Thank you.

Okay, I call the meeting of November 20th, 2025 Senior Commission to order.

The time is now 10.01.

Could we please stand for those that can for the Pledge of Allegiance?

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Please be seated.

Mr. Secretary, could you call the roll, please?

Thank you, Chair.

Chair Wachison?

Here.

Vice Chair Comello?

Here.

Commissioner Dillon.

Dillon.

Commissioner Dillon.

Here.

Commissioner Lopez-Nacario.

Here.

Commissioner Michael Cady.

Here.

Commissioner Pena.

Commissioner Brennan.

Present.

And Commissioner Shalini.

Present.

For the record, we have an excused absence by Commissioner Pena.

Also in attendance today are Jeanette Pace and Catherine Gilbreth,

with CityServe of the Tri-Valley Ride Care Program, who will be presenting in a few minutes,

and Senior Commission Secretary Pedro Naranjo.

Thank you.

Okay.

Announcements.

Okay.

I don't have any announcements, Mr. Secretary.

Do you?

I do not.

Okay.

Except I do have something to say.

Please silence any devices that would prove a distraction during the meeting.

And also, please remember to ask for a recess if you need to step out of the meeting, as that may impact the Commission's ability to maintain a quorum.

Item 3, the Consent Calendar.

I will entertain a motion to bundle 3A and 3B, approval of the agenda for November 20, 2025 meeting,

and 3B approval of the minutes of special meeting of October 9th, 2025.

Do I have a motion?

I motion.

Okay.

I second.

I'll second.

Okay.

Got that.

So we have a motion by Commissioner Michael Cady

and a second by Commissioner Lopin-Nacario.

Discussion?

Yes.

That's not the way it appears on the agenda.

Was there an addition of 3B?

Oh.

Oh, did you miss that?

No, it just says 3A, not 3B.

I know it's on good.

Uh-oh.

I'm sorry, say that again?

You didn't put 3B on there.

Oh.

That's just a version issue.

It might just be a typo here.

Let me see.

That is correct.

So what's missing is the...

Approval of the minutes of the special meeting.

No, that one's on there.

That's 3A.

What's missing is 3B, which is basically the agenda.

Okay.

3 and 3A then.

So now what?

I think we're okay.

You can approve the minutes.

Okay.

So I'm just approving the minutes now, but not the agenda?

No, you can approve the minutes and the agenda.

Okay, fine.

Okay.

So the motion that was just passed or that was just asked for, is that still good?

Yes.

So now would you do roll call, please?

Yes.

So we have Chair Wachison.

Yes.

Vice Chair Comello.

Yes.

Commissioner Dillon.

Aye.

Commissioner Lopez-Nacario.

Aye.

Commissioner Michael Cady.

Yes.

And Commissioner Shalini.

Yes.

The motion passes.

And Commissioner.

Did I not call your name?

No.

Why am I?

That was not on purpose.

Commissioner Brennan.

I'm staying because I was not president for you.

Okay.

Thank you.

We really are organized.

Sorry.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Okay, so the motion passes.

The motion passes, yes.

Thank you.

Okay, city staff report and announcements.

Pedro?

Thank you, Chair.

I have a few updates for everyone.

So as the holiday season approaches, there's a lot of end-of-the-year activities.

So I want to just remind folks that city offices will be closed between Christmas and New Year's, and the New Year's holiday period, except for essential services, as you know, such as public safety.

Our police department is still working during that time.

And other required services like our water pollution control plant.

And so we do have some things that are going to continue here at the Senior Community Center that I will speak about shortly.

And so the other update that I have for you is, as you know, with Commissioner McHenry's transition,

we have a vacancy and city clerk had been notified.

The corresponding city council member also had been notified.

and there was actually a nomination of a new person that was on the agenda for this past Monday's city council meeting.

That same day, we received a notice from the individual that they are moving out of town.

And now we're unable to continue with the process.

And so we were very close.

Needless to say, as you know, our city clerk's office and our city council member will work on identifying another person.

And so I will continue to provide updates about that, hopefully in January.

That's Commissioner Bowen.

I'm sorry, City Council Member Bowen's district.

Regarding department-wide updates, the biannual homeless point-in-time count

will take place on Thursday, January 22nd.

from roughly 5 in the morning until 9.30 a.m.

As many of you know, this is an effort that happens every two years

throughout many cities to carry a count or a study

of the number of unhoused people in our communities.

This is a federally mandated event that relies on volunteers

to conduct the count of those experiencing homelessness

at a certain point in time.

The point in time count is critical to achieving the most accurate estimate

of the number of homeless persons in San Leandro.

These numbers determine the amount of homeless funding we will receive

from the county and other partners.

These efforts are only successful and accurate if we get support from our community.

So we greatly welcome your participation in this meaningful event.

and to register to volunteer.

We have a staff member within our department

who's responsible for leading this effort.

Her name is Elsa Castillo.

So if you would like to participate,

you can get in contact with her.

I will go ahead and email you her contact information

and some information about the point-in-time council

so that you can follow up directly with her.

And so I just want to say there's many different ways

that people can help, right?

For those that feel comfortable

and have experience going out there,

you know, again, it's early in the morning, right?

at 5 in the morning.

It's essentially, we're going out there

and we, throughout the whole city.

So it's a citywide effort.

Folks will be assigned different areas of the city,

usually definitely in pairs, if not in trios.

And you essentially go out there

and you do a count of how many people you see.

You might not see anybody out at 5 in the morning, right?

Because usually most of us are sleeping at that time

and our in-house folks are sleeping as well.

And so you'll be counting tens.

So we do make contact oftentimes and if folks are open to participating in a survey that allows us to be able to get more information, more details that can be used for programming purposes, we do that as well.

Some folks that day will help with that, but there's other types of support that's needed.

For example, last year, this site was used as sort of our headquarters.

So all the volunteers were reporting here.

so if you're not the person that wants to necessarily

or can go out and help out in the way that I just described,

we need people here also that can help register,

that can help with coffee and donuts,

just making sure that everybody has what they need

to be able to do that work.

So there's different ways to participate and to engage,

so feel free to contact Elsa

if you're interested in learning more.

What's her name?

Her name is Elsa Castillo.

Did you give a date?

Yes, it's January 22nd.

roughly from 5 in the morning until 9.30.

Everybody start at 5.00.

I used to start at 5.00.

I might sign my husband up.

Yes.

So, yeah, thank you in advance for just being aware of that

and for anybody who's able and willing to help out.

And so I'll jump on to senior services.

We're not there yet.

We'll be there in a second.

We have a Thanksgiving luncheon scheduled for next Wednesday.

And so we had our first annual Thanksgiving luncheon last year since COVID.

And so, you know, this is a very popular and valued event here in San Leandro.

And so last year went very well.

we did it in collaboration with Spectrum Community Services

who provided the traditional delicious Thanksgiving meals

and we'll be doing that again this year

and so I hope some of you have already registered

I know I've been in contact with some of you

and so we're excited to see you there

even if to just to enjoy the event

if you're interested in helping that day

I know the commission has been helpful in multiple ways

serving coffee, pouring water

running raffles, welcoming people, please let me know so that I can get you in contact with

Liliana Gray, who's spearheading this event. And so it's going to be a lot of fun.

I think we already have about 168 people who are confirmed to be here. So we're excited. We're

excited about it. The other event that's coming up is going to be our Senior Services Expo.

we did this for the first time last year and this is scheduled for december 4th uh from one to three

o'clock i will send you flyers i will send you information uh in advance uh similarly i want to

invite you all to come and just see what what we're doing here if you want to if you want to

help set up you know and just other things that that just need to be happening that day

let me know and i can get you in contact with the right person and just as a reminder this is

connected to our age-friendly efforts, as you know, with one of our priorities being

increasing the volume and the frequency and quality of our promotion efforts.

This event is different from the annual senior fair that happens in June in that the annual

event in June, we invite everyone that serves older people to come and talk about what they do.

The expo is specific to what happens here in this building, what happens specifically to

our department, right? So we'll be, our partners will be here promoting our volunteers who run

programs. We'll be here talking about some of the great things that they're doing. And so that's

another important event coming up. And then the other thing I want to share, just some pictures

of some exciting things that have happened since we last met in October. And so I wanted to just

share some pictures. Sometimes it's great to hear stories and to get information, and sometimes it's

super helpful to put a face to some of this. So I want to just share with you some of the things

that we get to see here on a regular basis. And so this is a, we partner with ACTC, Alameda County

Transportation Commission. And so they do a clip of card and wheelchair marking sessions for older

adults. There's training in here to help them understand how to use, you know, these systems.

And so that's some pictures of our training here.

We also do blood pressure checks, leg strength endurance tests in partnership with our local nonprofit organizations.

And this is one that just happened a few weeks ago.

As you know, through our age-friendly work, we partner with Tech Exchange to conduct digital literacy classes.

And so we've had a few of those sessions.

I'll say a little bit more about that when I get to my age-friendly update.

And then emergency preparedness.

As you know, as part of our age-friendly work, we had Libby Besman here talking to people about emergency preparedness.

And so this is some pictures of her doing that, interacting with our patrons.

October was Halloween, so fun times here at the center.

And so there you see some of our staff members who were dressed up.

And we have Anthony Davis there who plays for the New Orleans Pelicans.

And we have a scarecrow and a butterfly and a reindeer.

And then yours truly here was men in black.

I was Agent P.

And here, you know, obviously, you know, this is all for our seniors and for our patrons.

And so obviously we engaged them in a Halloween bingo celebration.

And you see some of these pictures there.

In the summer, Ice Cream Social with Spectrum Fall Prevention Week.

And there was lots of exercises and food and just a lot of really good fellowship.

It's a great event, a lot of fun.

As you can see, staff are having fun there too.

And so some of you may recall there was a Spectrum walk at the marina.

It happens every year.

and so that was also a lot of fun

and we were at the annual living festival

in the Oakland Zoo as well

I think that was in September actually

people really enjoyed that

we had a charter bus

transported over 50 people to the Oakland Zoo

and as you know

as part of our age friendly efforts

we are bringing back senior day trips

and so we had our first official

senior day trip yesterday

to the Oakland Museum.

You see some of the pictures there, folks.

A lot of great feedback.

Folks were really excited and happy

that they got an opportunity to be able to do that.

And so I think about 14 people

were able to participate in this activity yesterday.

There's more to come that I'll share about in a second.

There it is, sorry.

Yeah, lots of fun, lots of smiling faces.

We like to see that.

And so that's just some, you know,

just to give you a flavor of some of the great stuff

that's happening here on a regular basis.

And with that, that concludes my report,

but I'm happy to answer any questions

that anybody might have.

How many are coming from the Thanksgiving luncheon?

So currently we have 168 people.

No, no, from here.

Oh, sorry.

To volunteer.

Yeah, volunteer or whatever.

I can't because I'm going to stop working.

I'm hoping I can come,

but I'm already conformed to work.

which day is it

next Wednesday the Wednesday before Thanksgiving

the 26th I think it is

yeah

sorry

oh I do sorry I do want to say one more thing

I mentioned that the city offices are going to be closed during the holiday period

we are our flex rights program

will continue to operate with the exception of of course

Christmas and New Year's Day

and then we're also in communication with

Spectrum as we have been in the past

we want to continue

the daytime lunch program that our seniors

get. In the past we've been closed

for all programming except for that and so

this year likely we're going to continue to

do that so that our seniors get their

daily lunch.

Thank you.

Sorry, which one?

The lunch on next Wednesday.

It's from 12 to 2.

If you're coming to the event it's from 12 to 2.

If you're coming to volunteer we'll get

you're here as early as you can be here.

Any other questions?

Comments?

Okay.

All right.

Public comments.

The public is invited to make comments on items that are not listed on the agenda at

this time.

Public comments are limited to two minutes per speaker, subject to adjustment by the

chair.

The Commission is unable to respond to your concerns today as they are not agendized.

Your item may be taken under consideration for future discussion or it may be referred to the appropriate department.

When you address the Commission, please stand, state your name if you desire for the record, and please speak clearly and project.

Thank you.

So I would like to have you introduce yourselves, starting with Ms. Harris.

I'm Hilda Harris. I'm one of the participants here and also a member of the FLEX program.

Now can I start my two minutes?

I'm sorry, go ahead.

Can I start my two minutes?

Yes, you may.

Oh, okay.

So the reason I'm here is because I'm very concerned that the policy that was in existence ever since I've been here, which is called the WAVE policy, I don't know if you guys are familiar with it, but it means that if you are along the route that the flex bus runs, which is a fixed route, you were able to wave the bus down.

because the designated stops, which are mentioned in the notice, are far apart from each other.

So therefore, if you were along the route and you needed to get on or get off,

you could do it by simply notifying the driver.

As of October 13th, which was when I received the notice and also the other patrons,

effective November 1st, they removed the wave stop policy.

And I believe that this is detrimental to the functioning of senior transportation

because then they are expected to walk to a designated stop,

which in my case was actually a mile from where I waved the bus.

So I'm not sure, and I'm still trying to get clarification on how many people are being negatively impacted.

We already have a lot of seniors in San Leandro who are not even on the route.

So I'm only speaking about the ones that are on the route.

But I do believe that that wave policy was an integral part for a good reason.

and unless there are many more designated stops put in place,

then they should continue the way you stop.

Am I within my two minutes?

You are. You've got two seconds left.

All right, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, guys.

Thank you.

Did you want to mention that?

No.

No.

Okay.

All right, I'm sorry.

Good morning.

Good morning.

My name is Sky Wu, and good morning, council commissioners.

I wanted to also reiterate what Chris has said, and same thing about the flex bus.

Many seniors who have tried to use the flex bus, including myself, have experienced some barriers to using it.

Limited schedule makes it difficult to plan appointments or attend programs like the senior center,

local community organizations, and libraries.

Many of the stops are hard to locate or are placed in areas that require long walks and often too far for seniors with walkers, canes, and limited endurance.

For many older adults, especially those with mobility issues and disabilities, the hardest part isn't the ride.

It's simply getting to the stop.

So we've had repeated situations where drivers drive paths or skip stops because no one is standing directly at the sign.

Seniors may be waiting just a few steps away or in the shade, sitting or resting on a bench, and they are still missed.

When that happens, the wait can be an hour or more a lot of times, and I've seen myself and others have to wait like an hour to get on the next bus.

There's no reliable way to re-enter the system or request a new pickup.

And unfortunately, drivers routinely skip low ridership stops.

I've experienced that myself where I live there at Dunham.

At the same time, many flex buses run nearly empty.

In recent years, flex has delivered around 2,000 to 3,000 service loops annually.

But even though San Leandro has approximately 14,000 seniors, only a couple hundred of these seniors really are enrolled in the program.

So only a fraction of those seniors are really live regularly.

Sorry, your time is up.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yes, thank you.

My name is Sarah Bailey, and I'm actually here in my role as the current chair of the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission.

We had a meeting on Tuesday, and we had presentations from the Alameda County Transportation Commission

talking about the East Bay Greenway, which you might know will come down East 14th and

turn at San Leander Boulevard and continue out to Oakland.

This is a protected bikeway, but it will also be a lot of pedestrian crosswalk improvements.

And I know that it's a top priority of the seniors in San Diego that they have protected walking routes.

So I'm just reading from the agenda, but I hope that you will pull out the BPAC agenda

and take a look at the links, because there's quite a good number of slides to take a look at.

And it's very exciting.

There's also what they call an annual overlay, which means that there'll be work on hisparion

for protected bike lanes, which also protects pedestrians.

And, you know, the same situation, updating crosswalks, adding lights and flashing lights

and making it way easier to cross the Sparion, which is really ugly and hard to cross to

get to Bayfair.

And then we also had a presentation from staff about what they call Highway Safety Improvement

Program, which is an addition of what they call a hop camera, which is when you can push

a button and there's actually a red light that comes on.

There's one on Davis Street near Carpentier, kind of near the church.

And there'll be several around.

So anyway, go to the agenda, click on the links, and there's exciting information.

And the two ladies in the back are for our presentation.

Okay, thank you.

Sorry.

Thank you all for your comments.

Yes.

Just a quick comment.

So I want to invite our public who commented on the FlexRise program, if you're available, to stay around a little bit longer.

I do have an update regarding our Flex program and assessment that we're currently conducting later in the meeting.

So if you are able to stay, I invite you to do so.

And, of course, if not, I'm available.

As you know, I've spoken to both of you.

I'm available after to talk if needed.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sorry.

All right. Presentations. City serve of the Tri-Valley Ride Care Program presentation.

Catherine Gilbert, who is the Ride Care Program Manager, and with her also is Janelle Pace, who is the Director of Senior Services.

We welcome you, and we look forward to your presentation. So you're up.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Good morning. Hi there. My name is Catherine. I am the program manager for bike care transportation with City Server of the Tri-Balow.

I'm very excited to be here today and to share some information with you about a new partner program that we are having here alongside the city of San Leandro.

And can you speak up just a little?

Absolutely. I'll do my best to remember.

Thank you.

Thank you.

So in order to understand who we are, it really begins with understanding our history.

So the Older Americans Act of 1965 launched the national network of community-based programs that support older adults at home.

These essential services include meals, legal help, caregiving support, and transportation.

So by the year of 2030, one in four residents will be over the age of 60 or better.

That amasses to about 8.6 million individuals in California alone.

So each county office offers essential, free of cost, supportive programs and services for individuals to help them strengthen their community,

to promote independence and social connection, and to essentially reduce social isolation.

So this history is the foundation of our work here at CityServe of the Tri-Valley and our commitment to equity and age-friendly support.

So we care about each and every single individual.

We care, coordinate, and connect them to essential resources, community support, other community-based organizations, nonprofits, and church liaisons to best support each and every single individual.

We listen to their story, we understand their history, and we help them on the trajectory of wellness and sustainability.

Our care values with CityServe of the Tri-Valley are essentially to collaborate, advocate, reach, and elevate.

But dissecting that a little bit further is really instrumental to understanding who we are as a nonprofit

and our collaboration with you, the city of San Leandro.

So we serve more individuals when we work together.

It helps create a stronger, more connected community

and essentially residents within that community.

So that includes community support, community groups,

healthcare providers, other nonprofit organizations,

essential leaders, and of course volunteers to help manage it. We advocate. Who needs a voice?

Well, each and every single individual has a voice. It's just making sure that that voice is amplified

and understood and supported. So older adults struggle silently each and every single day

with poverty, health barriers, social isolation, and they need someone within their corner.

And that's what we do here with CityServe.

We reach.

Who's underserved?

We understand our community better and do our best as far as a goal to support the older adults within our community and ensuring that no one is left behind.

So that includes individuals who are at home, who are perhaps socially isolated, those who are experiencing a language barrier or cultural barrier, those who have limited resources and are struggling with transportation.

So in San Leandro alone, the residents that you have here in your community are about 90% Caucasian, 8% African American, 37% who are Asian, and about 20% who are Hispanic.

Elevate.

Who can we lift up today?

By uplifting others, we strengthen our community, the individuals that we serve, families, and essentially our wraparound services to support our older adults and the population.

Okay, this is our dimensions of wellness.

I'm sure you're very much familiar with this, but as a little bit of a refresher,

This really focuses on the whole person approach and is supported by the National Institute on Health.

So we understand that all of these dimensions work alongside one another.

And by having a lapse in one area, that can affect an area supporting the entire individual.

So we understand that the overall focus is much more than just physical health, right?

It includes support, socialization, and mind and spirit, not just focusing on the body.

So our focus is to provide crisis intervention and prevention programs that focus on sustainability and stabilization in each and every single individual's life.

So bridging the gap.

About 19% of older adults, those 60 and greater, do not have a personal vehicle, which is why we are so thrilled to share more with you about our up-and-coming transportation program piloted here with the city of San Leandro.

So we're thrilled to provide free, reliable, door-through-door transportation for individuals who are 18 and older, who have a disability, as well as those who are older adults age 50 and greater.

So what I mean by door-through-door is a little bit different than the current transportation programs and agencies that are offered here in San Leandro.

Door through door means that we pick you up from your home and we take you to your appointment,

whether that's medical, pharmacy, social services agency, or to the local grocery store.

And we wait for you in the reception or in the lobby area so that you can go and see your doctor,

you can go and see your dentist, get all of the support and needs that you have independently taken care of,

knowing that once your appointment is over and done with,

that volunteer driver that picked you up and took you to that appointment

is waiting for you right there.

There's no phone call that you have to make.

There's no corner that you have to stand on.

Each and every single volunteer that drives with us

waits with our clients so that when that appointment is done,

we can take them right back home.

So each and every single volunteer that we have

is vetted and supported and trusted by us. So we do our due diligence. We have them apply as a

volunteer with CityServe of the Tri-Valley. We do in-person meetings. We do a virtual or in-person

onboarding and we check their DMV record as well as their DOJ and FBI background. That's really

important. We want to make sure that you are safe but also the drivers that we have assigned to you

are equally safe in their community as well. So volunteers may choose to attend appointments

alongside clients. Some of the clients that we support, again, are hearing impaired or have a

visual impairment, and so they just need an extra pair of eyes and ears in that critical appointment

to make sure that anything that their doctor shared with them is not amiss. So that's something

that we can certainly do for the clients that we support.

They just need to let us know that, and we'll share that information with our volunteer

driver.

So we essentially bridge the gap not covered by transportation agencies here in San Leandro.

You have a number of wonderful programs that are offered.

We are just an additional resource, and we are pried to essentially provide transportation

door through door for about 16 cities here in Alameda County. So Berkeley, Oakland, San Leandro,

Castro Valley, Newark, Alameda, San Lorenzo, Ashland, Cherryland, Hayward Acres, Fairview,

Dublin, Pleasanton, Fremont, Union City, and Hayward. Who we serve. So this is kind of along

the lines of client eligibility. So who are the clients that are able to be a part of our program

and how can we best support them? Because that's really the essential question is how can we

support them and provide this service for them again free of cost. So we try and have them be

enrolled in care coordination because as we mentioned in our dimensions and wellness not

one aspect is going to fulfill each and every single individual. There are numerous aspects

within that. And we want to make sure that we can provide wraparound services to support each and

every single client. We also ask that they are above the age of 18, those with a disability,

and are able to walk ambulatory and relatively independent without the physical need and

guidance of that volunteer driver. So those who utilize walkers, rollators, canes, leg braces,

we welcome that. And if there are additional mobility aids that they utilize that we perhaps

may be unable to support through care coordination, we're able to make referrals to other

non-profit agencies and transportation programs within Alameda County that best support San

Leandro residents. So they're able to schedule rides and attend appointments with our clients

and they typically are residents of Pleasanton, Livermore, Dublin, Senol, and now San Leandro.

About 62% of San Leandro residents are between the ages of 18 and 64.

So a part of the age-friendly initiative, this is where City Serve of the Tri-Valley comes in.

How we serve.

So our focus and lens is really being able to provide door-through-door transportation

for individuals to get to medical appointments, go to grocery store runs, go to their local

pharmacy and pick up prescription medications, but then also taking them to social services

agencies as well, right?

Whether that's the DMV, whether that is to Alameda County Social Services Agency locally

here in Oakland to apply for Medi-Cal or CalFresh benefits. We do ask the clients that we serve to

schedule their appointments with us in advance. About two weeks notice is something that we prefer,

but there have been numerous occasions where we've been able to make accommodations

for clients because we understand how difficult it can be to schedule these medical appointments.

right? You have a dental appointment in six months, but there's an opening on Tuesday.

Can you make it happen? We sure will try our best. Absolutely. So our volunteer drivers receive a

weekly email every single Wednesday, and that is giving our clients and volunteers that we support

the freedom and flexibility to choose their own schedule. So they choose the shift and slot that

best works with them and their schedule. If there's any gaps, we as staff will be able to

step in and help fulfill that ride. But essentially, we do lean on a network of volunteer drivers.

So if you, your family, friends, or loved ones are local here and wanting to give back to their

community and are just trying to find the best way to do so, I'd love to be able to connect with you

after this to share a little bit more. And we'd love to have you on as a wonderful volunteer.

There's a really nice assisted rides platform, VIP rides, so you go sign yourself up, you

don't use that?

So this is just a local network of volunteer drivers that we have.

Well that was too, actually.

Okay.

I was just saying it was really nice to use when I was doing the rides.

Okay.

So that was a transportation program that you utilized in needing connections?

Yeah, well, they used to, in Pleasanton, they used to have a Rides program.

So we still do.

It's a little bit different nowadays.

No, no, no, no, no.

It was different.

So there's a Pleasanton Rides, and there's a Black Tie,

which is another program that they have,

and that's for Pleasanton residents 70 and older.

Yeah.

So our program is for 18 and older.

I'm talking about one that shut down and operated for years.

Okay.

And they used a really nice platform where you signed yourself up for Rides.

We have a little bit more personal experience.

So not all of the clients that we support are able to download an app on their phone or being able to really navigate their phone.

I know myself, it's a little complex.

So we like to have that personal experience.

So you can call us, you can send us an email, and we'll do our best to help support you and help you navigate this.

So volunteers are a social connection and essentially a wellness check on wheels for the clients that we serve.

So we want to make sure that this interaction between the volunteer and the client goes extended and past just essential transportation.

We want to make sure that the clients that we serve are having a social connection, developing a friendship and a relationship with the volunteers that we have.

Because essentially, most of the time the clients that we serve are a bit socially isolated.

They don't have a lot of family, friends or loved ones in the area.

Some of them have moved out of state.

And so these opportunities for transportation for them are really the only social interaction that they have in weeks or months at a time.

And so we take that very seriously.

We have a lot of love and compassion for the clients that we serve, which leads us into Miss Mary.

Everyone say hello to Miss Mary.

Miss Mary came to the U.S. from the country of Portugal at the age of 13.

She didn't know any English, and she learned on the fly here.

So Miss Mary, unfortunately, has a complex blood disorder,

which means that she has frequent critical medical appointments that she has to get to.

And we've kind of given you a little snapshot of some of those.

So Miss Mary needs a lot of support.

She doesn't have a lot of family, friends, and loved ones in the area.

Her niece lives in Elk Grove in Sacramento, which is about two hours away.

So she's really not able to lean on her family for support, getting to these critical medical appointments.

And she's also a widow.

She lost her dear husband a few years ago.

So she's now down to one income, and that is a fixed and limited income.

So being able to pay for transportation whenever she needs to get to these frequent medical transportation programs and appointments is really just such a financial strain for her, which is where Ride Care comes in because essentially we provide free of cost door-through-door transportation for Miss Mary.

So Ride Care gives Mary much more than just rides. It brings a sense of connection and safety and independence for Miss Mary.

It allows her to stay connected to her community, to feel empowered and independent,

and essentially to provide reliable transportation from individuals that she knows and trusts

that will get her to her appointments on time.

So if you have any questions, I'd love to hear them.

If you have a family friend or loved one in need, I have applications and I can sign you up.

Wait one second, I'm sorry.

For the public, that's all right.

I will be happy to call on you, but please understand that she can connect with you after the meeting, too.

But you're welcome to give us any comments that you have.

That's fine.

Okay.

So, I'm sorry.

Just give me one minute.

Go ahead.

So, has the program started in San Leandro?

I'm sorry, say a little bit.

Has the program started in San Leandro?

Yes, we are starting to get the word out to San Leandro residents about who we are and essentially be able to sign them up for our program.

We hope to implement our program and begin providing transportation in the month of January, which is just right around the corner.

But in the meantime, we are signing up clients.

Yes.

Yes, Commissioner Dillon.

And is there a number for them to call?

Yes, there is.

We have flyers and I also have business cards.

I also provided my information right here as well.

This is my direct number and also my email.

So if you have any clients or San Leandro residents who would benefit from this program,

I'd love to listen to them to share more about the program and help them to get signed and registered.

Commissioner Dillon?

Yeah, two questions, I guess.

Well, to follow up on that question.

So you're signing people up now. Are you also signing up volunteers currently?

Yes, we are.

Volunteers and clients.

Yes.

So my original question was, who coordinates the care coordination that you mentioned?

So we have a wonderful, yes, thank you.

We have a wonderful care coordinator, who is Janessa.

Janessa will be here and present in our office two days a week, on Thursdays and all day on Friday.

Janessa will be able to work alongside Lily and Valerie in making sure that they receive care coordination and supportive services

that are local here in San Leandro for residency.

Okay, thank you.

Absolutely.

Yes.

Commissioner Shalini.

So how do you vet the volunteers, the car, the vehicle?

Yeah, absolutely.

So like I mentioned, each and every single volunteer completes a volunteer application.

We meet with them in person and speak with them over the phone as well.

We do an onboarding as well to bring them up to speed to provide an overview of the program.

We do request their DMV record, and they do a background check, checking for DOJ and FBI.

We also check for a driver's license and their car insurance and an up-to-date vehicle registration.

And if there is an accident, then the insurance is covered by the volunteer?

The insurance is covered by the volunteer, yes.

Each and every single client that we support signs a driver agreement and a release of insurance and liability,

as does the driver as well as a volunteer.

Yes.

Yeah, I wanted to ask you, how do you help them financially?

How do we help them?

By getting them connected with care coordination.

So we listen to each and every single individual's story

and we really do a budget breakdown with them

to get a sense of what is that income coming out

and what do those monthly bills look like?

We understand the older adult population, and every year in January, that Social Security amount increases very slightly, but so does yearly annual expenses, right?

And CalFresh benefits decline.

So we really try and see where that gap is for them, areas that they're struggling with, maybe the PG&E, maybe with providing food and getting that on the table, keeping power on in their lives and giving them a social connection with a volunteer driver or just to volunteer within their community to be a local friend, to have a little bit more insight.

And those essentially are care advocates for them.

So we do meet with each and every single client through care coordination and really dissect what their budget is and any kind of gaps that they're experiencing.

So if there's something that you can't personally help them with, you also refer them to others?

Absolutely. We do a warm handoff, right?

So if there is another nonprofit or agency that can really bridge the gap of where we're not able to support them,

we will make that connection with them and perhaps sit in on that first meeting

so that all the information that that client shared with us, we're able to relate to that agency.

So nothing's kind of slipping through the cracks.

And if this person has a caregiver with them and they have a slight dementia,

so you'd have to talk to the caregiver.

Or do they have to show you power of attorney?

We do sometimes ask for those kind of forms.

It's helpful for us to have a better understanding.

But with CityServe of the Tri-Valley, we offer a number of different programs

that support each and every single individual and the stages of life

and experiences that they have.

So one of those programs is actually called Family Caregiver Support Group.

And so that is for family, friends, or loved ones who are providing caregiving support

for an individual with organic brain dysfunction who are having Alzheimer's or showing signs of

dementia. So we help to support that caregiver who is essentially providing that support for

their loved ones. So we can provide support for the individual experiencing a cognitive decline,

but also for that caregiver as well. Is that available through Zoom too?

those groups? We have that online. Yes, we do. Absolutely. We understand that it's very

challenging to be places in person. And so we understand that the virtual platform, which was

introduced during COVID, it's not going away. It's very helpful and essential for them. So we do have

support groups that are offered virtually. Absolutely. Okay. I have a question. Is there

an age limit on your drivers? No, Ms. Jan. Everyone is able to drive. We don't have an

age limit or a cap for our volunteer drivers. If they're able to navigate themselves and

feel comfortable driving, we will openly welcome that. And what about people that are

deaf? Do you have any assistance for them if they call you or is there some way to

reach you? Absolutely. Yes, there is. So oftentimes we do sign up our clients over the phone or in

person. Perhaps it's a little bit easier for them to maybe read our lips or have an ASL interpreter.

But we do have staff with CityServe who are ASL literate. So they're able to assist us in

completing those applications. And your driver volunteers also? We are doing our best to have a

more diverse range of volunteer drivers.

Some of them speak Spanish.

Some of them speak Cantonese and Mandarin.

I'm not entirely sure about ASL,

but we're going to do our very best

to be able to provide support for that individual in need.

Yeah.

Anyone else in the Commission have a question?

Okay.

Here is my question.

Oh.

Okay.

You asked what I was going to ask.

Oh, okay.

Did you have a comment?

You guys asked most of the questions.

What type of capacity has you built in terms of the volunteer for other cities, for example?

Absolutely.

Compared to what you expect to do in the 10th year.

Yes.

So right now, with the rights to the program that we have, we support residents of Pleasanton,

Livermore, Devlin, and Finale.

And we do have volunteer drivers who are part of each of those cities I just mentioned.

Right now we have within our volunteer network of just drivers about 32 volunteers and counting.

I have three individuals who are interested in signing up.

One of them I'm actually speaking with over the fall today to get them a little bit up to speed with ride care.

So our goal is to essentially have about 50 volunteer drivers who have the capacity to serve and have a flexible schedule to be able to support our residents here in San Diego as well.

Yes.

Did you have any questions?

I do not.

Okay, thank you.

All right.

Catherine, thank you.

Yes, I'm sorry.

Pedro, did you have a question?

Just a comment and some context to all of this.

And so I'm super happy that you're here.

And I want to share just some background because I think this is a really good example of how our age-friendly plan is being activated.

And so this started through the assessment process.

I know Commissioner Cametto kept reminding us about the need to support folks in a different way, right, a more personal way.

We also heard it through the people that we engage in our age-friendly process, the focus groups and the surveys.

And so that led to really a conversation with Catherine to learn about the work that they do.

And the process of having that conversation, we were super impressed with her, first of all.

and we were super impressed with the work that the organization does.

And later on, we met other staff members, like Jeanette,

who we're super impressed with as well.

And as we were having this conversation with her just to learn,

with Catherine, just to learn about what they do,

we could not help but to ask the question,

are you in San Leandro?

No?

Can you come to San Leandro?

And are you open to exploring a conversation about a partnership?

And so through that, we kind of got on the path where we then identified some funding.

So this pilot, and I'll say this is a pilot program, we're piloting it, is being funded through our Alameda County Measure BB funds.

So we get a paritransit allocation, so we were able to identify some funding there that we proposed as part of our annual plan to Alameda County Transportation Commission, which they approved as a pilot for this current year.

And I will say that while the program is officially serving people in January, there's been a lot of work that's already been done.

and I really appreciate the approach that we're taking with just making sure that we have a program design,

a well thought out program design, that we're building our capacity.

When you start programs, you can't just start them overnight, right?

There's a lot of capacity and infrastructure that needs to be built, and that's what we've been doing.

Catherine and her team have been great about having a presence here already.

They've tabled here in our corridor, put a face to the program, interacted with folks, answered questions,

got feedback from them, tried to recruit volunteers.

Catherine and two of our staff members were at our second Friday's event in San Leandro,

just this past Friday, promoting the event to our community.

So thank you for being out there as well.

And so now we're here.

And so congratulations to this team.

We're building in some metrics and some evaluations

so that we can determine whether this program, this pilot program, is having an impact.

And if it shows promise, of course, we will continue to incorporate that into our annual proposals to ACTC.

So I wanted to just share that for everyone so that everybody knows, you know, kind of how we got here.

Yes, Commissioner Camilla.

Yeah.

So ever since that Life Elder Care had stopped this program,

it was on my mind that we should bring that program to San Leandro.

because I used to take part in that program.

And then one day we went to a roundtable meeting, AARP meeting,

and then we heard some people talking about this program there,

and that got me started.

So I started bugging Pedro every time.

It worked.

Have you started looking into this?

And I made sure that you have got off our agenda.

And so I'm so happy that you just come.

It is something that I was dreaming of.

So thank you very much.

Yes.

I see the problem is this pilot works well.

They're going to have to change their name to Tri-Valley and the East Bay.

Yeah.

I think we can make a name change.

Thank you so much.

Anyone else really quick?

Catherine.

Yes, go ahead.

I'm sorry, Commissioner Dillon.

Can you hear the Senior Expo?

Yes, we welcome.

I didn't hear the question.

I'm sorry.

I asked if they'd be at the Senior Expo.

Oh, okay.

Yes, that's December 4th.

Yes.

We'll be back.

Good.

Okay.

Thank you so much.

It's been a pleasure.

This is just really uplifting,

and I'm sure that we're going to have a great relationship with you.

So thank you very much.

Thank you.

Okay.

Thank you.

Okay.

At this time, I would like to propose a brief break, five minutes or so,

and we'll come back and start our action items.

so um take a break get a coffee go do whatever you need to do and we'll see you back here in

about five minutes i declare that the meeting for november 20th reconvenes at 1107 we are on

action items that's number seven seven a october 2025 age friendly i'm sorry november i apologize

November 2025 Age-Friendly Initiative Update Presentation.

Pedro?

Thank you, Chair Wachison.

And one of my favorite parts of the month, honestly,

is to come here and share updates regarding our age-friendly work,

as you can probably tell.

I love sharing updates about how things are going.

I love, I really appreciate the feedback that we get.

And when I say feedback, I'm talking about things like, hey, that sounds really good.

Or, hey, you all may want to think about this thing in a different way, right, or suggestions or concerns.

I appreciate those.

And then the other reason why I get really excited, because these are also opportunities for you all to be engaged at a deeper level.

So I use this as an opportunity to also recruit you to support many of our efforts.

So with that, I'll go ahead and start our November update.

And again, just as a reminder, this is all part of our Age-Friendly Initiative.

Our Age-Friendly Action Plan produced six priorities.

And so you see those on the screen.

They include plan sustainability, personal protection, housing security, health and wellness, transportation, and social connection.

Within each one of these priorities, we have dozens of projects and activities that we agreed to, that we committed to doing within a five-year period.

And so these updates will include progress made on various of these activities within each of these priorities.

Okay?

And so the first one that I'm going to be talking about is our plan sustainability, which includes implementing structures and systems necessary for long-term success of the age-friendly initiative.

And so with that, one of our activities there is to participate in the Alameda County Age-Friendly Communities Council.

And our last meeting occurred on October 17.

And as you may recall from previous updates, there are established committees.

that are part of the structure of these Alameda County Age Council meetings.

So there's a Legislation and Advocacy Committee,

Housing Committee, Embracing Aging Committee,

a Digital Exclusion Committee, and a Data Committee.

As part of that process, we also incorporated a Partner Spotlight section

in which each partner, and this is a network comprised of many cities throughout the East Bay,

each of us will at some point go and present to the group regarding some of the work that we're doing.

So in October, we were able to hear a little bit about some of the work that the city of Berkeley

is doing to support the needs of older adults.

and so during those meetings we also hear what we call systems updates and so during the October

meeting we had a presentation by Alameda Alliance and the Alameda County Transportation Commission

okay so a great opportunity I know that Commissioner Michael Cady participates in those

in a different capacity that she has within the county and so those are just really informative

They're great opportunities to network and identify resources.

And then also for us to be able to contribute to that process, right, given the value that

we can bring as well.

So I don't know if you want, if there's anything else, Commissioner, Michael, Katie, that you

want to share about those meetings?

That one was a couple weeks back.

Yeah.

It's always good to hear about what's happening with Medi-Cal.

That's really important right now and what's going to happen with the insurance.

We also in the county commission had a really good Medicare presentation, which I'm a few

years out from that, but boy that's confusing, that Medicare stuff.

I'm not looking forward to that at all.

But it was somebody from HICAP, which is the local, the SHIP, which is, I don't remember

what all these acronyms stand for, but if you're transferring over to Medi-Cal, it's really

good to talk to an individual from the local contracted agency that does information about

Medicare. That was the takeaway from that because, boy, it's too much to figure out.

Thank you. Thank you for sharing that. And so second item there, the implement age-friendly

San Leandro comprehensive communications plan, as you already called, promoting what services

are available is one of our top priorities.

And so I'm happy to say that we've updated our age-friendly webpage on our website.

It came last month, I think, and I shared a little bit about some of the changes that

we incorporated.

So when you get a chance, feel free to go on there and see all the information that

we've included, a lot about our process, definitely about our plan, other resources

that include county, federal, and state connections

to this work that we do with older adults.

So it's a great place to get information and resources.

And then the other thing that I wanted to share

just an update regarding recent

and upcoming community outreach events.

And so we were recently at the October 10th

spooktober event.

And this is part of the second Fridays

that the city of San Leandro has been doing.

I think they're happening until the end of November.

And so our staff was out there on that day.

Staff was out also at the October 18th BASIB.

BASIB is one of our partners,

the Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay.

They had their annual autumn fair.

So we were able to participate in that as well.

And as you just heard during the presentation, we and our partner with CityServe was also at the November 14th, second Friday event.

I'm really excited to share a new collaboration that we have with SOS Meals on Wheels.

and so they've agreed to distribute our monthly senior calendar

to all the participants of the Meals on Wheels program.

So as they're getting their food delivered and they're interacting,

that's also an opportunity, right?

It's not just about the food.

As we heard earlier, it's about the social interaction

and how are you doing today, ma'am, sir?

And then an opportunity to say, hey, here is a calendar

that highlights some of the activities that are happening

at the Senior Community Center.

So that's already built into our system.

Every time they get a meal, every month, every month, once a month, they'll get that senior services calendar that I share with all of you.

And I delivered some of those, and they're big and colorful and really nice.

And I think Meals and Meals participants are supposed to be home-bound, but they're not.

No, they're not.

And then you heard earlier we're excited about our senior expo that's coming up.

Again, good opportunity to promote a lot of what happens here in this facility.

we have been

intentional

with our

promotion through the San Leandro

Times and so even

if you open today's edition

you will see that we are promoting

our book club

our live well, be well

health education classes that we do in collaboration

with CityServe. So that's the other

value of this whole

partnership has been that you start talking about something

and then you realize that there's a bunch of other things that you can be

doing together. So CityServe, thank you so much for supporting us and our community in that way as

well. And San Leandro Chimes also advertised today as a caregiver support training program

that we've been doing. I'll talk about those a little bit later. And of course, we actually

put out an ad promoting the upcoming senior expo. So that's a little bit of some exciting

promotional things that are happening right now. Next item there is coordinate age-friendly city

staff and community partner trainings. So we have been invited through our public works department

who's going to be organizing this training, which we did already earlier this year with our own

staff. So here's an opportunity to engage staff who might have missed it the first time or some

of our partners if you want to participate or volunteers in a de-escalation training. And so

it's an opportunity to build capacity. We are a community center. We're in the community.

Lots happens. And so this is an opportunity to equip our staff, our partners, and volunteers

with the ability to be able to handle a variety of different situations that may come up,

particularly when there are individuals that are in an escalated state, either because they're

escalated or because there's potentially a mental health condition that they're being impacted by.

Commissioner?

I wanted to ask you about that training.

Is anyone, like if any of us wanted to do that training, is it available to us?

Yeah, I mean, especially you, I mean, you volunteer with our Mercy Brown Bag Program,

so we definitely want to prioritize the individuals who are coming into direct contact as part

of our programming here at the Senior Community Center.

But yeah, if you all help out in many different ways, you know, you go and you help with outreach

efforts in the community. So given that we are in the community and things might

happen in those kind of settings, it's always good to have that capacity. So yes,

if anybody here is interested in participating, please let me know. Is

there a time? I'm sorry. I don't have that. We don't have a time yet. We just

we we just have a save the date at this point. Okay. Next is our personal

protection priority, which has many, many activities. It was definitely a top priority

that came out of our plan. And this includes protecting physical, psychological, financial

safety of residents of all ages, whether at home, in public, or across cyber space. As you all know,

we participated in a walking, in a program, I would say. We were selected by UC Berkeley and

and California Walks to participate in the Community Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety Training Program.

It helped us build some capacity, helped raise our awareness,

and we actually conducted some walking assessments, which some of you participated in.

So the report of those assessments has been finalized.

You can actually find the report in our human services webpage, our age-friendly webpage, under personal protection.

There's a link that you can click on to go to the report.

And so since our last meeting, a portion of our planning committee members had a debrief meeting in which we kind of debriefed the whole process, but then got more into like what's next.

And so part of the what's next is circling back to our partners regarding some technical assistance that we're going to prioritize to help us move some of this work forward.

The planning committee members that were not able to participate in that debrief were asked to complete a survey that similarly is seeking input regarding their participation in this whole process and any input that they have for the future.

And so as the next step, we're going to be revisiting the technical assistance options that they presented.

And then also the plan is for us to present the findings of that assessment at a senior commission meeting early in 2026.

Yes.

So as I was talking to you the other day, I saw something in the meeting that there is a time for application for getting some grants for transportation.

I know we already have got some money, I suppose, but if you need some money, I think that is the best way to get it, to apply for those grants.

So can you look into that?

We're looking into that.

If you need money.

We do need money.

And we are looking into that, but we're also looking at other options.

And so one of the, if some of you that participated in these meetings,

where we call that some of our colleagues with the Alameda County Transportation Commission

participated in this process, and so we are exploring the possibility of there potentially being some funding

through ACTC that is aligned with this work that we may be able to pursue,

given the fact that we already have a report we already have some

recommendations that are outlined some very specific things that we can propose

so yes we're looking at that and we're looking at other options. So if you want any help let me know. Yes.

If it's a grant and if you want me to help out I'll be happy to do that. Thank you.

That noted and definitely will be circling back with you when the time is right.

Second item there which is engage MP transportation and other transportation

providers to explore getting ready to get into a contract for evacuation services to

support the needs of seniors and people with disabilities during an emergency.

And so this is a pilot similar to what I described earlier with RideCare.

We presented this as an option as part of our peritransit proposal for this year.

And so the idea here is that we utilize the flex ride shuttles during an emergency.

also when the city has activated an emergency shelter, okay,

so that we can transport individuals who are not able to get out on their own to a safe site.

And I will say, this is a pilot program, and as I mentioned earlier,

it takes time to get pilot programs off the ground.

We are in the design phase,

And so I'm looking at engaging some key subject matter experts in late January, maybe early February.

Our emergency services specialist Libby Vesman will be part of that.

I reached out to our Alameda County Fire Department contact will also be there.

Envy Transportation obviously will be there.

and then through our participation in the Access and Functional Needs Advisory Committee,

I've connected with other people that are doing work in this area.

And so this past, when was the 18th?

Yesterday, Tuesday, I met with Andrea Dodge,

who is with the Alameda County Public Health Department's Healthy Brain Initiative,

and Ben Chin, who serves as the Alameda County Public Health Department's

Council on Commissions.

And so they're also going to be involved in our planning session

in January or February.

And so they've already provided some really helpful resources to me

that I'm planning to look into regarding other subject matter experts

that we can engage in this process,

but of potentially other resources as well that we can leverage.

And so what do we say?

Knock on wood, nothing happens, right?

We don't want anything to happen.

But this is in preparation for that.

And I do have some ideas about some things that we can do in the last six months of this fiscal year,

being from January through June, to build our capacity.

The one is develop a program design so that when something does happen, we all know who the players are.

We all know who does what, where, how.

And then the other thing that I want to do is I actually want to do a drill.

I actually want to do a drill and identify a couple sites that we can work with and pilot what we're designing in the next six months.

And so if this shows promise, like we're hoping pilot programs do, it'll be incorporated into future paratransit program applications.

and so

yeah so good progress there

and then the next item there is coordinated emergency services

in response to

service and response

workshop at the senior community center

again Libby Besman has been

here you saw the pictures

we did actually

participate this year for the first time I think

I think since I've been here

in the great California shakeout

so we actually

had the drill here

there was the

the drill that folks were asked to do during that day.

And so it was a good exercise for us to go through that.

The point of drills is that you learn from them, right?

So one of our takeaways is that, which we kind of already knew, right?

There are people that are going to be in this facility with mobility limitations.

They're going to need an additional layer of support.

There are people here who are vision impaired, right?

And there are people here with vision loss.

I mean, sorry, hearing loss.

So we need to, as we think about this, look deeper into strategies and practices, procedures that we need to put in place in order to be able to support everybody,

but in particular those that are especially within those vulnerable populations.

So great exercise.

I want to thank everybody who participated in that.

And then lastly, we have our last TV session with Libby scheduled for December 9th.

So if you're in the area, please come by and say hi and learn more about what we're doing here in the city of San Leandro to support our residents.

Still within personal protection, we have the contract with Tech Exchange to provide digital literacy workshops.

I'm happy to report that four workshops have already been conducted.

Each workshop consisting of six classes, and a total of 82 individuals have completed the program.

The program has been offered in English, in Spanish, and in Cantonese.

And each one of those 82 individuals walked out of that program with a refurbished free laptop.

Wow.

Good.

Good.

Good.

I'm happy to hear that.

So good progress there.

Next one is participating in the Alameda County Access Functional Needs.

I spoke a little bit about that earlier, but I'll say that during the October 21st meeting,

we had a great presentation by Alameda County Social Services,

specifically the Alameda County Mass Care and Shelter Unit,

which provided a lot of information regarding what they do during an emergency.

And again, great opportunity to connect and engage those individuals

in some of the work that we're doing here in San Leandro.

The last item there is scheduled presentation from the city's transportation and engineering division

to this commission, which is one of our activities.

So as you can see there, they are scheduled to come and present to you at the February senior commission meeting.

Tentatively on the list of topics to be covered include the city's pedestrian safety infrastructure programs.

Okay.

next in the area of housing security this one's pretty easy just want to say the the same

presentation that you all got in october from the home match program was given to the human

services commission also in october so the word is being spread regarding that wonderful program

under our health and wellness priority which includes ensuring san leandro seniors have

affordable equitable access to physical mental health care especially the basic needs of food

clothing, and hygiene. So we are in partnership with Alameda County Public Health Department,

specifically with their Healthy Brain Initiative. And so we've been conducting these virtual

caregiver trainings since October 17th. They'll go through the end of the calendar year. As

mentioned earlier, we're promoting them in the San Leandro times. And I'll say this one has been a

bit harder to kind of get off the ground. We haven't had as much participation in these sessions.

And so obviously we're leveraging the San Leandro Times and other promotional

avenues, but it's something that we're looking a little bit more into to see if there's other ways

that we can engage more people. So if anybody has any ideas about that, I am all ears.

And then within our transportation priority, which includes providing affordable, reliable

transportation that takes into account residents' mobility and cognitive differences and personal

destination needs. Not up on the slide, but as you heard from our city serve partners, the ride

care program is part of this component. I just was not able to include it on this slide. So we're

very happy about that. And then the other really important thing, effort happening right now,

as I mentioned earlier, is our FlexRides fixed route bus program assessment.

And so I want to provide a little bit of history here and some context.

We've been fortunate that we've had this program for a number of years now.

The current design for the program was created based on an assessment,

a study that we did back in 2020.

We had a consultant that provided that assessment,

and the findings helped inform the,

I would say, part of the current design.

Part of the reason why I say part of the current design

is because along the way things happen, right,

and you end up making adaptations to your program.

So that happened in 2020, okay?

It's been five years now.

It's almost going to be six years, right?

And so it seems that was before COVID.

And so we have felt for a couple years now that it's time to do another assessment.

So we're doing that for that reason.

But we're also doing it because we have been attentive to the feedback that we're getting from our riders regarding some operational challenges.

And some of those operational challenges include things like some of the things that we heard earlier, right?

where there's long delays.

Sometimes there was concerns about the buses, the shuttles,

not stopping at every stop, the drivers driving by.

There was concerns about...

The WAVE program?

Well, not the WAVE program.

I'll talk about that in a second.

A flag program?

No.

Mostly schedule, mostly stops, mostly the distance.

Yes, the distance between designated stops.

Currently, the design is set so that in one route, there will be 15 stops.

Okay, so there's four shuttles, two on the side side of town, two on the north side of town.

They kind of do one of these, right?

They kind of do one of these.

And so there's 15 stops that are on a schedule that's an hour loop, okay?

So it's an hour for them to get through that loop.

And so what we've learned and what we've heard from folks is that, one, as we heard earlier,

sometimes it's about getting to the stop, right?

People have to walk half a mile, maybe more than that.

for people with mobility limitations, it's hard.

And so we heard that.

And so, what was I going to say?

So, yeah, so then we also heard about delays,

people being out there waiting for the shuttle for a long time.

And so we're looking into that.

The other thing with the wave stops that I want to say is the wave stops,

and this happened before I came on board,

but I'm assuming, I understand that what happened was that it was incorporated probably for the same reason, right?

There's a big stretch between stops.

And so there was an opportunity for someone who was a FlexRide member to wave a driver down,

and that driver would pull over and pick that individual up, right?

And so the change that we made recently was to eliminate the wave stop because there was a concern, we had a concern regarding safety.

And the issue here was, was the person being waived, was the driver being waived in a safe space?

So the 15 designated stops to that assessment, somebody went out there and assessed them.

Can somebody on a wheelchair get on here?

Is it safe?

And so that's how they were determined.

And so the concern with the wave stops was, is it a risk to the rider?

Is the stop safe for them to board the shuttle, right?

Is it safe for the driver to pull over?

Right?

Is it safe for other drivers who are on the road?

And so we were concerned about that.

In addition to, not so much, but the other thing is that when you have these wave stops,

obviously you're not going to be able to get through that whole loop in an hour

if there's multiple wave stops within that route.

But I would say it's more because of safety.

And so we said, let's change that.

We don't want anybody getting hurt.

And so we provided this notice, and we did hear feedback from folks who were going to be impacted,

which was very helpful to hear.

And so because of that feedback, we decided that,

so let me back up a little bit.

This assessment that we're doing with the whole program is very timely.

So this assessment is going to look at everything from where are the stops?

Is that where the stops need to be?

Are they too far apart?

Do we need to add more stops?

Do we need to extend the time so that the drivers are not feeling rushed

to get through their route?

So we're looking at all of that.

And so this assessment that we're doing right now will help inform the design for the program in the near future.

And when I say near future, I'm talking about hopefully starting as early as July of this year, which is when the new fiscal year and program year starts.

Now, because we've heard people say, this is difficult on us.

You know, I can't walk all that distance.

And so what we're doing currently is we're saying, and we've heard from a few people, and so what we're doing is we're getting information regarding that location where they tend to wave the driver down.

And we're asking MV Transportation, who is our provider, to go out there and assess the stop.

Based on their assessment and their expertise, because this is what they do, right?

They're experts in this area.

they deem that stop to be safe, we're going to continue to allow it to be a wave stop,

at least until we complete our assessment. If they come back and they say, that is not a safe spot

for these reasons, we're going to work with them and we're going to work with the individual to

see what other options we can explore to minimize impact on them. And so the assessment is really

important. Hearing from people is really important. Us being able to be flexible in this time of

change is very important. And so I think we're on the right track. And so the assessment consists

so far, we've done three focus groups. And when I say we, I'm talking about our staff. And we've

also retained the services of Pear Street Consulting. So Mike King is who's driving this

assessment. Mike King was the consultant that we retained for the Age-Friendly Action Plan.

And so they've already met, they've already conducted three focus groups. One with current

riders, one with potential riders, and one with the shuttle drivers. Does that say riders? So one

current riders, potential riders, and then drivers, the drivers of the vehicles, right? It's important

to hear from them as well, like why, what, you know, what are their thoughts? We are also

currently administering a survey that's available here in hard copy and at the San Leandro library

and also online to engage other folks.

And then we also have been identifying key individuals

to have key informant interviews one-to-one

so that we can get a little deeper

and be able to get more information from them.

So we're in that process.

We'll be doing this through, I think, January of 2026.

And then our consultant will be here, I think,

February, maybe January, February, we'll see, early next year, to provide an update regarding the assessment.

They'll be at our meeting?

They'll be coming here to this commission to present, yes.

Can I say something?

Yes, please.

I would like to give my opinion on this to Mike King or whoever.

because I think some of the flecks when I see them sometimes they're completely empty so have

a survey of how many people are using that and in the past there was a one shuttle that was kept

for medical emergencies, not emergencies,

for taking people to medical appointments.

So if you could take one shuttle out of that route

and use it for that medical thing,

which will be a better use of the shuttle

than having it just go around without any people in it, just empty.

Thank you for saying that,

because in addition to everything that I just said,

about why we're doing this assessment.

We're also doing this assessment,

and I'll share this with other folks.

We're doing this assessment because we believe

that the program is doing a lot of good,

but it can be doing a lot more.

And by doing a lot more,

our goals with this assessment

is to increase the membership of the program.

Currently, we have 717 members enrolled

in the program, okay?

We think a lot more people can be added to that

if the eligibility is that you're 50 years of age and older.

We have a lot of 50-year-olds in San Leandro.

So one of our goals is to better through a higher quality program,

increase the number of people that are enrolled in the program.

Second to that, not second to that, but in addition to that,

we want to see those shuttles full.

We want them to be utilized.

And so we want to increase the utilization of these services, okay?

Our goal for this year is to have 8,119 rides.

Okay?

Which is not that much different than last year.

And our goal is every year to increase our membership

and every year to increase our utilization by at least 5%.

We think that's a very realistic goal.

But those who are registered are also registered because of Uber.

You know, like me, I don't use the shuttle, but I use the Uber.

services. So I have registered

for the Flex Shuttle, but actually

I'm not using it.

So there are some members like that

who are

registered. So all the 800

or 700 people that are registered

for Flex Shuttle, they are not

actually using it.

Yeah, and some people are registered

but they never used it, right? So we have to start

figuring out how can we get more people

to utilize the system. And so what Commissioner

Comando is speaking to is

when somebody signs up for the FlexRise program,

everybody gets signed up for the shuttle.

And then if you are over the age of 70,

which is part of the eligibility for the FlexRise on-demand program,

you get automatically, if you're over the age of 70,

in a San Leandro resident,

you automatically get enrolled into our FlexRise on-demand program.

And so...

Another thing, FlexRise on-demand.

So people sometimes don't understand that.

But I have talked about this many times, but the thing that when you say Uber, everyone will be calling Uber.

So that is why it is called Flex Ride on Demand.

Yes.

It's like a very convoluted name for this program.

Yes.

That's like the Hayward Hop program for San Leandro.

These things are so hard to get information about these paratransits.

I was a social worker for a lot of years, and now it's confusing and hard to get that information.

Yes. And so we welcome input. If any of you, members of the public, if you wanted more information about the assessment process or how you can be involved in it, we'd give...

We've emailed that out. I got an email this morning.

Yeah, we've been...

You're on the list.

Yeah. Yeah. But if you're not on the list or you haven't received anything, please let me know and I'm happy to engage you in that process.

Commissioner Lopez-Occario had a quick question.

I mentioned this before and I'm going to mention it again.

Is there a possibility where we can ride one of those flex buses because, you know, I'm the type that I want to ride it.

Because I can't promote it, I can't ride it.

Yes.

You know, so that way I can explain to other people that I help how to utilize it, where it stops.

And I will feel comfortable with that.

because like the gentleman said, there's a lot of issues,

and I don't want the people I know to come up with those issues.

Yes.

So, you know, it'll help if we...

Yes, 100% right.

I did the same thing when I came to this role.

I said I need to understand, and I got on the shuttle, and I got excited,

and then also started, you know, the light bulbs.

Oh, we need to do this, we need to do that, right?

And so, yes, we can look into maybe scheduling something in early next year

to see who can participate in that as well.

I want to say one more thing before I forget.

So with the things that I just described that we're doing to improve the quality of our services, I will say,

because of the feedback that we've received from folks and because we also have access to data.

We can track what's happening.

We can track a lot of different things, right?

And so we currently have biweekly standing meetings with MB Transportation that we are using as a way to address these specific issues that we're hearing from our riders or challenges that we're seeing.

So if somebody calls us and says, I was waiting at this location, nobody ever came, or the shuttle came 30 minutes late, or the shuttle just passed me, which all should not be happening.

But if it happens, we're tracking that.

And then during those bi-monthly meetings, we're specifically talking about each one of those issues that's brought to our attention with our provider with the intention of fixing it right away.

and then making sure that the managers of that program are communicating the expectations to the drivers

so that they're aware of what we're hearing and what needs to be corrected.

And again, I will say, you know, the drivers are key to this process.

Many have been with us for a long time.

Sometimes they're just trying to get from stop to stop, right?

So hearing from them about their experiences and what some of the things that are coming up for them

is also really important.

That's the reason why we've engaged them in this process.

So just know, we're doing the assessment.

We're also doing these biweekly.

We heard this.

What do we do to fix it?

So we're not having to wait until July to incorporate some of these practices that will help improve the quality of their services right now.

What will happen in July will be more long-term.

That's going to be more of a, is it 15 fixed stops or is it 20?

Is it a one-hour loop or is it more?

Are we going to incorporate wave stops?

All of that is going to be incorporated into the assessment, which will help inform the design moving forward.

Yes.

So in the future, when you make these changes like the wave thing, did you take any input from people before you changed the wave thing, or was it only from the safety angle that you did?

This particular change, I will say it was mostly from the safety angle.

We met with our MB transportation provider who also had expressed concerns about safety issues.

And so it was based on that.

But again, once we shared the information with folks, as they started to express their concerns,

obviously we were very open to receiving any feedback and any ideas that people had.

I was thinking in the future maybe we could get input from people also, the riders or whoever,

whatever you think, and of course the drivers as well.

In this specific case, it could be any other things before we make decisions.

Yeah, I agree with you.

I mean, honestly, I think it's very helpful.

So there is an opportunity to do that right now, but I'm hearing you, and I agree with you that in the future as we run into things, right?

Because sometimes we plan something, and we say that makes a lot of sense right now, and then something happens, and we say we have to pivot.

I agree with you.

Let's make sure that we're going through a process where we are engaging our community and our riders because we may not be seeing something, or they may be seeing something or experiencing something that we need to know about.

One more question.

Commissioner Brown.

It was actually three, but it's on this report.

Sorry, you get one out of three.

Number one was CalSafeTrack happy with, did they engage with you saying they were good with the engagement with San Leandro on that project?

Were they happy with the way out?

So you're talking about a different item.

Yeah, the report in general.

Well, this is different.

I understand.

You're on flex.

We're on flex.

But you want to come back to this.

If it's inappropriate, I had three questions that are in various parts.

Okay, I would say, can I suggest that we wrap up this conversation and maybe we can come back to that?

I'm not a fan.

Okay.

What?

If we can wrap up this piece right here.

Oh, you have one more.

No, if there's any other comments from anybody on the commission.

Oh, is there any more comments on the transportation project?

And if not, then we can continue and then come back to Commissioner Brennan's question.

Yes.

Okay.

So, we'll come back to your question.

That's fine?

Yeah.

Now.

Oh, I thought we had one more social.

We do, but we can actually, I just didn't want to confuse these two.

So we can go to that and then I'll finish.

Also flex.

Number one, was CalSavetrack happy with the process from their perspective looking at us?

During the debrief meeting, they said that it was a good process for them.

They really appreciated working with us.

I will say that it was also a capacity building opportunity for them.

Because as we conducted some of our community meetings, we all learned about things that need to be incorporated into some of these engagement meetings.

when we are engaging people with disabilities, vision impairment, hearing loss.

And so as we're presenting information to people, sometimes we assume that everybody has the same abilities or access.

And so it was a good opportunity, and this came up in our debrief,

for them to incorporate some additional components in the future

to ensure that those individuals are also equally engaged in those conversations and those processes.

But yes, I would say yes.

That's good feedback, though.

So you showed an event where they were doing clipper card.

Have we looked at having the front desk either be able to validate people for clipper cards

or at least facilitate the paperwork input for clipper cards at the front desk?

Because the only physical location to do a clipper card around here,

you have to go up to Oakland, one of the Oakland main stations.

Lake Merritt.

Lake Merritt, which is not a place I tend to get off the bar.

Yeah, great question.

And so those pictures are actually a training that we did just a couple days ago, I think,

that's actually done by AC Transit.

And so they do these trainings on a regular basis here at the Senior Community Center

as well as the Marina Community Center.

So during those trainings, they inform people about these cars and these resources

and how to use them, and so they walk them through that.

We don't do it at the front desk, so we lean on the fact that we know

that we're going to be having these regular trainings,

and we try to get people to go to those trainings.

Go ahead.

Okay, just segue into that.

Do they then issue the clipper cards to them?

They do.

They do.

Okay.

Yeah, I went to a ride at night.

I didn't have one.

I wasn't about to get one.

Let's see, number three, can we get a report status next time

some future meeting on the senior utilization of the Llewellyn Transition Interim Housing Center.

Yes.

Have they split out their demographics by our seniors?

We do.

And I have to apologize because we scheduled that special meeting

during the time that you were not available.

Oh, I'm sorry.

So I provided a report about that during October.

I'm happy.

I'll look at that and come back.

The recording is there.

I think I included some information in the minutes, but not a lot of detail.

But I'm happy to follow up with you and provide the specifics.

Actually, I'd like to hear that, like, quarterly, like, is it trends up, down, sideways, whatever it is.

And my other questions are for the BPAC.

Thank you.

Our way?

My other questions are for the BPAC.

Oh, okay.

But they relate to the transportation and safety issues in this report.

Okay.

Yes, Commissioner Shalene.

So two questions.

One, you talked about the

Healthy Brain Initiative.

Do you think we can talk to the hospitals

and whether they are

seeing patients who are doing this and

refer them to us?

Yeah, I think

that's a

good idea.

As I mentioned, the turnout has been low.

I know, that's why you...

I think those ideas are great.

Second is this great

California...

was it successful in the sense that did you manage to get everybody out in the safe place in time?

Like you said, there were issues, you know, things.

How long did it take? Do you have any metrics on that?

I don't have them at hand.

But in general, I heard that most people really appreciated having the opportunity to be able to practice.

and so um i think the way it was carried out this year was that it was more of a kind of like a

i always get this confused with somebody help me is this is it drop stop drop and cover

so it was it was it was uh not so much an evacuation which we actually have which we

actually have to do here but this was more of a every year at 10 16 on 10 16 october 16

everybody, not everybody, but many people participated in this drill.

So what we did here is everybody basically paused during that time.

Those that were able to stopped, they dropped, and they covered.

And obviously as part of that was information about like why are we doing this?

Why is it important?

What can you do to stay safe in your homes?

So we haven't done any of that.

The evacuation drill will be next.

Okay.

Thank you.

Yeah.

Yes, Commissioner Dillon.

A couple things.

Did you say that the FlexRise assessment is available here for members of the public to fill in?

The survey, yeah.

So the survey?

Yep.

Okay, so members of the public who have concerns or input, feedback can pick it up here and drop it off here.

Drop it off here.

And then it'll go to...

To My King.

My King.

Okay, great.

Yeah.

Thank you.

And one more.

Okay.

Okay.

So the city serve, since it's a new program and Meals on Wheels has agreed to add our calendar, maybe they'll include that as well?

Because it'll be a while before it kind of filters into, you know, general knowledge.

Yeah.

I think we'd get the calendar and this new city serve.

Since we're trying to get volunteers and for people who may need it.

Yeah.

Or is it?

No.

I didn't negotiate that into their contract,

but I'm sure they would be open to help us promote.

Are you talking about Meals on Wheels or with Riker?

With Meals on Wheels, to be able to add this flyer?

Oh, yeah.

No, I think they're open to.

Because we're going to be putting our calendar in your services.

Yes.

Can we add this since it's a new program in January?

We can ask.

Yeah, we can ask.

I think if they were willing to distribute the monthly calendar,

I'm sure that they would be open to sharing this as well.

And I think it might be actually you're onto something really exciting here is that maybe on a regular basis is the calendar,

and then it's an additional, hey, this new thing is happening or this exciting event is happening,

and that can accompany that as well.

I thought you were talking about ride care, also disseminating those calendars.

I'm sure they would be open to doing it as well.

The other way.

Yeah, okay.

I get it.

Okay.

All right.

One last question.

One of the things that we need to ask the flex drivers is that when they are picking up people,

you know, with wheelchairs and stuff, a lot of times, I've noticed even helping elderly

with the public that are workers, they're not very conforming when you need to help

them to do certain things to get on so it takes time to adjust them.

And so you have to be kind, you know, so it's hopefully to build trust so that you do that.

So I think that should be put in play on those drivers since they are put in those positions on the things that they come across that delay them with the people that they're picking up.

Yeah, no, that's good. That's really good input.

and so

I'll end that piece

with just

as

sometimes when things

are not working out

you're in this space

you have to try to figure out why

what to do about it

our angle is an opportunity

this is an opportunity to be able to

revisit something and hopefully

engage folks in the process

the right people that will help us create something even better, right?

And so we're excited about that and look forward to these next steps.

And so with that, the last thing that I want to say is the last update here is regarding social connection.

It includes combating the epidemic of isolation and loneliness through creative, varied opportunities for trust-building,

social interaction, and shared learning.

And so as you heard earlier, we went ahead and kicked off our senior day trips.

And so the first one was at the Oakland Museum of California yesterday.

And the next one is scheduled for December 17th of this year.

And it's going to be to the Filoli Historic House and Garden in San Mateo County.

So I know folks are already looking forward to that.

So it's great.

I mean, it was great to see them come off the shuttle yesterday, smiling faces, happy, and in fellowship with each other.

So we look forward to doing much more.

Just a caveat, Pololi is a lot of walking outdoors, so it's very weather-dependent and mobility-dependent.

Good to know.

Thank you.

And that concludes my report.

Thank you so much for listening.

And if there's anything in there that you heard where you think you might want to come in and support us at a deeper level, please, please reach out to me.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Pedro.

Okay, 7B, Lunch with Seniors.

Actually, one thing.

Yes, sir.

Can we open it up for public comment?

Oh, I'm so sorry.

Do we have any?

Yes.

Yes.

Just to kind of piggyback off of the Alzheimer's and dementia kind of workshops that you're

trying to implement and the low attendance that you're receiving from that, City, Star

The Tri-Valley does offer a family caregiver support program in person and virtually.

We do host workshops as well.

So that is something that we would like to partner with and partner with for additional support for those caregivers.

Just gaining more information and insight on their role as a caregiver and the support that really needs to rally behind them in order to fill their cup so that they can forward it to others.

that might be something that we can always discuss further and just see how that goes.

That's great.

Well, thank you.

Thank you so much.

Yeah, we'll be talking.

Yes.

I'm sorry.

Anyone?

No?

I'm sorry.

I'm not sure.

I'm trying to get the understanding of how to – can I comment on anything?

Yes.

We just may not be able to address your questions.

that may be handed off to another department

or something that may be discussed offline with Pedro?

Yeah, and just to clarify, the public comment component

are not specific to the presentation that you just heard

regarding the age-friendly updates.

Yeah, now this one is.

So did you have a question about the age-friendly?

I think I better leave this alone.

Okay.

I don't quite get it.

I don't quite get it.

Okay, all right.

The original public comment was open for any discussion that you wanted to throw out.

As we progress, what's agendized, as we start talking about agendized things like the age-friendly,

any questions you have from that point on have to address just the presentation that was just done.

So if you have questions about what we just went through with the age-friendly part of it right now,

then you can ask your questions there or comment on it.

But again, we can't address you directly as to a solution.

It can be handled offline or in a separate discussion with Pedro after the meeting.

Okay.

I don't know if this is on topic or not.

I'm interested in, should there be a citywide emergency?

Like, say, for instance, we have a real serious earthquake.

Okay.

Do we have earthquake shelters set up for people to go to?

Is that on track?

It is on track.

Thank you.

If it's into our plan, I'm happy to talk to you about that after the meeting.

Okay, good.

Okay, perfect.

Anything else?

We can talk to you later.

That's fine.

Thank you.

Okay.

So, I'm sorry.

7B, Lunch with Seniors.

Bella?

We used to have, as I said before, with Wilma Chan who used to come and now we didn't have

any lunch with Lena Tam, with the seniors.

We want to see what the lunch is served to the seniors.

So we should participate in that.

And we should invite Lena Tam because she is our supervisor and we need her support

for...

for allocating budget and all that.

So we should have her in a corner,

so we should invite her for the senior lunch program.

That is my...

Okay, I'm thinking maybe what we could look at

is to find out what her schedule is next year.

Next year.

And invite and make our lunch fit her schedule perhaps.

And because I'd be willing to stay

and have lunch.

We haven't had lunch, you're right, for a very

couple of years, well actually since the pandemic

I don't think. So I think it would

behoove us to maybe

test out the food

which was one of the

big complaints but it did

upgrade after we had our

lunch. So I think that's a

good idea but perhaps

maybe Pedro

or someone could get in touch with

her office and see if she has

are scheduled yet for 2026 and find out uh what would be a good day for her to come

i'm sorry her administrative assistant is an ace let me just say that is a ace she's really sharp

okay perfect so be good person for a good okay is that agreeable yes okay is that agreeable yes

okay i don't yes commissioner dillon our assembly member as well

to get these two together

will be a little problem

because of this

two lunches

yeah right

I'm sorry

the council members

have come here

and helped serve and ate lunch with the seniors

and stuff

I was at one and helped serve over there

so I don't know if that

because their schedule like she says

well we were looking at

supervisor Tam

at this point we were looking at a step up

oh because she did

she was saying the council member

council I thought assembly

somebody said assembly member

I did

two different

yeah

they have never come to the lunch

but if you didn't get them to come

that would be a good thing

Yeah, I think maybe we start with our supervisor because they put the budget out.

They put the money out and see where we go from there.

Is that okay?

Well, somebody says policy, so that would be a good one to have.

Yeah, okay, sure.

We can add that to the list.

Great, thank you.

Okay, the next item is senior stories discussion.

Shalini, I think you were talking about that, so I'm going to turn that over to you.

Yeah, maybe I'll work with Pedro. Like I said last time, America is turning 250 years next year.

And we have a 250-year commission, America's commission, where they want stories from every single American uploaded into their website.

So I would like to do a session, maybe a monthly session. They are going to end July 26th or twice, I don't care.

where we'll get the students into the, I mean, we'll get our seniors into the computer room.

It takes five minutes or less where they can just upload their story, text, video, whatever it is.

So I don't know.

Yeah, I mean, I think that's a great idea.

And if you're willing to work with one of our staff members to kind of get that off the ground,

we can definitely take a look at it.

We have this beautiful computer lab that we can utilize, right?

And so, yeah, I'm open to it as long as you're willing to work with one of our staff members.

One question.

Is this a formal program?

Yeah, yeah.

The name of the program is?

America 250.

America 250.

Sorry.

Thank you.

It's by the government of the United States of America.

Go ahead, Pedro.

Sorry.

Do you know if that allows you to be able to, I know you're, somebody will, what I'm envisioning is somebody will come in, you'll give them some context, right? You'll give them some support. They'll go in there and they'll share their story, right? And so like, can you share an example of something that you can expect them to?

So actually there's a prompt there which is how do you see the future for this country?

Okay.

So it's like a 30 second thing you can say or what do you want to tell us about your story?

Uh-huh.

Okay.

And it's very simple.

It's either text, you type something in or a video, you can talk or a picture.

Okay.

That's it.

There are 30 seconds.

We do this in different parts.

It doesn't take too long.

Okay.

You can do it on your phone also.

Yeah.

There is a similar program called StoryCorps and they have done it through the Jewish Children

and Adult Services in San Francisco.

I have given my story of my immigrant and that was kept in the Library of Congress in

DC.

They have been doing that.

That's fantastic.

That is another program I saw.

Yeah, and that's why I was asking that question, because I think it would be great if we have the ability to be able to also have access to some of those stories,

because we can incorporate that into some of the work that we're doing, whether that be on our website or sharing with decision makers or elected officials or with this commission.

I think it's always helpful where you can hear firsthand what people care about and what the needs are.

Our history of it.

So what we've done at our university, we've got two.

One is the citizens go up and fill up this America 250.

The non-citizens, we've created a Google Drive,

where they tell their stories and we keep that.

So that's an easy thing.

I can show you how to do that.

And we can get any, every day, you know,

somebody wants to come and tell their story,

like you have a little story or booth here,

come say their story, upload it there,

and it can be there for eternity.

Okay, why don't I connect you with a staff member

and then we'll come back to this commission and provide an update either by email or at a January meeting.

And we can connect with the library and have them stored it.

That's great.

Thank you for agreeing to spearhead that.

That sounds like a great idea.

Okay, all right.

Public comment.

Is there a public comment with this?

Yeah, I'm sorry.

Sorry.

I'm ready.

I think that's a wonderful idea.

I do think that technology and being ambulatory and being capable of utilizing a laptop really varies person to person.

Perhaps something that might be a great opportunity for intergenerational connection and socialization would maybe be partnering with a local middle school or high school.

a lot of those individuals do have to complete community service hours and

giving back to their community and so maybe a great way to kind of bridge the

gap would be for them to come in and maybe have the opportunity to meet with

the older population and older individuals to hear their story and

perhaps brush up on their interviewing skills so maybe that's a way that you

can get local schools and students connected to really understand and learn from the life

experiences of the older adult population.

Very good.

Thank you.

Yes.

Sorry.

I was thinking of combining it with your digital literacy program.

maybe digital literacy

how many people together

okay

did you no okay you would just call okay thank you

yes commissioner

america 250.org yeah i'm sorry

the websites for that this project is america 250.org

okay thank you

and there's specific baits i can show you that

Thank you.

All right.

Commissioner reports and announcements.

Okay.

First of all, I am entertaining to build in a break after the presentations.

Pedro's going to check and see if we need to agendize that for next meeting or not,

or if we can just do it.

So I'm checking it out.

I know that it does seem to help and give us a little breather when we take that three minutes or five minutes, whatever, and just kind of gather our thoughts.

And it would come after the presentations and before the next segment, which seems to take quite a while.

Okay.

Then I brought Ziplocs today.

So if you would like to help yourself, too.

Fruit.

Donuts.

I don't need to take them home.

and I will leave some for the staff.

And last but not least,

I want to thank everyone for all your hard work this past year.

I gave you all the little angels

because that's what I think you are.

And however you may celebrate,

have a safe and happy holiday.

And remember, as George Burns once said,

you can't help getting older,

but you don't have to get old.

on commissioner commissioner comments commissioner lopez nocario

yes um so you know i i volunteer at various programs here and one of one of them is mercy

brown bay and what we do is we give uh donations of food for um i believe it's 60 and up and um

Due to the recent impending cutting funds, we have the risk of reducing the food that

we can provide to the seniors.

So I'm helping pass out these door flyers and I'd like to give each one of you one in

case you would like because that program is so very important to our seniors because some

of them have relayed that that's when they get food.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Was that it?

Yes.

Okay, thank you.

Commissioner Brennan?

So I just wanted to note that we talk about the pedestrian safety aspect here in the report.

A new survey just dropped called the PCI, the Pavement Condition Index,

and it rated San Leandro very highly.

It rated us at risk.

Yeah.

which is not good.

This impacts the bicycle plan,

the P part of the bicycle pedestrian planning.

It affects our pedestrian safety,

so I'd like to add that as a data element

into our assessment that says

this overall poor level of street maintenance

in the city is an issue.

Okay.

We can

it's not agenda

this item is not agendized

we can come back at a future meeting

and discuss it further

That report is not on the agenda

your mention of the element

was in your

action plan

under

yeah

the road safety

element there

pedestrian safety aspect

Yeah what I'm saying is that

because this is just

time is just for commissioner comments. We cannot

engage in a conversation regarding that matter or

make any decisions about that. So what I'm

recommending is that we

when we

during our January

meeting when we discuss the person

protection priority, we can talk

about this issue. Now

if you want to talk about it offline a little

bit more, we can do that as well.

Thank you.

Yeah, there's people here.

Yeah.

That was it?

That was it. Okay.

Commissioner Camillo?

I want to thank Jan for the goodies.

And she has been very patiently chairing our commission very well for the last so many years.

And I thank her for all her efforts as a person.

Thank you.

And other than that, wish you a happy holiday.

Thank you.

Commissioner Dillon?

No comments.

Commissioner Michael Cady?

I agree with what Bella just said.

I channel you in my commission meetings because it's so hard to see people on track.

So thank you.

Thank you.

Commissioner Shalini.

Yeah, just happy holidays.

And thank you, Jan.

I'm going to be here, so you're really, really wonderful.

And thank you to the entire commission and federal for being very welcome.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Have to all of you.

Be safe.

There being no further business to come before the senior commission,

I will entertain a motion to adjourn the meeting of November 20, 2025.

Move to adjourn.

Commissioner Brennan.

Second.

Second.

Commissioner Camillo.

Roll call, please.

Thank you, Chair.

Chair Wachison.

Yes.

Vice Chair Camillo.

Yes.

Commissioner Dillon.

Yes.

Commissioner Lopez-Nacario.

Yes.

Commissioner Michael Cady.

Yes.

Commissioner Cellini.

Yes.

And Commissioner Brennan.

Yes.

The motion carries.

Okay.

I declare the meeting of November 20, 2025 adjourned at 1215 p.m.