The Value of Community

I started reading two books this week:  Rebecca Solnit’s “A Paradise Built from Hell” and Douglas Smith’s “On Value and Values – Thinking Differently about We in an Age of Me.”  I’m reading Solnit’s book for pleasure and Smith’s for work, but in the opening chapters I was surprised to realize that both authors were addressing a similar cultural challenge. Read More »

January Volunteer of the Month – Barbara Jue

Barbara has only been volunteering with RTSF for a year now but boy do we really appreciate her time and hard work! Her consistent and enthusiastic demeanor have supported our Home Safety program operations in a big way – from phone interviews to filing and preparation for Build Days.   We could not have served as many homeowners in 2012 as we did if it wasn’t for Barbara’s continuous!

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Project Snapshot: FSAF

The Project:

Founded in 1989, Family Service Agency of San Francisco (FSASF) is the oldest nonsectarian, nonprofit, charitable social-services provider in the City and County of San Francisco.  Their mission is to strengthen families by providing caring, effective, and innovative social services, with special emphasis on the needs of low-income families, children, the elderly, and disabled people, thus improving the quality of life for all San Franciscans.

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The Power of We

In early 2008, the following email was sent to the general listserv of the National Association of Professional Organizers’ San Francisco Bay Area chapter (NAPO-SFBA): Read More »

Ms. D from the OMI – A Project Snapshot

The Project: Ms. D moved temporarily to her childhood home in 1995 to care for her mother, moving into the downstairs in-law. At the time, caring of her mother was her top priority until the tables were turned a year later when Ms. D was diagnosed with lupus. Ms. D later inherited her home in 2000; the same home she once shared with her mom, dad and 7 siblings. Read More »

Wonder what to do about graffiti?

Last night at a community meeting (the OMI Neighbors in Action, to be exact), they had two super nice guys (Greg & Larry) from the Department of Public Works (DPW) came to talk about graffiti specifically. I thought the information was really helpful and interesting, so I wanted to share it briefly with all of you! But please check out their site here  for more information including what it costs to abate each year, tips to remove, and efforts to deter taggers by creating murals.

If you see graffiti, call “311″ to report it. They get over 100 graffiti phone complaints a day (wowzers!) but they have a great system around following up in a timely manner. Read More »

Senior Programs Are Community Programs

Picture courtesy of Light Rider Images

I can’t stop thinking about a recent article about adult day health centers being slashed (see here) - heartbreaking on many levels. Many of our senior clients struggle with loneliness and isolation, either as widows, because family has moved away, they don’t feel safe in their neighborhoods or because of limited mobility.Last year, during my oral history interviews, I asked every senior interviewed what they were most surprised about at this age – 9 out of 10 said being this alone, that they hadn’t expected to be so lonely. *heartbreaking*

Often times, adult day health centers are one of the few opportunities for seniors to take free classes, have a nutritious meal, learn about useful resources or socialize with their community. Read More »

Board Member Shout-Out!

Board members Dian and Scott

For the past 7 years, Scott Torgan has served on the Board of Directors for Rebuilding Together San Francisco. Recently, we asked one of our volunteers to interview Scott about how and why he became involved with RTSF, as Scott will be terming off the board this year. Scott has been a tremendous RTSF supporter & very active board member and will be sorely missed, but here’s a little bit about why he got involved with RTSF.   Read More »