Drivers for apps like Uber, Lyft and DoorDash have said that being classified as independent contractors while working during a pandemic means they face the impossible choice between paying their bills and managing their exposure risk. Cherri Murphy, a lead organizer for Gig Workers Rising, spoke with “Civic” about drivers’ circumstances.
Category: Health
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Community, Coronavirus, Health, Social Services, Vaccine Distribution
Campaign Phone Bankers Pivot to Vaccine Outreach
Former state senate candidate and public bank advocate Jackie Fielder recently launched a political action committee, Daybreak PAC, and has shifted some campaign organizing infrastructure toward a vaccine access effort. Some phone bank volunteers now make calls to seniors living in neighborhoods like the Bayview, to ask if they would like to get vaccinated and if they face any barriers to doing so.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Community, Coronavirus, Health
For Better Public Health, Let Communities Lead, Doctors Say
Looking back on a year of responding to the coronavirus pandemic, Dr. Kim Rhoads and Dr. Carina Marquez named two key components to improving public health, now and in a post-pandemic future: Prevention and community engagement.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, City Hall, Coronavirus, Health, Homelessness
Hygiene, Hotels, Housing: One Year of SF Pandemic Homelessness Policy
Two reporters who have been covering the city’s response to homelessness during the pandemic for the San Francisco Public Press, Brian Howey and Nuala Bishari, reflect with “Civic” on a year of stories about seizing belongings, COVID-19 testing, hotel policy and supportive housing.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Health
Managing Trauma and Grief During COVID-19
A year into the COVID-19 pandemic and nearly everyone living in the United States has experienced some level of psychological distress. Clinical counselor Christoph Zepeda discusses the challenges his clients have faced during the pandemic.
Posted inCoronavirus, Health, Homelessness
Lack of Water for Homeless San Franciscans Called a ‘Human Rights Abuse’
The lack of fresh water available to homeless people in San Francisco during the COVID-19 pandemic constitutes a “human rights abuse,” a community organizer said as the city’s shelter-in-place orders drag into a second year.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Aging, Community, Coronavirus, Health
Long-Term Care Residents Need Visitation to Thrive, Advocates Say
On the sidewalk in front of the San Francisco Department of Public Health on Thursday morning, a dozen or so activists stood holding yellow signs reading “Isolation kills, too!” Julie Schneider, the field service coordinator for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program, was one of these advocates for residents of facilities like nursing homes, who have […]
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Health
Building Connections Virtually as Youth ‘Wither Away’ in Pandemic Isolation
High school sophomore Sadie Crawford and Dr. Martha Merchant, a clinical psychologist and lead consultant for the Healthy Environments and Response to Trauma in Schools program, spoke with “Civic” about building highly personal conversations about mental health virtually.
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Community, Education, Health
SF High School Students Organize Peer Mental Health Support
Youth mental health was a growing concern even before the pandemic, but the isolation of sheltering in place has come with an increase in depression and unhappiness among young people. San Francisco high school students have been reaching out to one another despite schools being closed to offer some support. Alan Wang, Joyce Truong and Abigail Ault, who have been active in peer wellness programs, shared their perspectives with “Civic.”
Posted in“Civic” Podcast, Coronavirus, Health
SF Team Seeks COVID-19 Therapies and Ways to Defeat Future Coronaviruses
While attention has shifted to mass vaccinations, the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco remain focused on finding therapies to treat COVID-19 and defeat future Coronaviruses.