DAS commission approves roughly $40 million in grants to support seniors and adults with disabilities

The San Francisco Department of Disability and Aging Services Commission voted unanimously June 5 to authorize a broad package of grant agreements that together will fund services for older adults and adults with disabilities across housing, legal aid, dementia care, workforce and digital-inclusion programs.

The grants include a four-year dementia care project with the Alzheimer's Association focused on LGBTQ+ older adults (07/01/2024'06/30/2028, $1,021,271 plus a 10% contingency, not to exceed about $1.11 million); housing subsidy agreements with Catholic Charities, Eviction Defense Collaborative and Self Help for the Elderly (totaling $19,012,834 plus 10% contingency, not to exceed about $20.9 million); adult day and Alzheimer's day‑care resource center grants ($6,305,805, not to exceed about $6.94 million with contingency); and multiple legal-services, peer‑mentoring, employment and digital‑literacy contracts.

Office of Community Partnerships staff told the commission the housing subsidies are expected to help roughly 370 households annually and provide about 3,620 months of subsidy payments per year; commissioners flagged that one grantee (Eviction Defense Collaborative) will need additional Board of Supervisors approval before its contract is finalized.

Speakers emphasized language access and culturally competent services. Maceo Persson, presenting the Alzheimer's Association item, said the curriculum and training would be delivered in English, Chinese and Spanish and would expand interpretation services; Persson noted the project seeks to address barriers LGBTQ+ seniors face "due to a history of discrimination, fear of discrimination, and actual discrimination." Commissioners commended the plan's outreach and performance measures.

Other approved items included: - Employment subsidies and a Reserve program run by Community Living Campaign that subsidizes wages for seniors and adults with disabilities and includes an emergency-preparedness subprogram (commissioners heard the subsidy typically covers the first four weeks of employment and that programs provide follow-up support to workers and employers). - A sole-source veterans legal‑and‑housing services grant to Source of Plowshares targeted to veterans with complex benefits and discharge issues (07/01/2024'07/30/2026, not to exceed $172,500), with presenters noting outreach to underserved veterans including those with less-than-honorable discharges. - Digital-literacy and tech-support grants for the SF Connect network, which the department said has expanded from roughly 1,300 consumers and 13,000 service hours in fiscal 2020 to about 33,100 consumers and 24,000 service hours in fiscal 2024; staff reported distribution of 1,219 iPads from the California Department of Aging to program participants.

Commissioners repeatedly praised the focus on language capacity and coordination among providers. Where a grantee did not provide a specific service (for example, legal representation), contract managers said cross-referral pathways are in place so clients can access the full spectrum of services.

The commission recorded roll-call votes for each item; all of the above items passed by unanimous vote of the commissioners present.