtual Workshops, and Weekly Resource Updates

Margaret Graf (photo by Dr. Anna Chodos)Traveling west near the ocean in the Sunset/Parkside neighborhood, Margaret is one of our newest Connectors. An energetic longtime resident with an impressive career spanning nursing and law,  Margaret founded Senior Power about 18 months ago to address the lack of neighborhood resources for Parkside seniors (with 31% living alone). She has worked closely with People of Parkside Sunset (POPS)–the local merchant’s association– and District 4 Supervisor Mar to support the diverse population of older adults and caregivers in her community.  

With the start of the pandemic, Margaret had to shift from monthly meetings at the Parkside police station to a virtual presence. Her weekly newsletters have become a great source of information for local residents, with a selection of resources, reflections on the current crisis, and suggestions for activities neighbors can join from home. As part of this effort, Margaret investigated the variety of email service providers and taught herself how to send out regular emails to her list of neighbors (with regular mail versions for those who aren’t online). Margaret also sought out a way to connect neighbors to important COVID-19 information by organizing and facilitating a noon Zoom call every Friday with Dr. Anna Chodos, a UCSF geriatrician: Dr. Chodos Chats-Seniors & Coronavirus (Virtual). 

Resilient Neighborhoods Throughout San Francisco Rely on Older Adults

Throughout the City, there are older adults working with their neighbors to support homebound residents and build stronger communities. We invite you to join us for another Resilient Neighborhoods roundtable on Tuesday, June 16th, 3:30-4:30 pm.

Jimmye Bynum, Inveterate Socializer, St. Francis Square

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Jimmye Bynum was such a talkative, sociable person that one of her employers told her she should have been a lawyer. Her natural gift to engage with others led to choices that always seemed to benefit others, as well as herself.

“I always loved to talk and help people and maybe that’s why my life has been so beautiful,” said Bynum.

From dancing with pal Maya Angelou in the heyday of the ’40s jazz and blues scene in the Fillmore, to forming social and philanthropic clubs in the early days of her marriage, to joining every committee in her housing cooperative, Bynum is still talking, organizing and giving to others.

St. Francis Square Celebrates!
Earlier this year, the 92-year-old Bynum is busy co-chairing the celebration of a decade of organized community activities at St. Francis Square. Bynum and her husband bought an apartment in 1963, the year it was built – 299 units in 12 buildings around shared courtyards. Construction was sponsored by two unions with the aim of providing affordable home ownership, particularly for African Americans, who faced housing discrimination in many quarters.

CLC Supports Coffee and Conversation
The community activities were initiated 10 years ago by several residents, with the support of the Community Living Campaign (CLC). This nonprofit was created in 2007 to support grass-roots efforts to link formal health and social services with informal support networks for seniors and persons with disabilities.

“Ten years ago, Marcia Peterzell, a resident and friend of CLC’s director, Marie Jobling, approached me and said we have to do something for seniors and shut-ins here at St. Francis Square,” Bynum recalled. She and Peterzell started making telephone calls then gathered a group of 18 for monthly meetings they called Coffee and Conversation.

Neighbor to Neighbor
Bynum later started a weekly walking group. And, the committee organized a “Neighbor to Neighbor” program, soliciting volunteer residents who could be called on to give a hand: a drive to the grocery store or medical appointment, move a couch, walk a dog.

“Jimmye Bynum’s friendships, flyers, wisdom and steadfast commitment have provided the CLC program at St. Francis Square the foundation and on-going support it needed to grow,” said Marie Jobling.

Hosting Lecture Programs
The CLC committee at St. Francis hosts guest speakers, such as doctors, therapists and firemen, in the St. Francis Square social hall. “We even had a speaker talk to us about how to accept death more easily.” One of the favorite group sessions is when massage therapists volunteer their services to members.

Bynum and her pals, mostly women now, are looking forward to the CLC anniversary party on Dec. 6. This party will be particularly festive – with two kinds of eggnog, one spiked with Hennessey. “Those old ladies can drink,” said Bynum. The event will also celebrate this month’s birthdays.

Dancing with Maya Angelou
Festivity has always been a big part of Bynum’s life since her father moved the family from Oklahoma to the Fillmore District in 1943. A niece who had opened a restaurant on Sutter Street told him about jobs at Hunter’s Point Naval Shipyards that were open to blacks. Once he was hired, Bynum’s family settled into life in the Fillmore.

“At that time Fillmore Street was alive with music and dance,” Bynum said. “My sister and I met Maya Angelou and became general friends. She could jitterbug!” Angelou and Bynum would meet for soda pop or ice cream and “talk, talk and laugh.”

Meeting Duke, Sharing Their Passion
At 18, Bynum met Warren “Duke” Bynum, eight years her senior, at the Brown Bomber Dance Hall in Marin County. “He was out of Chicago and most of his friends were boxers like Sugar Ray Robinson and Joe Lewis.” They soon married.

Besides the love of dance, Bynum and Duke shared a passion for organizing social clubs that raised money for good causes. “With many friends, we went on trips and we held formal dances.”

For every trip or dance, the social club would tack on an extra charge that went into a pool. “One thing we did was raise money for a yearly $1,000 scholarship for a deserving youngster with high grades.” The scholarships were administered through local churches.

Finding St. Francis Square
When Bynum married, she and her husband moved to an apartment on Central Street. Every day, driving to work, they passed by the newly built St. Francis Square. It was affordable, it was in the neighborhood they loved and African Americans were welcomed. Her husband suggested they apply.

Once they moved in, they embraced their new community. They both represented their building on the co-op’s board. “The only time I left the committee work was when my grandson died when he was 42,” she said. He was one of two children of her only son, born in Oklahoma when she was 16. “I couldn’t cope.”

A Time of Good Jobs and Pensions
During her marriage, Bynum worked first in the garment industry and later in retail sales. “I was making the side seams of men’s jackets and coats, and then I had to hang the sleeves with no fullness. It was very hard.” Bynum was proud of her salary and loved her job and the working environment.

In the mid-’60s, when the clothing manufacturers closed, she found a sales job at the National Dollar Store in the Fillmore. “A Chinese woman taught me everything and advised me to work the required hours, so I’d get a full pension.” Bynum was there for 17 years and retired at 74.

With the Navy shipyard deactivated in 1974, Duke Bynum took some of the only jobs open to blacks at that time. “First he detailed cars, then worked as a doorman at the Mark Hopkins and finally as a Skycap for American Airlines, where he retired with a good pension,” Bynum said.

Her husband died in 2009. “We had 57 years of marriage and 40 beautiful years spent in St. Francis Square.”

Bynum had moved to San Francisco with six siblings, who have also passed away. Her son, Charles, and his son live out of the city, as do her two great-grandchildren, now in college.

“I’m all alone in the City now,” she said.

Well, not exactly.

She’s surrounded by all her friends in St. Francis Square. “I know everyone’s name,” she said. Having been on every committee in the co-op, she’s ready to slow down.
But not completely. “Now, I’m just going to stick with CLC.”

For original article, please follow this link.

Robin Evans, SF ReServe Good Neighbor

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Robin as our 2019 Good Neighbor Honoree for SF ReServe Employment.

Robin was introduced to the Community Living Campaign by a mutual friend and CLC staff member. Passion for the mission keeps her involved.

The Beginning of Senior Beat
Through SF ReServe, Marie Jobling hired three beginning reporters to write part-time for CLC and neighborhood newspapers. The focus: items of interest to seniors. However, the dearth of newspapers and their monthly publication schedule limited their ‘beat’: thus sfseniorbeat.com was born.

First, Robin spent months just creating the website. Then followed the ongoing challenge of making the most of it, all the while nurturing the writing abilities of her eager but novice staff.

The Legacy Continues
Robin edits sfseniorbeat.com, the online newsletter that showcases the diversity, backgrounds, experiences, challenges, efforts and accomplishments of the City’s older adults.

Robin explains, “There is no one else who regularly and consistently publishes the kind of stories we have focused on. Our goal is to increase the diversity of our content and include more of the City’s neighborhoods.” She adds, “For now, we will concentrate on feature stories about older adults. We hope this will go some way toward broadening views of aging.”

Michael Scott Silver, Computers and Access Good Neighbor

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Michael as our 2019 Good Neighbor Honoree for Computers and Access.

Twice a week, Michael works at two of SteppingStone’s Adult Day Health Care Centers for seniors and people with disabilities. He tutors the residents for an hour each session, helping them to use technology. He starts with the basics and even shows them how to use social media.  Michael worked in the technology field but was unable to continue due to health issues. “Now that I am feeling a bit better,” Michael says, “I can use some of my free time to help others with their understanding of technology.”

Sherri Sawyer, who nominated Michael, says “Michael is very compassionate and patient when working with our participants who are mostly seniors, and often uncomfortable working with technology.  I appreciate the way he engages with the seniors. He is able to explain things in ways that our participants can understand. He is truly a gem.”

Alice Guidry, Sunnyside Good Neighbor

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Alice as our 2019 Good Neighbor Honoree for the Sunnyside Community Connectors.

Patti Spaniak nominated Alice for the Good Neighbor Award for her help in establishing the CLC senior program at St. Finn Barr Church. “Alice was instrumental in getting the program started at the church. She continues to help us navigate and engage the community.”

Sunnyside Fun
Alice has been involved with the Sunnyside community for a number of years. She’s working on many projects that promote community involvement. “I like combining people with common interests in fun, and fulfilling activities,” she shares.

 Giving Back
Although Alice is very busy with her catering company, she still likes to volunteer. She believes it’s a chance for her to give something back to the community, and make it a better place. “Helping out with projects and being there for people who need a helping hand can make a real difference in people’s lives,” Alice states. “And it’s a good way to make new friends!”

Rose Sharkey, St. Francis Square Good Neighbor

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Rose as our 2019 Good Neighbor Honoree for the St. Francis Square Neighborhood Network.

We chose Rose for the Good Neighbor award,” says Betty Traynor,” because when she joined St. Francis Square Co-op as a new member about two years ago, she jumped right in and joined our Community Living Campaign Committee as well as other Committees. She is someone I know I can rely on to help our CLC Community Connector group.  This year she took on a major project at the Square: updating our Handbook.  Plus, she makes dynamite brownies for our meetings and events!”

From Rose:
“My husband and I were very fortunate to join the St. Francis Square Co-op when we moved to San Francisco from the East coast. I volunteer because I recognize that there are things that need to be done, and I am blessed with the time and talent to do them. My work has made me feel more connected to this very special community.”

Judy Goddess, Good Neighbor and Community Catalyst

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Judy as our 2019 Community Catalyst Good Neighbor Honoree.

“Community catalyst” describes Judy Goddess perfectly. She received her Good Neighbor Award for spearheading not one, but three projects.

Senior Beat
First, she developed the reporting project, providing articles and a column on seniors in neighborhood newspapers. She recruited two other reporters through the CLC ReServe program, and the venture grew into an online magazine for older adults called Senior Beat.

Always Active
Next, Judy organized an Always Active class in her own neighborhood which has become the Inner Sunset Community Connector Program. As she walks to class, she sees people lined up early to ensure a place.

Third Project
Then, the San Francisco Friends School called CLC looking for seniors who their 5th grade students could interview. Judy is particularly fond of mixed generation projects so she set up a program with this Quaker school.

When asked where she gets her energy, Judy says, “I love meeting people, especially the seniors. They’re making such interesting lives for themselves and are so resilient. I’m really inspired by them.”

Leroy Lindo, OMI Food Network Good Neighbor

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Leroy as our 2019 Good Neighbor Honoree for the OMI Food Network.

After retiring from his career in the SFPD as a Police Commander, Leroy Lindo might have been expected to take up a well-deserved station on his front porch, relaxing in a swing chair. Instead, he continues to help his neighbors by volunteering with the Oceanview Merced Ingleside Food Network.

Community-Focused, People-Loving
Leroy’s efforts, in particular, making our community a No Hunger Zone, reflect his lifelong commitment to the OMI community. His neighbors are delighted to see him every week when he delivers food to them. He takes time to chat with them and build personal relationships, which forms the basis of a strong community. He is appreciated for his continuous dedication to a lifetime of service.

The Community Living Campaign is grateful for his generosity of spirit spent in serving his OMI neighbors each week.

Reiko Hatakayama, Merced Extension Triangle Good Neighbor

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Reiko as our 2019 Good Neighbor Honoree for the Merced Extension Triangle Community Connectors.

Reiko Hatakayama likes to help.  A retired school teacher, Reiko is committed to growing the MET CC program and doesn’t hesitate to reach out. She embraces talking about the program in the community, recruiting new members, welcoming first timers, and introducing them to the program regulars.

Reiko loves to bake and is expert at flower arranging. Her handiwork graces the room at all METCC celebrations. During the growing season, her plant cuttings and small bouquets extend a welcoming note.

When it comes time to growing the METCC program, Reiko is out there working.

Connector Who Wears Many Hats
While Reiko’s primary commitment is to the METCC program, she willing shares her skills at other locations. She has taught workshops at Cayuga on cupcake decorating, corsage making (with orchids from her own garden), and drawing for beginners. An extremely modest person, Reiko is a great listener, careful with her words, and sincerely interested in the other person. Her attention to detail and genuine caring makes participants feel they are involved in something wonderful.

 

 

 

Marlene Olivencia, Inner Sunset Good Neighbor

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Each year, our Good Neighbor Awards honor some of the dedicated neighbors who volunteer their time to help seniors and people with disabilities get the resources and support they need to age and thrive in their own homes and neighborhoods. We are delighted to honor Marlene as our 2019 Good Neighbor Honoree for the Inner Sunset Community Connectors.

Marlene, a longtime resident of the Inner Sunset, was one of the first neighbors to attend the new connectors program in her neighborhood.  An active community member, she became more active after her retirement from Family House. Marlene soon began inviting her friends to the group, “I know the best way to recruit is word of mouth, so I talk about the class and I invite them.” And they come.

Volunteering and Growing Sponsored Program
Marlene is always ready to lend a hand, whether that means handing out fliers for the program at the local library’s 101st birthday celebration or helping the program settle into its summer quarters at her church, St. John’s. She also supports the program’s fundraising efforts with S.H.A.R.P. (Sunset Heights Association of Responsible People), one of the three community organizations sponsoring the Inner Sunset program.

“It’s an important program. I want to see it succeed,” she said.