PLANNING POSSIBLE EVACUATIONS We seniors have an increased difficulty in evacuation situations. We can tend to get caught up with challenges in assembling medications, deciding what keepsakes we cannot part with, knowing where to go or who to notify.  Let’s help each other decide what we will do should the dreaded evacuation orders come. Planning will save lives and reduce stress. Packing some essentials now will help. Having flashlights and extra batteries within reach in case the electricity is out will help. Are our cars filled with gas? Or if we don’t drive, let’s figure who will help us evacuate should we need assistance. Having plans for where we might go will help us move more quickly.  Click here for advice as to What To Pack Our Monday night groups are usually freeform checkins and conversation but with the drought, heat, fires and possible lightning strikes, let’s have this important exploration together. Now.

Topical Thursdays12:30 to 2 pm AUGUST 27:  Please consider signing up for this! Detect and Connect: a free workshop on mental health and dementia in older adults presented by Aging Action Initiative. It’s a subject that we may wish to avoid but one that can help us help friends as well as ourselves. Sponsored by the Social Committee and the Spahr Center Senior Program. Note the extended time, 12:30 to 3 pm. See flyer below and click on the blue box below the photo to register. You must pre-register to participate.  September 3:  Nancy Flaxman facilitates. Work: As Labor Day approaches, we will talk about work. Most of us are retired, though some are still working. What role has work played in your life? Did you just kind of fall into jobs or did you choose your work? Did your work fully utilize your strengths? What parts of you can be more realized in retirement than in work? If you were just starting out and you could choose any profession, what would it be? What has and has not changed for LGBT people in the workplace? Check-in Mondays7 to 8 pm We catch up with each other on how we’re doing and have unstructured conversations focused on listening.

Also in this email:Volunteer opportunities to work from home to get people registered and committed to voting in November’s vital election.Updated Senior Resources link at the bottom of this email. Upcoming Events link below, thanks to the Social Committee! Bisexual Support zoom group forming at The Spahr Center.

Creating Community in the Midst of Sheltering-in-PlaceSee old friends and make new ones! Join us! The Spahr Center’s LGBT Senior Discussion Groupscontinue every Monday, 7 to 8 pm on Zoom

To Join Group by Video using Computer, Smart Phone or TabletJust click this button at the start time, 12:30 pm:Join GroupTry it, it’s easy!

To Join Group by Phone Call If you don’t have internet connections or prefer joining by phone,call the following number at the start time, 12:30 pm:1-669-900-6833The Meeting id is 820 7368 6606#(no participant id required)The password, if requested, is 135296# If you want the meeting to call you to bring you into the group, notify Bill Blackburn 415/450-5339

The Social Committee and the Spahr Center Senior Program are sponsoring this important informational training, helping us seniors detect cognitive problems that may develop in our loved ones and community members and find ways to connect with them as well. Note the extended timeframe for this workshop: 12:30 to 3 pm. The format is interactive and the time goes quickly.  EVEN THOUGH IT IS FREE, YOU MUST REGISTER TO PARTICIPATE!CLICK THE BLUE RECTANGULAR BUTTON BELOW THE PHOTO ON THE FLYER!

A Bisexual Support Group is planned with The Spahr Center, facilitated by a therapist. Let Bill Blackburn know if you are interested. Volunteer Opportunities to get people registered and committed to voting in the upcoming November election: Click here. Whistlestop provides access to resources as well as free exercise classes, including zumba, yoga, chair exercises, & ukulele! Click here. Adult and Aging Service’s Information and Assistance Line, providing information and referrals to the full range of services available to older adults, adults with disabilities and their family caregivers, has a new phone number and email address: 415/473-INFO (4636) 8:30 am to 4:30 pm weekdays473INFO@marincounty.org

Trouble paying rent? Check out these short videos from Marin County:1. Marin County Eviction Ban2. If you can’t pay your rent3. Paying the rent that you owe4.Help is available Has your employment or business been impacted by COVID-19? Check out these local resources…click here: WorkForce Alliance Plus Snap Back Assistance, up to $800 for COVID-19 affected workers:Call: 415/473-3300 click for More Senior ResourcesSocial Committee, Warmline, and LGBTQ Radio/Podcasts click for Upcoming Eventsgames, birthday celebrations, women’s coffees & special events Free Covid-19 Testing  Questions? Assistance? We have resources and volunteers for:grocery deliveryfood assistancehelp with technology issues such as using zoomproviding weekly comfort calls to check in on youtherapy with Spahr therapists on a sliding scale basis, plus more! Bill Blackburn, Interim Senior Program Coordinatorbblackburn@thespahrcenter.org415/450-5339