January 2025 eNews
Happy New Year from SDA!
On behalf of all of us at SDA, we hope you have had a restful holiday season, and we return energized and ready to fight for justice in 2025! At December's General Meeting, members voted on their top two campaigns, which will make up this year's advocacy agenda:
Organizing in support of increased healthcare services for people in shelters, and creating conditions for shelters to address the needs of seniors and people with disabilities.
Supporting the Race and Equity in All Planning (REP-SF) Coalition's anti-displacement campaign. Read REP-SF's blog post on rezoning and displacement for more information on why this is a crucial campaign for our communities.
In addition to these advocacy agenda campaigns, our other program work continues! The Masks for Equity team continues to organize in support of masks in healthcare and fighting mask bans. The Transit Justice team is working on a MUNI funding campaign — stay tuned for more details soon!
To get involved in any of our programs teams or campaigns, fill out the get involved form on our website or check out our events calendar for upcoming program meetings and contact info for staff leads on each of them. We have so much more work to do in 2025. Join us!
SDA board, staff, and members at our December General Meeting
Senior and Disability Survival School starting this week at Richmond Senior Center
oin us for Senior and Disability Survival School! In this five-part series, you'll learn about resources available to help you thrive in the areas of transportation, health, community, and housing. Hear from a wide variety of organizations and learn to navigate systems to meet your needs. All seniors and people with disabilities are welcome for this free class.
Where: Richmond Senior Center, 6221 Geary St., San Francisco
When: Every Thursday, 9:30 to 11:00 AM, January 9 through February 6
RSVPs encouraged: Call Liza at 415-546-1333 or email liza@sdaction.org
Masks required and provided. Brought to you by SDA in partnership with Golden Gate Senior Services and the San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services.
Image Description:
Flyer with blue and orange background that reads: Free classes for seniors. Richmond Senior Center: 6221 Geary St, San Francisco CA. Every Thursday, 9:30-11am. January 9 to February 6, 2025. Topics covered at “Senior Survival School”: transportation, health, community, housing. Attend 3+ classes for special prizes! Register (optional) call 415-546-1333, liza@sdaction.org. Below is an image of a smiling senior couple and the logos for Senior and Disability Action, Golden Gate Senior Services, and SF Department of Disability and Aging Services. There is an image of a wheelchair and a mask.
Join us for a social General Meeting this Thursday January 9, 10 to 11am
Join us this Thursday January 9, 10 to 11am for our General Meeting! This month will be a shorter gathering and will be primarily an opportunity to socialize with other members and SDA staff and reflect on our hopes for the new year. Join us on Zoom or in person at the First Unitarian Universalist Church (1187 Franklin St, on Franklin & Geary in SF). Masks required inside in person, and food will be served outside. Zoom access information has been emailed out separately, but if you still need the link, please email grace@sdaction.org.
Become an SDA member and help win campaigns!
What does it mean to be a member?
Members are the leaders of SDA campaigns. Members vote to determine SDA’s priority issues each year and, as part of a member-led organization, we all grow stronger the more members we have. A bigger membership leads to more collective power, a broader perspective, and bigger victories. Member dues and member time – your stake in SDA – give us more time to spend fighting for our rights.
Here’s how to join (or renew your dues) today!
Go to our website and find the option that works best for you. Have questions? Email info@sdaction.org or contact one of the SDA organizers.
Community Resource Corner
Image Description: A graphic with an orange background and an image of two people of different races clasping arms. It reads: Senior & Disability Action’s Community Resource Program Information & Referral Services for Seniors and People with Disabilities. Run by Peer Advocates. Call or drop in - 415-546-1333, 222 8th Street, SF, www.sdaction.org
The Community Resource program is led by Damara Lopez and staffed by our team of Peer Advocates. The Peer Advocates field calls and concerns on a variety of issues and work to help people find the right support or redress for their problem.
If you need help...
Getting your benefits, such as SSI, SSDI, CalFresh
Finding home care
Understanding a confusing letter or document you received
Getting services in the language you prefer
With your housing situation
Our Peer Advocates can help answer your questions and direct you to the appropriate resources. Call 415-546-1333 and leave a message or come by during our drop-in hours. To find our up-to-date hours of operation, or to send us an email, visit the Community Resource page on our website.
Community Opportunities & Resources
Take the SFMTA Accessibility Survey
The SFMTA is working to make public transit more accessible, and they are seeking feedback from the public through their accessibility survey.
From SFMTA: The Accessibility Strategy is the agency’s initiative to assess how well we meet the diverse transportation needs of older adults and people with disabilities. The Strategy will guide staff across the SFMTA to better ensure the accessibility of our programs, policies, and services. Accessibility is a priority metric in the SFMTA Strategic Plan, as everyone deserves to have full access to all of the opportunities around the city, especially those who have the fewest transportation choices.
Take the survey and share with your networks! It is open until January 15.
Educational Forum: What is the Office of Health Care Affordability? Who Wins, Who Loses?
Join the Movement to End Privatization of Medicare on January 23, 2025 at 7pm on Zoom for an Educational Forum on the Office of Health Care Affordability (OHCA), what it is, and how it could impact your health and the health of your community.
OHCA promises to control growth in state healthcare costs, something that we can all get behind. It promises to control costs through cost caps and value-based payment. Will cost caps control healthcare costs? Will workers see health premiums shrink? Will the health of the people of California improve? Could value-based payment promote the proliferation of for-profit agencies in the system? Register for the OHCA forum here.
SFPL Program: Sunaura Taylor on Disabled Ecologies
San Francisco Public Library is hosting a program with Sunaura Taylor on her book Disabled Ecologies: Lessons from a Wounded Desert at the Main Library on February 6, 6 to 7pm. Taylor's book looks at the history of a Superfund site in Arizona (which personally affected her) and how the pollution there has affected the local ecology and human population.
The book explores issues of disability and environmentalism — connecting both concepts in novel ways. Taylor describes debilitating and sometimes life-ending injuries, but also maps out connections, solidarity, and resistance — an environmentalism of the injured. Increasing climate disasters and legacies of pollution make Taylor's work relevant for all of us.
Resources on Palestine and Disability
As the genocide continues in Gaza and beyond, SDA continues to stand in support of Palestinians and call for an immediate end to the violence Israel is inflicting on Palestinian people and their land. Go to our website for some resources on disability and Palestine and opportunities to support. If you know of other resources or action opportunities to share, please let us know!
Let's build this movement together.
Please become a member or donate today!
Senior and Disability Action
P.O. Box 423388
San Francisco, CA 94103
www.sdaction.org
(415) 546-1333
Please let us know if you have any issue with the email format or if there are changes you think we should make. Thank you for reading!