Food For Thought’s 2nd Annual Our Virtual Table This Sunday, June 13 at 7:00 p.m. (PST) Our Virtual Table is three days away and our online auction is going strong! We look forward to virtually celebrating our Food For Thought community! During the event, you’ll hear from Executive Director Ron Karp, a client and our client services team. We’ll also have breakout rooms to allow guests to mingle and socialize with each other and some exciting guest presenters. We look forward to seeing you (virtually) on Sunday at 7 p.m.! Register nowand bid on the amazing auction items below to help us raise funds to support our clients living with serious illnesses.
Sonoma County Library is moving to the next stage of our Express Services model. Library doors are now open at 50 percent capacity, with a variety of service hours to meet your needs. There is no time limit for your library visit, and you don’t need to make a reservation (except for the Sonoma County History & Genealogy Library). See our new in-person hours at sonomalibrary.org/express.
Curbside service is still available by request during in-person open hours, with additional curbside hours at regional libraries.
Join us in reopening gradually and safely!Learn More
Thank you for being a member of the Sonoma County Library community. Visit our online library for thousands of films, TV shows, eBooks, databases, magazines, classes, videogames, and more. Be sure to check out open jobs at Sonoma County Library here.
La Biblioteca del Condado de Sonoma está avanzando a la siguiente etapa de nuestro modelo de Servicios Express. Las puertas de las bibliotecas ahora están abiertas para hasta 50 por ciento de capacidad, con varios horarios de servicio para todas sus necesidades. No hay un límite de tiempo para su visita a la biblioteca y no es necesario hacer una reservación (salvo para la Biblioteca de Historia y Genealogía del Condado de Sonoma). Consulte nuestros nuevos horarios de servicio en persona en sonomalibrary.org/servicios-express.
El servicio desde la acera todavía está disponible por solicitud durante las horas de operación, con horas adicionales de este servicio en las bibliotecas regionales.
¡Únase a nuestra reapertura gradual y segura!Más información
Gracias por ser miembro de la comunidad de la Biblioteca del Condado de Sonoma. Visite nuestra biblioteca en línea para ver miles de películas, programas de televisión, libros electrónicos, bases de datos, revistas, clases, videojuegos y mucho más. Revise aquí los puestos disponibles en la Biblioteca del Condado de Sonoma.
¿Preguntas? Por favor llame a su biblioteca local o haga clic para mandar un mensaje.
The Santa Rosa City Council talked Tuesday about expanding safe overnight parking options for homeless people living in their vehicles.
At last count, more than 2,700 people were homeless in Sonoma County.
The Sonoma County Homeless Census & Survey 2020 sheds some light on this population. The information is based on a point-in-time count conducted on Feb. 28, 2020, and responses to a survey taken by 444 homeless people in the weeks that followed.
Here is a breakdown of Sonoma County’s homeless:
Homeless residents in Sonoma County: 2,745 (down from latest peak of 2,996 in 2018 following the 2017 firestorm)
Share who lived in the area before they became homeless: 88% (and nearly two-thirds of those who were homeless last year have lived here 10 years)https://newsletter.pressdemocrat.com/framed/single?pid=41&hideImage=1&fid=3520
Main drivers of local homelessness: Lost job (22%); alcohol or drug abuse (16%); domestic dispute (15%); fire (10%)
Share of the homeless population that regularly are without shelter: 62%
Top obstacles to permanent housing for the homeless population: Can’t afford rent (70%); no job/not enough income (50%); no money for moving costs (31%); no housing available (20%)
Share of local homeless residents with a disabling condition: 40% (defined by the federal government as a developmental disability, HIV/AIDS, or a long-term physical or mental impairment that affects ability to live independently)
Join us on Saturday, May 22, 2021 from 2-4pm for the third of three virtual North Bay LGBTQI Families 2021 Symposium workshops!
These spring workshops align with our Symposium theme of Build, Protect, Advocate, and our final workshop (“Advocate”) will cover intersectional school advocacy. Our panel will include:
Please know that through this event we intend to offer a safe and supportive space for our LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC community members. Hate speech or disrespectful conduct of any kind will not be tolerated, and any participant displaying conduct of this nature will be removed from the event immediately.
Join our Charles Krug Hosts Paige and Luke for a night of Virtual Comedy featuring two comedians! Wine packs must be ordered by Monday, 5/7, for the wine to arrive in time for the show. A Zoom link will be sent to your email 48 hours before the show. This comedy show is targeted to adults, and some content may not be suitable for children. MAY 14TH, 2021 | 6:30PM – 7:30PM PST
$105.00
The package includes a bottle of Napa Cabernet, a bottle of Limited Release Chardonnay, and a comedy show ticket, all shipped to your door!
COMEDIAN BIO
Comedian BIO
Lisa Pedace is a San Diego Based Stand-up comedian, author, and public speaker. She wrote the popular Diet Joke Book. She’s a sought-after event entertainer; a few of her happy clients include USPS, harp Healthcare, Project Management Institute, and many others. She also headlines at respected comedy venues across the country.
LGBTQI History: A Sonoma County Timeline 1947-2000.Wednesdays 1:30-3pm. Online via Zoom. Next Wed. 5/12/21 we will be talking with Frances Fuchs and John Torres about the history of same-sex marriage in Sonoma County. Please contact me to enroll in this FREE class and get a Zoom invite: cdungan@santarosa.edu
As we all know, LGBTQ+ Pride season is nearly upon us come June 1. The Marin County Board of Supervisors has raised the rainbow Pride Flag for the last two years during the month of June to celebrate the contributions of LGBTQ+ people to the social and economic fabric of the county, and to express their fullest support for our civil rights. We thank them for their leadership. Now, The Spahr Center would like to see this same display of allyship adopted by more of our county’s key institutions. To that end, we have sent letters to all of Marin’s Mayors, as well as to the Presidents of all school districts and their Superintendents, asking them to fly the flag during LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
Please take a brief moment TODAY to send a simple email encouraging YOUR city or town and YOUR local school district (click here to find your school district), to fly the Pride flag and make Marin more visibly welcoming and supportive of the LGBTQ+ community.
We have included the contact information below. If we as a community reach out to each of these officials. we can persuade them to show that ALL of Marin’s institutions support the LGBTQ+ community. Thank you. Please reach out to the mayor of your town and help us make us proud of Marin!
Any letter of support will help us see Pride flags across the county. You’re welcome to use this template! It’s always encouraged to share a bit about yourself and why this matters to you. Dear _______, My name is ______, and I am a resident of _______. As a [LGBTQ+ person, ally, etc], I am writing to ask that you fly the rainbow LGBTQ+ Pride flag during June this year. Flying the flag would be a powerful way to celebrate the contributions of LGBTQ+ people to the social and economic fabric of the county, and to express our town’s fullest support for our civil rights. Sincerely, __________
AIDS Walk San Francisco began in 1987 as a day to honor the friends, family members, and neighbors we had lost, and to shine a light on the most marginalized members of society who were constantly ignored or treated without dignity.There’s no more powerful demonstration of the impact that HIV/AIDS has had on our community than the AIDS Memorial Quilt, which was inaugurally displayed on October 11, 1987 on the National Mall in Washington, D.C.. Recently, the National AIDS Memorial has become the permanent caretaker and steward of the Quilt, returning it to San Francisco where its story began. This Sunday, May 9, tune into our curated#WalkItOut playlist, and take a stroll from 11am-2pm down to the Old Courthouse Square in Santa Rosa! There, you’ll find exclusive pop-up displays highlighting panels of the Quilt, hosted by the National AIDS Memorial. Come see a piece of the premiere symbol of the AIDS pandemic and a living memorial to a generation lost.
UPCOMING EVENTS(more info below) May 6 – Beyond the Binary: Gender & Pronouns with Suzanne FordMay 20 – Understanding DementiasMay 26 – Over the Moon celebration*Every Mon. & Thu. – Spahr Senior GroupsEvery Tue. – Trans/Non-Binary Support Group * Social Committee Event
Covid-19 News for Seniors(see below) For the first time in a long time, I feel comfortable dropping the Covid News section down lower in these emails. We are not out of the pandemic yet, much is still uncertain, and yet all the seniors I’m in touch with are now vaccinated and seem to be educated about continued precautions. For more on continued precautions, click here. May we all be safe & well! Bill Blackburn
To join the Spahr Senior GroupMondays, 7 to 8 pm, &Thursdays, 12:30 t0 2 pm,click the purple button below the Butterfly Heart or here:
Topical Thursdays12:30 to 2 pm April 29 What Is Missing in Modern Life? We rely on zoom to meet during the pandemic. (What would we do without zoom?) Modern medicine makes our lives better. We are surrounded by conveniences we couldn’t have imagined in our youth. Yet some things have been lost in the translation to now. What would benefit us and our world that those modern conveniences have displaced? And is there a way we can find them again if we try? May 6 Beyond the Binary:Gender and PronounsMost of us grew up in a culture that claimed there were only two genders – female and male – and each came with expected behavior patterns, even though most of us didn’t fit into those narrow confines. Join us on May 6th when we’llbe joined by Suzanne Ford, the President of The Spahr Center Board of Directors, to talk about the ways people are breaking free of that gender binary and the freedom of expression that comes along with it. There may even be some liberation that comes to the rest of us though their pushing the boundaries. And yes! We’ll learn about those seemingly-tricky pronouns that will help us better interrelate with youth and others who express themselves beyond the binary! Coming soon: May 13: Nancy FacilitatesMay 20: Understanding Alzheimer’s & Other Dementias
Conversational Mondays7 to 8 pm We catch up with each other on how we’re doing and have unstructured conversations focused on listening from our hearts and deepening community.
The Social Committee has been consistently offering fun events to offset the boredom of the pandemic. They want to celebrate your birthday if you’ll let them know when it is. They offer a women’s coffee plus a number of times to gather on zoom over games and conversation. On May 26, they bring us an Over the Moon Celebration, a cocktail/mocktail and appetizer zoom group honoring the Full Moon and Lunar Eclipse. More information soon.
To sign up for their emails, click here. To see the Social Committee’s April Calendar, click: here.Watch for their calendar for May soon!
Men and Boys Mental HealthA Focus Group InvitationMen, you can help Marin County gain deeper understanding of how to structure mental health resources for us by participating in a 1-hour focus group:Ages 65+, Tuesday May 25 @ 4 pm << Note new date!Ages 45 to 64, Monday April 26 @ 6 pm Community participants will get a $25 gift card. By adding our voices, we will ensure that Gay, Bi and Transmen’s needs & perspectives be part of the response.Contact: kconnors@marincounty.org << Corrected address
Covid-19 News for Seniors BEWARE POST-VACCINATION SCAMS!Scams offering monetary and gift rewards for those taking post-vaccination surveys are efforts to fraudulently gather personal information such as credit card numbers. Moderna, Pfizer, and J&J are NOT sending out these offers. Avoid them!
FEMA Assistance Programs Related To Covid-19:FEMA will provide financial assistance for COVID-19-related funeral expenses incurred after January 20, 2020. (No income- or citizenship-related requirements.) Call 844/684-6333. More info here. Free legal assistance to low-income people affected by the pandemic includes help with hospital bills, estate administration, problems with landlords, and much more. Call 888/382-3406. More info here.
Do you know people who may need help making an appointment for vaccines, especially if they are not online or need multi-lingual or transportation help? Please let them know of this resource:Marin Access Services Call Center1 (833) 641-1988CA Relay use 711
Caregivers and family caregivers of seniors are now eligible to be vaccinated. Let me know of these situations – bblackburn@thespahrcenter – and I can send a letter to qualify them for inoculations now, even if they don’t currently meet other qualifications for the shots.
Building Community in the Midst of Sheltering-in-PlaceSee old friends and make new ones! Join us!The Spahr Center’s LGBT Senior Discussion Groupscontinue everyMonday, 7 to 8 pm& Thursday, 12:30 to 2 pm on zoom
To Join Group by Video using Computer, Smart Phone or TabletJust click this button at the start time, 6:55 pm Mondays / 12:25 pm Thursdays:Join GroupAlways the same link! Try it, it’s easy!
To Join Group by Phone CallIf you don’t have internet connections or prefer joining by phone,call the following number at the start time,6:55 pm Mondays / 12:25 pm Thursdays:1-669-900-6833The Meeting id is 820 7368 6606#(no participant id required)The password, if requested, is 135296# If you want to be called into the group by phone, notify Bill Blackburn at 415/450-5339
California Department of Aging ResourcesThe CDA has a website that is packed with information and resources relevant to the lives of seniors in our state. From Covid-19 updates to more general care for age-related health issues, access to legal assistance to getting home-delivered meals to help with housing, you may well find answers to your questions by clicking: here.
Spahr’s skilled therapists are available to work with seniors on a sliding-scale basis. Write toinfo@thespahrcenter.org. A Bisexual Support Group is forming with The Spahr Center, facilitated by a therapist. Let Bill Blackburn know if you are interested. Whistlestop, renamed Vivalon, provides access to resources including rides for older adults. Please note: there is a 3-week registration process for the ride program so register now if you think you may need rides in the future. They also offer free classes on zoom 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
The Spahr Center has opened its Food Pantryto seniors who need support in meeting their nutrition needs. We want to help! Items such as fresh meats, eggs and dairy, prepared meals, pasta, sauces, and canned goods are delivered weekly to people who sign up. Contact The Spahr Center for more information: info@thespahrcenter.org or 415/457.2487
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 basisplus more!
