November 2025 eNews
Dear friends,
It’s a scary time in our country right now, but it’s also a time for action, connection, and care. Together, we stopped the ICE surge and federal troop invasion into the Bay Area through powerful organizing. But we must remember that ICE is still present here and kidnapping community members, and we must keep taking action.
Through our coalition with Bay Resistance, we’re encouraging neighbors to take part in Adopt a Corner ICE patrols in your area. If you’re interested in taking on a leadership role, consider co-facilitating a Bay Resistance neighborhood action pod in San Francisco, or joining an existing pod. If you’re interested in pod facilitation, contact Shaya at shaya@sdaction.org.
Meanwhile, as SNAP benefits are interrupted nationwide, our local governments are intervening to support us. San Francisco will continue covering benefits in November, and Alameda County has dedicated $10 million to local food banks. Check out our resource highlight in this newsletter for more information on food support in our community.
Read on to learn more about what SDA has been up to in the last month and how you can get involved in our campaigns and upcoming events.
SDA News & Highlights
Help Us Reach 100 Sustainers by Giving Tuesday
Just as people power fuels movements, collective giving sustains our work. We’ve set a goal of reaching 100 Sustainers – supporters who give on a recurring basis – by Giving Tuesday, December 2. When 100 people commit to ongoing donations, we build the stability and strength our movement needs. In this urgent moment, where our neighbors are being kidnapped by ICE, people across the country are losing SNAP benefits, and it feels like there are fresh horrors every day, being a united force as seniors and disabled people is especially crucial.
Even though SDA membership is now free for life, grassroots donations remain essential. Your recurring gift helps us stay accountable to our community and act quickly when it matters most.
Your support powers our work for housing, healthcare, transit justice, and COVID protections, and sustains Survival Schools, political education, and peer advocacy programs that connect our community with vital resources. Join as a Sustainer today and help us reach our goal!
Come to our November General Meeting for a Housing Teach-In!
Our November General Meeting will be next Thursday, November 13 from 10am to 12pm online and at our office in SF. The focus this month will be a Housing Teach-In. Part one will be on the city's upzoning legislation, and how it impacts working class seniors and disabled people. The second part will be on the Emergency Housing Choice Voucher Bay Area Cliff. As people with these vouchers face losing their housing, what are we going to do about it? Join us to learn more and connect with other SDA community members!
Register here for General Meeting details. Spanish interpretation and live captioning provided. Masks required inside.
Join the fight to win a fair, ambitious ballot measure to fund Muni!
It’s been 10 months since we launched Muni Now, Muni Forever with our partners at SF Transit Riders, fighting for sustainable funding to prevent service cuts and improve transit. This year, we stopped SFMTA from cutting any full Muni lines, and after our rally in March, Mayor Lurie set up a committee for a ballot measure to fund transit next year.
Now, we’re close to seeing a variable parcel tax (a property tax where the amount you pay depends on factors like the size of your property) on the 2026 ballot to fund Muni – but we need your help to make it bold and equitable.
This Thursday, November 6, SFMTA and the Mayor’s Office will host an in-person roundtable about the local Muni funding measure. Ahead of the meeting, tell Mayor Lurie you support a measure that:
Generates enough revenue to grow current service by 10% so we can have less crowded buses and more buses where we need them the most.
Is structured fairly, with a variable rate so smaller properties pay less and larger properties pay more.
Does not create any new cost passthroughs to tenants.
Scales with inflation and rising costs so the money from this measure will keep pace with rising costs and enable continued service delivery well into the future.
Take action: Write to Mayor Lurie now and help make these principles a reality. If you want to volunteer with the Muni Now Muni Forever Coalition, email Mia at mia@sdaction.org for more information.
Upzoning and the Tenant Protection Ordinance
There are many opportunities still to give public comment on the city's upzoning plan and the Tenant Protection Ordinance (TPO) which are being amended and moving through the Board of Supervisors committees. Check out this video from the Race and Equity in All Planning (REP-SF) Coalition to learn more about the impacts of the upzoning plan. We will be discussing and taking action on Upzoning and the TPO at our November General Meeting on Thursday, November 13. Join us to learn more and get involved.
One of our members shared a map to help us understand the proposals. Look through this 3D visualizer map by clicking on the Gain Perspective tab.
As we fight for tenant protections at the city level, it's also important to understand the protections at the state level. Justice in Aging is hosting a webinar about the California Tenant Protection Act and its impact on older adults on Wednesday, November 12, 12pm on Zoom. Register here for the tenant protection webinar.
HUD Tenants Assembly Recap
In October, SDA and our housing partners hosted a HUD Tenants Assembly. Participants got up-to-date information about different HUD subsidized housing and a presentation on the current federal changes facing HUD Tenants from the National Housing Law Project.
We will be holding a part two of this assembly in the coming months, with more time devoted to organizing and taking action. Please connect with Ocean at ocean@sdaction.org if you would like to be part of future HUD Tenant Assemblies!
Board Spotlight: Sonya Rio-Glick
Welcome to our newest board member, Sonya!
What inspired you to join the board of SDA? What does SDA’s mission mean to you personally?
I was inspired to join SDA in remembering the phrase “all politics are local” following moving to the Bay Area this time last year. SDA’s mission spoke to me as a disabled person invested in advocacy, COVID consciousness, and intergenerational relationships. Personally, SDA’s investment in both individual support and collective action resonates as a strong way to mobilize and sustain the communities I value most.
What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?
You might be surprised to learn I used to both dance and act professionally!
Community Resource Corner
The Community Resource program is led by Damara Lopez and staffed by our team of Peer Advocates. The Peer Advocates field calls and concerns on a variety of issues and work to help people find the right support or redress for their problem. Contact the Peer Advocates.
Contact us if you need help...
Getting your benefits, such as SSI, SSDI, and CalFresh
Finding home care
Understanding a confusing letter or document you received
Getting services in the language you prefer
Navigating your housing situation
Resource Highlight: Bay Area Food Resources
SNAP payments are being interrupted by the federal government, due to the current shutdown. San Francisco will cover November benefits, and recipients will get a notice from the Human Services Agency in the mail this week. Alameda County has sent $10 million to local food banks. While local governments are helping, you can also find Bay Area food banks, community meals, and other resources on our website.
Reading Recommendation:
The Anti-Ableist Manifesto: Smashing Stereotypes, Forging Change, and Building a Disability-Inclusive World by Tiffany Yu
In this book, Diversability founder Tiffany Yu celebrates the power of stories and lived experiences to foster the proximity, intimacy, and humanity of disability identities that have far too often been “othered” and rendered invisible.
Join Tiffany Yu and Danh Trang for a free book talk on Monday, November 17 at 5:30pm at On Waverly in SF. RSVP to Tiffany Yu's book talk here.
Community News & Events
Why Are San Franciscans Dying in Substandard Out-of-County Nursing Homes?
Read SDA member Teresa Palmer’s article in the Westside Observer on out-of-county transfers for San Franciscans needing skilled nursing care. City retirees can use their bargaining power to keep residents close to home.
Upcoming public comment opportunities: Laguna Honda Joint Conference Committee (Monday, November 10, 4 pm) and Health Service System meeting (Thursday, November 13, 1 pm). Find more details in the article. Have questions or want to get involved? Email Teresa at teresapalmer2014@gmail.com.
The Last 7 Days of OBSIDIENNE OBSURD: An Experimental Drag Concert
Friday, December 5, 7pmThe Henry J Kaiser Center for The Arts, 10 10th St, Oakland
The Last 7 Days of OBSIDIENNE OBSURD is a multidisciplinary experimental drag performance that tells OBSIDIENNE's personal story of gender transition alongside the migration story of their Chinese ancestors to America. The show is presented by Oaklash, a local drag organization that supports disabled artists.
More info on the drag show and tickets here. Note: the theater is beautiful and historical but not fully ADA accessible so they're offering a $25 discount code "EZACCESS" so folks with limited stair mobility can get upgraded to Mezzanine and Orchestra levels, which are fully elevator and wheelchair accessible.
Find a full list of our monthly program meetings on our website's events calendar.
Let’s build this movement together. Donate to SDA today!
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