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.

growing old

Loneliness Really Is a Public Health Issue

by

Google Community Space and the Global Shapers hosted a thoughtful discussion on loneliness and increasing awareness of how bad it is for your health.   The panelist included:

Kasley Killam, event organizer (and CLC Board member) facilitated a  solution-focused discussion about loneliness among seniors, raising awareness about this issue and  highlighting  efforts of each organization to address it.  The session closed with suggestions for how the more than 70 people who attended might take steps to contribute. The panel discussion is featured on the CLC Facebook page.  You can learn more about the issue in Kasley’s article in Scientific American.  

Loneliness: A Public Health Crisis Livestream

Posted by Global Shapers – San Francisco Hub on Wednesday, March 21, 2018

 


[Show slideshow]

 

Strong Dignity Fund Legislation Introduced

by

Dignity Fund Campaign Logo smPlease join us in thanking Supervisors Malia Cohen and Eric Mar for their leadership in shepherding strong Dignity Fund legislation to introduction May 24 at the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. They were joined at a press conference earlier in the day by Supervisor Campos and leaders of the Dignity Fund Coalition. Supervisors Yee and Avalos have also pledged their support as we move the legislation forward for a hearing at the Rules Committee later in June. The Dignity Fund will be a measure on the November 8th San Francisco ballot and will assure improved long term funding for senior and disability services and supports in San Francisco.

Funding levels for many services for seniors and adults with disabilities have not kept pace with population growth. Right now, people 60 and over represent 20% of San Francisco’s population. Taken together with the number of adults with disabilties, that number is 25% and expected to grow to 30% by 2030. Many seniors and adults with disabilities are living on fixed incomes as the cost of living here continues to rise.

How can you help? Log onto the website www.sfdignityfund.org to learn more and to sign-up for regular email updates (and even make a donation to help with the campaign!) Over the com
ing month, we will be seeking additional organizational endorsements and expanding our outreach efforts. We need your help there as well.IMG_6431

The Dignity Fund Coalition is a broad coalition of San Francisco not-for-profit and community organizations and advocates that has come together to address the growing need for services for seniors, adults with disabilities, veterans, and those living with chronic illnesses, to ensure that San Francisco becomes a more aging and disability friendly place. It promotes independence through services and support that allow people to live at home while remaining connected to their communities.

Watch out for our June CLC Newsletter arriving early next week with more details about the legislation and the campaign ahead.

‘Keep Us Connected’ Campaign Delivers 2000+ Postcards

by

DSC_0428Last week, we delivered over 2,000 postcards from people all over the City with our message to City Hall: It’s time to close the digital divide for seniors and adults with disabilities. Staying connected and engaged is key to reducing isolation, promoting brain fitness and lifelong learning, keeping us connected to our health providers and to long term services and supports  that help us age in place.

Call or email your Supervisor TODAY (contact info here) and tell your Supervisor and the Mayor why they need to pass a budget that includes more training and support through the Department of Aging and Adult Services’ SF Connected Program. 

San Francisco Needs to Invest in People, Not Just Computer Systems and Software

Earlier this year, the Mayor developed and the Supervisors approved a budget for $155 million to upgrade computer systems and software to help the City better serve and communicate with the public. But these upgrades won’t help those in the public who don’t have the computer skills or access to find this information. Without more investment in computer training for seniors and adults with disabilities, the digital divide will keep growing.

Expanding SF Connected Increases Computer Access AND Creates Job Opportunities for San Franciscans

SF Connected, the Public Libraries, and other technology centers provide access, but what is missing is a bolder program for training and deploying trainers, tutors, and volunteer coordinators to expand the use of these neighborhood-based resources.  And increased funding for training has another benefit: new, part-time employment opportunities for more tech-savy seniors and people with disabilities who have been left out of sectors where jobs are increasing, like tech and construction.

Your San Francisco Neighbors Are Being Left Behind

Consider this…The City is poised to invest $223,398,000 to upgrade its Electronic Medical Records (EMR) for its hospital and clinics over the next 5 years. Part of the Affordable Care Act requirements are that patients be given the tools and support to help them access their records.  But a recent UCSF survey in SF health clinic waiting rooms found that a staggering 40% of patients don’t use email even though 71% would like to use it to communicate with their health care providers. Even among those who do use email, only 59% are able to do so from home.

Ask the Mayor and Supervisors to Invest More in Closing the Digital Divide

San Francisco is held up as a model for technological innovation and cutting edge programs, yet the most recent citizen’s survey showed a huge gap between the have’s and the have-not’s – as some communities 30% to 40% lack Internet access. Those who lack access tend to have lower income, are typically older, less educated and people of color.

We are hoping increased funding to bridge the digital divide will show the City is taking one more small step  better share the prosperity.    Please call the Mayor and the Supervisors Today!

Invalid Displayed Gallery

Deloris McGee, a True “Community Connector,” Sets Sail for Mississippi

by

The Community Living Campaign was fortunate to have Deloris McGee as an early staff member who helped create this role of _DSC2726Community Connector, which has been one of the hallmarks of our work in San Francisco.    

Who is a Community Connector?  A local leader, often a senior or a person with a disability, who works to make their neighborhood and the wider community a better place to grow old.   They look for opportunities to connect neighbors to one another; they see the gifts and talents of those around them; they call upon their friends and colleagues to help out; they have a vision for what an aging and disability friendly neighborhood would look like.  

For the past seven year, Deloris used her skills and connections to develop support networks for individual seniors in her community, establish a neighborhood-based grocery delivery program that has become an example for other neighborhoods, help develop a breast cancer support group and annual luncheon, a weekly OMI Fog Walkers walking group, the annual Aging While Black Forum,  annual holiday turkey give-aways, Karaoke nights, computer classes and so much more.  

Like so many other talented older adults, Deloris is leaving San Francisco.  She is returning to her family home in Mississippi.   But she leaves behind a legacy in her community and a role model for future Connectors.  Her community, with support from CLC, hosted a thank you party for the “Woman with a Heart of Gold”.    Deloris promises to return to visit and after a short rest, to continue “connecting people” in her hometown.   We have prepared a memory book for Deloris with these and other pictures and mementos of her time with Community Living Campaign.    If you have good wishes or comments you would like to share, feel free to post on this blog and we will send along.  Thank you , Deloris!

If you would like to be a Community Connector in your neighborhood, let us know.

Invalid Displayed Gallery

Family Caregiver Alliance’s New Website Offers Resources and More

by

If you’re looking for information on caregiving situations and needs, try visiting the Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA)’s new website. They’ve organized the site by types of situations and care needs – from new caregivers to those facing a loved one’s advanced illness and complicated care demands and decisions. You’ll find resources, publications, advice, research, policy reports, and more.

According to FCA Executive Director Kathleen Kelly, “We were one of the first social service organizations in the country to have an online presence, and we continue to make every effort to keep up with caregiver needs and new technology so we remain trend-setters in this area. We have thousands of pages of content that span the spectrum of caregiving, and we’re proud of our reorganized site that makes all that information easier and faster to access.”

Some of the information you can find on the site includes:

  • A free Family Care Navigator database with information on caregiver programs and services throughout the country.
  • A National Residential Care Search of assisted or independent living facilities, continuing care communities, home health care agencies, etc.
  • Plenty of learning options, including: Checklists and Tip Sheets offering practical advice on common caregiver concerns, instructional videos, webinars, training manuals, and research and policy reports.
  • Caregiver statistics and other demographic and statistical information.
  • Fact Sheets on health conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, and brain injury, as well as detailed information on caregiving strategies, residential options, end-of-life decisions, caregiver stress, legal/financial information and more, in multiple languages.
  • Caregiver Connect – a place for caregivers to share with other caregivers,  as well as to connect to FCA and other resources.

Visit the newly redesigned website at www.caregiver.org, read more about the website redesign in FCA’s press release, or contact FCA directly at (800) 445-8106.

‘Aging While Black’ Forum Inspires Once Again

by

Invalid Displayed Gallery

The popular Aging While Black Forum in the OMI drew an even larger and more engaged audience this year.  The event, held at IT Bookman Community Center on Randolph Street, featured De De Hornes (Forum Moderator), with presenters who brought their wit and wisdom to the topics – Jacqueline Scott (Caregiving and Aging), Dorsey Nunn (Prisoners and Aging), Dr. Brenda Thomas  (Dental Care and Aging) and Charles Clerkly (Finances and Aging).   Rose Snell welcomed participants and Dinah Blanson provide a small thank-you gift to the presenters in honor of their good sense (cents).  And everyone thanked Deloris McGee for her work in organizing this  event for the second year in a row.   After the formal presentations, speakers and participants stayed and talked informally for another hour and enjoyed refreshments provided by Mamie Burgess and Judy Auda.   As the event drew to a close, folks were heard asking “How long until the next Aging While Black event?”  

Invalid Displayed Gallery

Loneliness Hurts Our Health, Says UCSF Research

by

I wanted to share this article by Erin Allday from today’s San Francisco Chronicle.  The reseach highlighted suggests health care and other costs that accrue if we cannot  age in communities where we  belong and contribute.     

 

Loneliness lethal for seniors, UCSF study says   

Feeling lonely always hurts, but when it comes to the elderly, it may actually contribute to failing health or an early death, UCSF researchers say.

In a study of 1,600 seniors, the results of which were published Tuesday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, doctors found that people who reported being lonely were more likely to suffer a decline in health or die over a six-year period than those who were content with their social lives.  Loneliness didn’t necessarily mean being alone – almost two-thirds of seniors who reported feeling lonely were married or living with a partner. Researchers defined loneliness as feeling left out or isolated or lacking companionship. 

“I’m hoping this paper allows people to look critically at themselves and how they treat elders around them,” said study author Dr. Carla Perissinotto, an assistant professor of geriatrics at UCSF. “This country is not great at caring for its elderly. But certainly that is one of the messages, to look out for the people around you, because sooner or later that’s going to be you.”

The relationship between loneliness and poor health wasn’t necessarily shocking, said the study authors and other geriatric experts. Anecdotally, doctors who deal with the elderly said they’ve seen time and again older patients in declining health who are clearly lonely. But the UCSF study is among the largest to tease out feelings of loneliness, which is separate from general depression, and strongly connect them to ill health. Recently, I’ve learned that is considered one of the best drugs to increase potency. It interested me because I often get tired and depressed. My family life also cracked. I knew that that I couldn’t cope with his problem alone and went to the doctor. On his recommendation, I bought Cialis. Indeed, this is a miracle drug! Its price is affordable, and the effect- impressive!

The study looked at interviews done in 2002 with 1,604 seniors over age 60 who were asked to describe how often they felt lonely. Researchers then looked at reports of deaths and physical function in that group over the next six years.

About 43 percent of the adults reported feeling lonely at least some of the time. Of those seniors, 23 percent died over the six-year study, compared to 14 percent of the participants who weren’t lonely – a 45 percent increase. The lonely seniors had a 59 percent greater risk of suffering a decline in function, which was defined as being less mobile or less able to take care of daily activities like bathing.

Biology and behavior

There are likely many reasons for the relationship between loneliness and ill health, doctors said. It could be biological – previous studies have shown that loneliness is similar to stress in that it can cause the release of hormones that may impact the immune system.

And it could be behavioral. Doctors said they often hear from patients who are losing weight because they don’t have anyone to share a meal with, or who are bad at sticking to a health care regimen because they’re lacking a friend or partner to simply remind them to take medications.

“I have a patient who’s losing weight, and point blank, she says to me, ‘I’m losing weight because eating is a social experience for me and now I’m eating alone and it’s not enjoyable,’ ” Perissinotto said. “That’s a huge part of why she’s declining.”

Dr. Marci Teresi, medical director of the memory clinic at Kaiser Santa Clara, said for many of her patients, it’s clear that their doctor visits are “the big social activity for the day or the month.”

Loneliness, she believes, can leave people vulnerable to pain and other discomforts that an active social life could distract them from.

“They start focusing on things that they can’t do, and they focus on pain. That just perpetuates their decline,” she said. “I’ve had people tell me they feel like they’re sort of done with life.”

Stanford geriatrist Dr. VJ Periyakoil said her patients often describe feeling “out of sync” and disconnected from society – even if they’re married or living with family.

Couples who have been married for years may find themselves strangers as they get older and don’t have the shared interests of raising kids, she said. Grandparents may feel unable to connect with both their children and their grandchildren because of generational or lifestyle differences.

“The biggest thing I hear from my adult patients is, ‘I don’t want to bother anyone,’ ” Periyakoil said. She recalled one patient who declined radiation therapy to treat his cancer because he didn’t want his daughter to have to take off work to drive him to his appointments.

“We need a societal hardware fix to make older adults feel a valuable part of our society, which they are,” Periyakoil said. “It’s selfish too. All of us are going to get old. We have to take care of them and be mindful of their needs because someday we’ll be on the receiving end.”

Staying connected

Oakland resident Barbara Dane, 85, said many older adults need to take more responsibility for their own social lives.

For many decades, Dane made a living as a jazz singer and she has always had a rich and varied social life. She made a decision a year and a half ago, after her husband died, to maintain that lifestyle. For her birthday this year, she celebrated by performing for friends and family, and just last Saturday she went to a party with a small group of older friends, who spent the night singing and eating and laughing.

“For better or worse, we are what we do, and if we aren’t able to do much, then we’re less and less relevant to the social fabric,” Dane said. “If you want to avoid the feeling of irrelevancy, you need to maintain your friendships, maintain your family ties, stay an active part of other people’s lives in whatever way you can.

“I’m part of the world,” she said. “I need to be out in it.”

 See the full article at  http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2012/06/18/MN311P40AV.DTL#ixzz1yGXo3M1y

More information about the study can be found at  http://healthland.time.com/2012/06/19/how-feeling-lonely-can-shorten-your-life/

 

Reflections on CLC’s Recent Presentation at the Aging in America Conference – and More

by

I was excited to tell you about CLC’s presentation at the Aging in America Conference – “Seniors, Social Media and the Art of Building Community” – which gave us the  opportunity to share stories, pictures, and lessons learned about our work.   Judy Auda, Deloris McGee, Marcia Peterzell and I did a one hour presentation highlighting a community-organizing approach that includes neighborhood networks, personal networks, a local time bank, and other tools to engage and to empower seniors and persons with disabilities. Experienced  “Community Connectors” organize these networks in the spirit of mutual assistance, supported by a range of social media. We were excited about the opportunity and in awe of the room we were assigned (see below). While we didn’t fill every seat, we had 35 people (who stayed!) at a conference where many of the workshops had only a handful of folks.  We would welcome the opportunity to share some of our presentation with groups locally if you are interested.

And we were inspired by the organizations honored with the Rosalinde Gilbert Innovations in Alzheimer’s Disease Caregiving Legacy Awards, at a lovely reception organized by Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA).  Learn more about the award winners at http://blog.caregiver.org/?p=1655. San Francisco was honored in several years ago for their planning work in San Francisco – learn more at http://www.sfhealthyaging.org/city-hall-summits/14-2/.  Kudos to Kathy Kelly and colleagues for another wonderful event.

Then I wanted to share how much we are going to miss Susan Mizner, who is leaving her post as the Director of the Mayor’s Office on Disability.  Her friends and colleagues gathered to show their admiration and appreciation for her years of service and to wish her well in her great new position with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).   Thanks, Susan, for your vision, leadership and graceful persistance on so many issues of substance in San Francisco and beyond.  Welcome, Carla Johnson, who will be continuing Mizner’s good work and I’m sure, after meeting her, initiating some great things of her own.  Learn more about the work of this important  Office at http://www.sfgov2.org/index.aspx?page=386 .

And while we’re at it, we want to remind folks what a great opportunity the monthly meetings of the San Francisco Long Term Care Coordinating Council are for keeping up on the quickly changing budget and policy issues that impact seniors, persons with disabilities and their care providers.  You will get to meet Carla, as well as get an update on Managed Care in California and learn more about services and support for persons with developmental disabilities from Joanne Rolle of the ARC.   Last month’s meeting included a detailed update from  and Greg Wagner from the San Francisco Health Department, Melissa Howard of the Mayor’s Budget Office, and Martha Peterson from the Dept. of Aging and Adult Services. The Council generally meets the 2nd Thursday of every month at One South Van Ness Avenue, 2nd Floor.  The next meeting will be May 10th at 1:00 p.m.

Well, I’m feeling better now that I’ve had a chance to catch up on a few things.  I’m going to work really hard on do shorter posts, and on a more frequent basis.   And I’m looking forward to learning more from other bloggers at the Aging and Disability Technology Summit on May 15th.  At the Meet A Blogger, Be a Blogger corner, starting at 12:30 on May 15th, we will meet Amber DiPietra (SFILRC Blog & Write to Connect) Linda Post (San Francisco FYI net – political events), Susanne Standler, Architect (At Home with Growing Older), Paul Hendrickson, resident of Laguna Honda (Consider This Resident blogspot),  Linda Leu (Health Access) and hosted by my favorite Food Blogger (and daughter) Amy Fazio (Do You Know The Muffin Pan?)

Seniors Are Part of the Solution to Rebuilding Community

by

In the early days of the Community Living Campaign, we struggled with how to develop the small, basic building blocks that make up the foundation of a grass-roots community organizing campaign – you know, the equivalent of the old fashioned house meeting.  The hope was to provide practical support to neighbors while  beginning to look more closely at the issues that help or hinder individuals from aging in community.     Fortunately, in those early days, we were introduced to Vickie Cammack and the work of PLAN and the PLAN Institute in Canada.   We learned (and continue to learn) so many useful and insightful things as we re-frame the issues related to living with a disability and being at home with growing old.   One story by Vickie Cammack really helped me see things differently.      Take a minute to read this story and let me know if you know a “Martha” – http://www.tyze.com/martha-has-not-left-the-neighbourhood/ .    Perhaps our neighbors who are aging  are not a problem to be solved, but part of the solution to rebuilding communities.

My friend Ruth Miller, pictures at her 91st Birthday Party, was like Martha, sometimes charming, sometimes demanding, but always interesting.  She brought together a community of people whose strongest connection was that they cared about Ruth.

In future posts, you will learn more about Ruth, Tyze and the power of relationships.