SENIOR SPOTLIGHT

Resources During COVID-19

STAY HOME – SHELTER IN PLACE – WASH YOUR HANDS

Current Information:

The best way to stay up to date on the City’s current information and guidance:

• Visit gov/coronavirusfor one-stop city resources and information, including how to get testedin San Francisco;
• Visit gov/stay-home-except-essential-needsfor FAQs on the shelter-in-place order. These are updated daily as clarifications become available;
• Visit sfdph.orgfor up-to-date information on the public health situation.

Call 311 for specific questions or concerns.

The Department of Disability and Aging Services helpline number is (415) 355-6700 and is available during office hours.

 JFCS is a first responder during this pandemic emergency. If you or someone you care about needs help, please call the JFCS Bay Area Critical Help Line at (415) 449-3700.

Wellness Checks

District 4 Supervisor Gordon Mar has organized a Phone Wellness Check to check on the welfare of the seniors in the community and, if need be, to direct them to the necessary resources. Initially, volunteers will focus on calling all seniors 80 and older to find out how they are doing. Eventually, all seniors will be called. Volunteers, particularly bilingual volunteers, are needed. If you can volunteer, signup at https://bit.ly/2WAdwiM or email or call Daisy Quan, the supervisor’s legislative aide: daisy.quan@sfgov.org, or (415) 554-7462.

Food

When senior and community centers closed around the City, so did their meal services. Many have re-opened during the lunch hour to serve take-out meals. Among them, Self-Help for the Elderly’s South Sunset Center. You do not need to be a current subscriber to receive these meals. Call Self-Help at (415) 566-2845 for information.

The three restaurants participating in the CHAMPSS/restaurant meals program are closed during the pandemic.

The Food Bank is providing bags of food every Friday, 9 a.m.-1 p.m. at Abraham Lincoln High School, 2162 24th Ave. For further information, visit http://www.sfmfoodbank.org.

Medical Services in the Sunset

After a temporary closure, NEMS reopened its Noriega clinic and pharmacy (1450 Noriega St.). A provider is available to handle scheduled and drop-in visits from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (closed noon-1 p.m.). Their lab, radiology and member services are still closed.

NEMS has also ramped up its telehealth and telephonic capabilities, which patients can access by either calling (415) 391-9686 or visiting www.nems.org.

If You Want to Talk

If you feel isolated, call The Friendship Line (TFL) at (800) 971-0016. TFL offers 24-hour phone support.

If you are feeling anxious, stressed, depressed or isolated, you can call the San Francisco Mental Health Warm Line at (855) 845-7415 or chat with them online at www.mentalhealthsf.org/peer-run-warmline.

If you are having thoughts about harming yourself, call the San Francisco Suicide Prevention hotline at (415) 781-0500 for confidential emotional support. You can also chat online with the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org/chat/.

If you are co-quarantined with an abuser or are worried about having to self-isolate in a dangerous home situation, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at (800) 799-7233 or chat online at www.thehotline.org.

Staying Connected Through Classes

It’s hard not to feel anxious during these times. As I’m writing this, the U.S. leads the world in COVID-19 cases, Bay Area schools will remain closed at least through April, and we are reminded everywhere about the dangers of the Coronavirus, especially for older adults and those with underlying health issues.

The Community Living Campaign (CLC) is offering a variety of phone and online ways to stay connected and participate in classes while sites are closed. Contact CLC to stay connected and healthy: Call (415) 821-1003 or visit https://sfcommunityliving.org/coronavirus-stay-connected-and-healthy/.

Always Active, the popular senior exercise program, is now online. Check their website for information: www.30thstreetseniorcenter.orgor call Genny Pinzon a 415-550-2291.

Covia, the Senior Center Without Walls, offers free classes and support groups, both on the phone and by video.  Contact Covia at (877) 400-5867 of visit coviaconnections@covia.org for more information. Their new term starts soon.

On Wednesday, April 1, 2:30-3:30 p.m., OLLI, Osher LifeLong Learning at San Francisco State University is offering the first in a series of free hour-long lectures via Zoom. Dr. Andrew Fraknoi will present on The Top Tourist Sights of the Solar System: Where Bill Gates’ Great-Granddaughter Will Go for Her Honeymoon.You must register for this lecture. Contact the OLLI Director Kathy Bruin at kathybruin@sfsu.edu.

Diversions

A musical medley with an educational coronavirus twist: https://youtu.be/n10CZRann8w

And one of my favorites, the Rotterdam Philharmonic playing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy while sheltering at home. https://www.rotterdamsphilharmonisch.nl/en/pQlJNt2/rpho-online?utm_medium=social&utm_source=youtube&utm_campaign=20mrt-rphoonline

Judy Goddess is a reporter with SF Senior Beat, sfseniorbeat.com. She can be reached at (415) 759-1994 or judygoddess@gmail.com.