Virtual / Anytime
Travel: Train Rides Around the World
Journey by train virtually on scenic rides through Asia, Europe, Peru, and the United States https://bit.ly/2WH45Ng
Virtual / Anytime
Games: Online Jigsaw Puzzles
Finished all the puzzles in the house? Visit jigsawplanet.com to choose puzzles with from four to 300 pieces. Explore the site for the most played or most recently created puzzles or create your own. Free. https://www.jigsawplanet.com/
Virtual / Anytime
Travel: Virtual Yosemite
Explore more than 220 locations within and around Yosemite National Park with Virtual Yosemite, an in-depth online virtual tour enhanced by sound. Viewers can look up, down, 360-degrees around, and zoom in and out to see details or wider views. Free. https://www.virtualyosemite.org/
Virtual
Tues 1/19
Analysis: “Comedy vs. The Apocalypse”
Nowadays our inboxes are filled with memes, cartoons and COVID- 19 jokes. Even though each can be a reminder of a horrific situation, we laugh. Why? Because we have to; laughter is as necessary to humankind as food. It reminds us that we can still feel joy. In “Comedy vs. The Apocalypse,” David Misch — author, playwright, songwriter, and more — looks at how comedy fights tragedy with a different kind of distancing: lightening frightening things by making them seem ridiculous. Free. 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. Meeting via Zoom. For more information and to register: https://bit.ly/3rohrfJ. Hosted by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at San Francisco State University; an OLLI account must be established to register for the session: https://bit.ly/2KpynBi
Online
Thurs 1/14 and Thurs 1/21
Theater: “Citizen”
Word for Word brings theatrically performed works of literature to a new podcast series, Word for Wordcast. “Citizen,” by Greg Sarris, tells the tale of Salvador, born in the U.S., but raised in Mexico, son of an American mother and Mexican father. He’s returned to the U.S. to find his mother, or rather her grave. In the process, he discovers his true identity and what it means to belong. “Citizen” is presented in two parts. For more information and how to listen: http://www.zspace.org/pod
Virtual
Fri 1/15
Film: Some Kind of Heaven
This documentary film follows two elderly individuals and a couple as they negotiate late-in-life quests for love, lifestyle, meaning and stability. The protagonists grapple with these challenges in the context of The Villages, a retirement community in Central Florida. Although the film doesn’t delve deeply enough into either its featured personalities or their intriguing setting, it offers compelling snapshots of the struggles many of us will encounter as we round the corner towards death’s door. It’s worth watching. Available on Amazon, Google Play, iTunes and other streaming services.
Virtual
Mon 1/25 through Fri 3/5
Education: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute
Art theft and western culture; African Americans in film over the past 100 years; write your travel memoir, or flash fiction; learn about Nancy Pelosi, global feminism, black holes, and much more, presented by OLLI at San Francisco State University. Winter Session courses are open for registration. Classes begin January 25 and will meet via Zoom Conference. For more information about OLLI’s classes, free lectures, interest groups – like Spanish and French conversation, share-a-book, share-a-film – and how to register: https://olli.sfsu.edu/
SENIOR SPOTLIGHT by Judy Goddess
Education
The Aging Mastery Program is a free 10-session curriculum that “encourages participants to develop their own playbook for aging well via actionable goals, sustainable behaviors, social engagement, and gratitude.” Developed by the National Council on Aging, presented in San Francisco by On Lok Senior Services, the course focuses on “modest lifestyle changes that can produce big results,” said Valorie Villela, program facilitator. For more information contact Villela at 415.439.9364 or valorie@onlok.org
Food
The San Francisco Marin Food Bank is expanding its Pantry at Home Program. Volunteers pack a bag of food at the Food Bank and deliver it weekly. Those eligible for groceries include San Francisco residents, 65 years or older OR have an underlying health condition that increases the potential for COVID-19 complications OR have difficulty attending a food pantry due to a physical or cognitive disability. Call the Food Bank hotline: 628.272.8430.
On Lok Mission 30th Street Senior Center has expanded its meal delivery program. Meals meet the nutritional needs of older adults; modified meals for seniors with doctor-prescribed dietary restrictions are available. Menus reflect a variety of food traditions, including Latin American, Asian, vegetarian, and American cuisine. Contact On Lok
for more information: 415.550.2226.
Lodging
Home Match pairs homeowners with home seekers. A Home Match could be ideal for people who wish to age-in-place and are looking for a roommate to help with household activities in exchange for reduced rent info@homematchsf.org, 415.351.1000.
Technology
Free online computer training and tech support to individuals who are 60 years or older and those living with disabilities; phone support is
also available. Community Living Campaign, 415.821.1003 or https://sfcommunityliving.org/learn-skills/computer-training/; Self-Help for the Elderly, 415.677.7529 or sfconnected@selfhelpelderly.org; the Community Tech Network, 628.200.3118, or homeconnect@communitytechnetwork.org.
Transportation
Last month, Community Living Campaign (CLC) began subsidizing the riders’ portion of the City’s Essential Trip Card, which provides Potrero Hill seniors and residents with disabilities low-cost taxi rides; $24 for $120 in rides.
“We now pay the $24 for any senior or adult with disabilities who needs a taxi to get around during the pandemic,” said CLC’s Cathy DeLuca. “The hills make it difficult for older people to get around; bus lines have been cut, and with the surge in COVID-19 cases, seniors are reluctant to take buses even when they’re available.”
When their car broke down, Anahid A. and Onyx Williams didn’t know what they’d do.
“We’re sort of homebound,” Onyx Williams said. “We need our car for weekly big shopping trips and for occasional trips to the doctors. We can take a bus to Trader Joes, but we can’t carry those heavy groceries home.”
“We use the CLC-subsidized ETC card for the trip home. We don’t know what we would have done without the CLC-subsidized card. We’re really very grateful,” said Anahid Wiliams, adding, “we always tip the driver.”
For information on the taxi subsidies: Cathy DeLuca 510.421.1034 or cathy@sfcommunityliving.org.
