Health
The Grier family, featured in the documentary film “Sky Blossom.”

Documentary ‘Sky Blossom’ Highlights Young Caregivers

05.12.2021
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Millions of Americans have stepped in as caregivers for loved ones with illnesses or injuries that mean they need help with daily living. The work is generally unpaid and often invisible to the world outside the family. Some of these caregivers are children. A new documentary, “Sky Blossom: Diaries of the Next Greatest Generation,” highlights young people who are taking on these roles in their families. Director and co-producer Richard Lui, a news anchor at MSNBC and NBC News, talked with “Civic” about why and how young people are stepping in to do this work and what it means to be a caregiver. 

“Sky Blossom” will screen at CAAMFest on May 18 at 6 p.m. It will also air on MSNBC May 29 and 30, and will reach a theater in every state on May 26. 

“Caregiving for my own father is what probably opened my eyes to this.

Homelessness
A Homeless Outreach Team worker inspects a handwashing station and finds that it needs to be refilled in the summer of 2020, at a time when coronavirus health and safety guidelines emphasized hygiene, not masks, as the best method to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Pandemic Limited Shelter Options, Frustrating Homeless Outreach Workers

04.26.2021
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Members of San Francisco’s Homeless Outreach Team — also known as the “HOT team” — walk neighborhood beats to offer support, information and referrals to services to people living on the streets. During the pandemic the resources available, particularly shelters, changed significantly. Mark Mazza, outreach manager for the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing, talked with “Civic” about how those changes influenced the outreach team’s work.

Coronavirus
recology3

Yes, Mail-Order Boxes Are a Pain for Sanitation Workers

04.09.2021
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Some customers had their boxes broken down and neatly bundled, which Recology recycling driver Gareth Willey said helps, Willey but too often, he would open a door to a basement and find the boxes piled high, and would have to figure out a way to get all the material out onto the street and into the truck.

“Civic” Podcast
A gloved provider holds a needle to a person's shoulder in preparation for a vaccine injection.

Campaign Phone Bankers Pivot to Vaccine Outreach

04.08.2021
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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.

Coronavirus

Nonprofit Brings COVID-19 Vaccines to Seniors

03.05.2021
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Self-Help for the Elderly, has stepped in not just with advocacy for improved access to vaccines, but by bringing doctors who can administer vaccines to the seniors who need them at community centers they already visit. President and CEO Anni Chung joined “Civic” to share how the organization has been vaccinating the seniors it serves.

Coronavirus
Inside Compass Family Services’ main resource hub.

Though Eligible for Vaccine, Some Homelessness Response Workers Turned Away

02.24.2021
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Mary Kate Bacalao, director of external affairs and policy at Compass Family Services and co-chair of the Homeless Emergency Service Providers Association, spoke with “Civic” about how her staff — and other workers in the sector — have experienced the process of figuring out their eligibility for a vaccine and actually getting one.

Community groups organized a gathering at San Francisco’s Civic Center Plaza to call for increased investment in social services in response to recent violent attacks on Asian Americans.

After Violent Attacks, Community Groups Call for Social Services, Solidarity

02.18.2021
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A series of violent crimes against Asian seniors in the Bay Area has sparked concern and calls to action, including public gatherings. In San Francisco and Oakland, organizers arranged for socially distanced events over the weekend to emphasize the need for additional resources and services to advance public safety.