2025 Year in Review

PDF version here

In 2025, the movement for disability and senior justice was defined by defense and resolve. Senior and Disability Action stayed firm against mounting threats to essential systems like Medicare, Medi-Cal, public transit, and affordable housing, defending what generations before us fought hard to win. Holding the line was not a move backward, but a powerful act of endurance and a promise to future generations.

We fought for our campaign goals while finding joy in community through masked hangouts, creative actions like a Muni bake sale and Valentines to the Mayor, our variety show fundraiser in August, and more. Joy and creativity sustain us, fortifying our resolve to keep fighting for justice together.

Together, we defended vital programs, trained seniors and disabled people to organize, and fought fascism as part of the Bay Resistance steering committee. We built Covid-conscious community, shared our demands with decision-makers, and launched a new membership model — no dues, no renewals — to welcome everyone in and grow our power. Read on for 2025 highlights that we’ll keep building on in 2026.

2025 By the Numbers

500+ people trained in our Senior and Disability Universities and Survival Schools; 900+ People served in our Community Resource Program; 3 bus lines saved through the Muni Forever campaign; 75+ People signed up as members in our new membership model

Highlights of 2025


Senior and Disability University

We trained seniors and people with disabilities in leadership and organizing through multiple programs, including:

  • Know Your Rights, Fight Back!: engaged 160 people in a free virtual teach-in with movement lawyer R. Michael Flynn on protest rights and safety for seniors and disabled activists.

  • Noncooperation Training: addressed how nonviolent refusal to cooperate with oppressive systems can challenge authoritarianism.

Map of San Francisco with 7 markers placed, in the Richmond, North Beach, Balboa Park, and near the Tenderloin and Japantown areas

Senior and Disability Survival School

Through presentations, discussions, and popular education, we train seniors and disabled people to access vital resources and exercise their rights.

Working with community leaders at senior centers, schools, and affordable housing complexes, this year, we:

  • Trained over 230 people across seven Survival School cohorts.

  • Offered classes in English, Cantonese, Spanish, and Russian.

  • Developed a menu of 24+ presentation topics, including housing, accessible transit, free food programs, and In-Home Supportive Services.

Pictured above: Survival School locations in 2025

A photo of a group of around 20 seniors standing and sitting outside in graduation caps and gowns, holding diplomas
A group of people sitting in chairs watching a presentation


Responding to Federal Attacks

As part of Bay Resistance’s steering committee, we:

  • Organized community pods to resist fascism.

  • Trained members in anti-fascist noncooperation tactics.

  • When Trump tried to send ICE and federal troops to the Bay Area, we mobilized, holding rallies and library meet-ups as thousands joined rapid-response teams to protect immigrants.


Fighting Medi-Cal Cuts

Two people, one standing and one in a wheelchair, both wearing masks outside the state capitol and holding a banner that says "Disability justice is beloved community."

Through the Long-Term Services and Supports for All Coalition, we fought Medi-Cal cuts in the state budget, organizing rallies and member visits to the Capitol. Our advocacy helped block Gov. Newsom’s proposal to impose a Medi-Cal asset limit of $2,000 ( (it became $130,000 for individuals and $195,000 for couples) and stopped the planned 50-hour weekly overtime cap for In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) workers. Despite these wins, harmful and discriminatory budget measures remain — and we’ll keep fighting to overturn them.

A group of people standing with healthcare related signs in English and Spanish together outside


Community Resource Program

A graph showing FY25 Peer Advocate Calls by Issue Area: Disability and access - 18%, Housing - 41%, Health - 13%, Finances and benefits: 11%, other: 13%
Four people in a paratransit bus, two of them with their fists raised

Our Community Resource Program, staffed by our dedicated Peer Advocate team, provided year-round information, referral, follow-up, and advocacy services, with a focus on reaching marginalized groups in San Francisco.

In collaboration with the Independent Living Resource Center of SF, we reached around 900 people for information, referral, and advocacy support in the first ten months of 2025. We also added two new Peer Advocates, bringing our team to seven people. Our Peer Advocate language capacity now includes English, Spanish, Tagalog, and Mandarin.

A group of people sits at a table in a horseshoe shape. At the front of the room is a woman standing next to a monitor with a presentation on it. Everyone is masked.

Muni Now, Muni Forever Campaign

With federal transit funding running out and Muni under threat of devastating service cuts, we joined forces with SF Transit Riders and the Transit Justice Coalition to launch Muni Now, Muni Forever. This campaign fights for a long-term vision of Muni services and funding.

This year we:

  • Saved the 21, 31, and 36 bus lines from suspension.

  • Mobilized nearly 5,000 residents to send letters to Mayor Lurie demanding progressive Muni funding.

  • Formed SDA Kalinga (“care” in Tagalog), a team of Filipina seniors and disabled leaders at Canon Kip Senior Center who are organizing with the Muni Forever campaign.

  • Led 8+ campaign workshops, with up to 100 participants each.

  • Organized a Valentine’s Day action urging the Mayor to fund Muni.

  • Held a “bake sale” to bring attention to the Muni funding deficit.

After the Valentine’s Day action, public comment at hearings, and a rally, Mayor Lurie created a committee to develop a 2026 ballot measure for Muni funding — and we’re continuing to fight for a progressive property tax on the ballot next November.

A group of people, many of them seniors dressed in red, holding up valentines in front of a door in a government building
A large room with a screen at the front and groups of masked people sitting in circles on chairs and in wheelchairs

Upzoning and RV Tows Campaigns

We worked with coalition partners on opposing the city’s upzoning and RV tows initiatives, both of which would result in large-scale displacement of low-income SF residents, many of whom are seniors and disabled. These fights are still ongoing, and there will be continued action opportunities in 2026.

Three people standing in SF City Hall, two wearing SDA shirts, holding signs for budget justice priorities


Tenant Organizing

SDA organized tenants in Mosser Towers, a 16-story Tenderloin building, to secure elevator repairs after months of outages. Thanks to coordinated pressure, the landlord returned the elevator to service, bringing long-awaited relief to residents.

Fighting Mask Bans and Building Covid-Conscious Community

Amid increasing attacks on public health and the right to mask, the Masks for Equity team has joined forces with the Healthcare Action Team to advocate for a city “Public Health Bill of Rights.” The resolution would enshrine the right to mask in SF and ensure the City of SF is committed to vaccine access. We are currently meeting with city lawmakers in order to get it introduced to the Board of Supervisors.

Throughout the year, 60+ people attend our masked outdoor park hangouts, creating in-person opportunities for Covid-conscious people to socialize and engage with our pandemic justice organizing.


Your Support Makes SDA’s Work Possible!

Please make a monthly or one-time donation at sdaction.org/donate or mail a check to:

Senior and Disability Action

PO Box 423388

San Francisco, CA 94142


Leave a legacy of advocacy and remember SDA in your will or estate plan by contacting allegra@sdaction.org

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December 2025 eNews