April 2026 eNews
Puede leer este mensaje en español aquí
Dear friends,
Happy spring from all of us at SDA! We're enjoying the longer days and warmer weather, and we hope you are too.
Spring is always a busy season for our work, and this year is no exception. We continue organizing around both state and city budgets as Medicaid faces serious threats at the State Capitol, and devastating cuts loom over SDA and many community partners at the San Francisco city level.
Through it all, we are gathering and sharing stories that illustrate the importance of Medicaid and the vital nonprofit programs under threat, including ours, while preparing to take escalated action in the coming weeks. Together with our coalition partners in Bay Resistance, we are planning a day of action on May Day, with a particular focus on defending Medicaid and IHSS. Stay tuned for more details on how you can get involved!
SDA News & Highlights
Volunteer at Spring Into Action: SDA's 2026 Annual Celebration
.](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/6600c2cc6bea0b0d069348a5/15cd73ad-46d3-4adc-917c-730a0f0de0af/Annual+Celebration+Post+%281%29.png)
Wednesday, May 20, 5:30 to 8pm
First Unitarian Universalist Church & Center of SF, 1187 Franklin St, SF
Spring Into Action: SDA's 2026 Annual Celebration is coming up in under two months, on Wednesday, May 20, 5:30 to 8pm! Held at the First Unitarian Universalist Church and Center of SF, this event will include a variety show and social with wonderful performers from our senior and disabled communities, food and drink, and good company! We hope you will come to celebrate SDA's work over the last year and help us raise money to continue our crucial organizing and education work in 2026 and beyond. As we face funding cuts from the SF Department of Disability and Aging Services, your support is especially vital right now!
Find more information about Spring Into Action and buy tickets here. Our volunteer opportunities for the event are now available, if you'd like to support our annual celebration with your time in exchange for a free ticket. Learn more about volunteer opportunities and sign up here!
Give comment at the Budget Hearing on cuts to SDA and other programs for seniors and disabled people!
Wednesday, April 15, 12 to 4pm, SF City Hall
City leaders need to hear directly from older adults, people with disabilities, and community members about how proposed cuts will impact our lives. Show up for a day of action starting at 12pm, and/or join for the Budget Hearing at 1:30pm and share your story. Find talking points here on protecting programs for older adults and people with disabilities.
Beyond giving public comment, there will also be action opportunities throughout the day. If you can come to City Hall for any amount of time on April 15, or if you’d like to send a message to the mayor, please sign up here and we will follow up with more details.
Read more here about SDA’s position on the SF budget cuts, and why our city should fund community supports, not give more money to the police, sheriff, and district attorney.
$100M+ in cuts are coming to San Francisco. Join the fight for a People’s Budget!
Tuesday, April 7, 7 to 8:30pm in the Mission
San Francisco is facing over $100 million in proposed cuts to community services. Join us, with our partners at the People’s Budget Coalition, for a People’s Budget Town Hall to learn what’s at stake, hear how these cuts will impact our communities, and get organized to fight back.
Tuesday, April 7, 7 to 8:30pm in the Mission. Get your tickets for the People's Budget Town Hall here.
April General Meeting: Designing the Medi-Cal Defense
Thursday, April 9, 10am to 12pm on Zoom and at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of SF (1187 Franklin St, SF)
When Medicaid is under attack we fight back! Health care for Immigrants and IHSS hours and the IHSS backup provider system are on the chopping block. Assemblymember Stefani is a key player on the Budget Health committee and we’re planning a press conference in her district and a contingent at May Day to bring attention to these issues.
Join us on April 9 for the first stage of a creative design process to make beautiful posters and banners for the press conference and May Day. We’ll be answering questions together like: How do we appear in Trump or Newsom’s worst nightmare? No need to bring your paint smock, just your creative mind. There will be a paint day the week of April 20.
Find more info and register for the April General Meeting here.
Now hiring: Community Organizer with a housing focus
Are you interested in bringing together seniors and people with disabilities to organize for the issues affecting their lives? Come work for SDA! We are now hiring a Community Organizer with a focus on housing, to join our Organizing Team. Learn more about the Community Organizer role and how to apply here.
Take action against forced medication!
A bill currently moving through the California Legislature, AB 1676 (Stefani), would give the state the power to transport people from the community to a locked psychiatric facility, hold them down, and forcefully inject them with powerful, long-acting medications against their will for months at a time. This is not public health policy. It is a direct attack on the rights and autonomy of people with mental health disabilities.
California should be investing in voluntary, community-based mental health services, not destroying the therapeutic relationship and forcing medications on people.
Here is how you can take action:
Attend the California State Assembly Health Committee hearing on Tuesday, April 7 in Sacramento, 1:30pm at 1021 O Street, Room 1100. Join disability advocates to give testimony on why this bill must be stopped.
Submit written testimony online in the form of a position letter. The deadline for written comments is today, Wednesday, April 1. Submit opposition letters to AB 1676 here.
Interested in going in person to Sacramento? Need transportation? Contact Shaya at shaya@sdaction.org.
Take Action: Defend Vital Healthcare Services for Californians
Friday, April 24, 3 to 4:30pm
Disability Cultural Center (165 Grove St, SF) AND online
Let’s defend Medi-Cal, home care services, and domestic workers together. SDA is teaming up with the Disability Cultural Center for a workshop on turning your stories into power to defend vital healthcare services for Californians. First, we’ll learn about the upcoming cuts and changes and how they’ll affect our communities. Then, we’ll guide you through an exercise on understanding the power of our stories to make change. Finally, you’ll have the option to record your story and take a photo so we can bring our perspectives and priorities into our advocacy work.
Find more information on the Medi-Cal storytelling workshop and register here.
Board Spotlight: Bruce Marcus
What inspired you to join the board of SDA? What does SDA’s mission mean to you personally?
I was a Peer Advocate for SDA from 2019 - 2024 and was impressed with SDA's advocacy and commitment of the organization and the staff to serving these communities.
The leadership the SDA board and staff have provided and the collaborations they have participated in have resulted in significant and meaningful changes in the quality of life for many marginalized communities in the SF Bay Area.
What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?
I was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War.
Community Resource Highlight: California Connect
The Independent Living Resource Center of San Francisco provides free legal services for adults with disabilities who live in San Francisco. Services include:
Social Security Disability applications (SSI & SSDI)
Social Security Disability appeals
Reasonable accommodations in housing, workplace, school settings, etc.
Emotional Support and Service Animal advocacy
Representation for discrimination, pre-eviction, immigration, and many other legal matters
Referrals
All services are free of charge. To make an appointment, call 628-231-2785 or email lilia@ilrcsf.org.
Contact our Peer Advocates today to learn more about resources available to you as a senior or disabled person in San Francisco!
Community News & Events
Job opportunities with SDA's partner organizations
Walk SF is hiring for three positions: Advocacy Director, Communications Manager, and Community Engagement Coordinator.
Shanti Project is hiring a LGBTQ+ Aging and Ability Support Network Care Navigator.
California Domestic Workers Coalition is hiring a Program Logistics & Administrative Coordinator and an Operations Manager.
Autistic Self-Advocacy Network’s Protest Toolkit
Check out ASAN’s new plain language toolkit on demonstrations and civil disobedience. It includes information on vetting and preparing for a protest, accessibility at protests, your rights at a protest, getting arrested, and more!
Find a full list of our monthly program meetings on our website's events calendar.
Let’s build this movement together. Donate to SDA today!
Please let us know if you have any issues with the webpage format or if there are accessibility changes you think we should make. Thank you for reading!