Curry Senior Center Programs
From Wellness to Behavior Health, our programs help make sure we take care of the whole person.
Seniors hold the history of our society through their experiences, but without support, they are subject to isolation, diminishing health and housing insecurity. At Curry Senior Center, we create a nurturing community that provides all seniors with wellness, dignity and independence. We serve the persistent and urgent needs of low income seniors who are aging in place in the Tenderloin and South of Market districts of San Francisco.
Wellness Programs
Curry’s Wellness Program works to plan and deliver health education, health promotion, and patient improvement programs across the agency. It builds healthy life skills and supports clients in a variety of ways. For example, the program helps clients better manage chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes or arthritis. We also help older adults make lifestyle changes by encouraging regular health screenings, stress management, healthy eating and physical activity. In 2019-2020, the Wellness Program served more than 143 clients with more than 1,800 encounters.
Program activities include:
Health workshops and presentations: Topics are offered monthly in various languages.
Chronic disease self-management programming includes:
- Six-week Stanford-designed workshop for patients and caregivers dealing with chronic conditions.
- Diabetes Empowerment Education Program (DEEP)
- Food Smarts – a program designed to increase healthy eating habits by learning how to cook with limited resources.
- The Healthy Living Aftercare Group – an ongoing monthly support group for “graduates” of the above group classes.
- Walk with Ease – an evidence-based six-week program to help patients manage arthritis through walking and stretching.
Senior Vitality: Enabling clients to better manage their health and well-being through in-home internet access, technology training and health coaching.
Senior Vitality “Zoom Hangout” • Fridays, 11am-12pm
Senior Vitality program participants gather each week on Zoom to explore and learn different information, using their iPad. (English). Contact: Phillip Gerson pgerson@curryseniorcenter.org 415-941-8552
Wellness Nursing in the Home: Curry is operating a pilot program with the Cadillac Hotel to offer wellness nursing services and health education support in senior housing.
(NEW) Curry Connections: Initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic, Curry Connections is a volunteer-staffed program that provides weekly or bi-weekly social calls to older adults. For more information, please email connect@curryseniorcenter.org.
For more information about the Wellness Programs, contact Angela Di Martino, Wellness Programs Manager at adimartino@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-920-1364.
Case Management
Curry’s Case Management is a collaborative process that assesses, plans, implements, coordinates, monitors, and evaluates the options and services required to meet the seniors’ health and human service needs. It is characterized by advocacy, communication, and resource management to help our seniors live in their own community. Services are provided to seniors in their own home, apartment, single room occupancy unit or homeless shelter.
The Program is open to all seniors over the age of sixty or disabled who live at or below the poverty level and are a resident of San Francisco. There is no cost or fee for this program.
For more information about Case Management, contact Curry Senior Center at 415-292-1351 and request to speak to the Officer of the Day. Walk-ins are welcome.
Social
COVID-19: In response to the pandemic and City of San Francisco public health orders, all social activity is moving online to allow social distancing without contributing to loneliness. Senior Center staff can still take one on one appointments in person or by phone.
The social center program’s priorities are emotional and physical health, education, and community engagement.
Curry Senior Center’s social programs are focused on inclusiveness. In addition to essential social services such as meals, housing, and medical care, we offer many different community programs and classes for a diverse group of people, including recent immigrants, the isolated or frail, and gay/lesbian/transgender/bisexual seniors.
Computer Lab includes open lab hours, bolstered by tutors covering social media, medical research, handheld tablets, smart phones, music downloads and Skyping in Cantonese, English Russian and Vietnamese. The Computer Lab is currently closed to the public, but will include safe plexiglass barriers soon to support a safe space where socially distanced clients can access the internet.
Our bilingual staff offers translation services, information and referrals, and English classes. Translation services are offered in: Cantonese, Filipino, Lao, Russian, Spanish, Thai, and Vietnamese.
The Center also offers the comfort of meals and social gatherings with others of similar cultural backgrounds. In addition, Curry Senior Center clients can participate in cultural events, walking groups, bingo, tai chi, gardening, and computer classes.
For enrolled clients, regular online weekly activities like these are currently available:
Vision Zero • Every 2nd Thursdays, 11am-12pm
This group meets once a month, every 2nd Thursday of the month. Its mainly English speaking clients. Clients discuss the safety of the neighborhood and what improvements they would like to see.
Contact: Judy Siu at jsiu@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-292-1092
Samahang Pinoy • Fridays, 11am-12pm
The Samahang Pinoy is the tagalog speaking group at Curry. This group meets every Friday of the month from 11:00am to 12 noon. Activites include virtual bingo, recipe sharing, create a Curry choir and virtual karaoke and dancing in the coming months. The group also invites speakers for updates on Medical and Medicaiid and other social updates in the community.
Contact: Lalaine Favis at lfavis@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-292- 1090
Bingo/ESL Class • Mondays, 10am-11am
The participants in Bingo/ESL group are Vietnamese seniors meet every monday virtually via Zoom to play Bingo Game and learn English. Những người tham gia nhóm Bingo / ESL là các bậc cao niên Việt Nam gặp nhau vào mỗi thứ hai qua Zoom để chơi Bingo và học tiếng Anh.
Contact: Tuyen Giaras at tgiaras@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-291-1379
Citizenship Class • Tuesdays, 3pm-4pm
This class helps Vietnamese seniors fill out applications, forms, follow-up cases, instruct them how to learn basic English and answer civic questions.
Contact: Trang Ngo at tngo@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-292-1065
Mail Translation/Tech Support • Thursdays, 9am-10am
Helps Vietnamese seniors translate their mails and tech support.
Contact: Trang Ngo at tngo@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-292-1065
Current events/Resources sharing • Fridays, 9:30am – 11am
For current events, participants will select a topic which is happening either in U.S or Viet Nam to discuss about it. For information sharing, will share or update the resources that benefit to seniors.
Contact: Trang Ngo at tngo@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-292-1065
AGELESS trans group • Thursday, 3pm – 5pm
Ageless is a support group for trans and gender nonconforming older adults. It provides a space to speak on critical issues and history surrounding the trans community.
Contact: Andrea Horne at ahorne@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-786-5351
Lunch Bunch • Wednesdays, 11:30am-1:30pm
This group allows LGBTQ seniors to check in with each other and share experiences, give and receive peer advice and facilitates staying connected during the pandemic.
Contact: Manuel Raneda at mraneda@curryseniorcenter.org or 707-925-3651
Revolting Seniors • Fridays, 1:30 – 2:30pm
LGBTQ Revolting Seniors podcast recording. This group provides an outlet for LGBTQ seniors to express their opinions on any number of issues, from local to national politics, to their personal well being and their weekly challanges, as well as sharing their history as aging LGBTQ seniors.
Contact: Manuel Raneda at mraneda@curryseniorcenter.org or 707-925-3651
Bingo/Current events • Mondays, 11am-12pm
The Russian participants play Bingo every Monday (5 people), 2 clients join virtually via Zoom. Also clients discuss current events including politics, foreign affairs, domestic news, among other topics.
Contact: Tanya Khotinets at ntheppanya@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-292-1082
Lao Current events • Tuesdays, 11am – 12pm
Contact: Ngao Theppanya at tkhotinets@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-292-1082
For more information about the Social Programs, contact Program Manager Judy Siu at Jsiu@curryseniorcenter.org or 415-920-1351.
Behavioral Health
Trained in behavioral health, Curry therapists foster dignity and respect for seniors who are in need of mental health and substance abuse counseling. Individual and Group therapy is offered in both programs.
The Mental Health program specializes in working with older adults who are experiencing problems like depression, anxiety, grief and loss.
The Substance Abuse program specializes in problems associated with long term substance usage through a harm reduction model of care. As the first program in San Francisco to recognize the alcohol and drug problems faced by seniors, it remains unique in its philosophy and outreach.
The programs are open to all seniors over the age of fifty-five or disabled who live at or below the poverty level and are a resident of San Francisco or have private insurance coverage.
For more information about Case Management, contact Curry Senior Center at 415-292-1351 and request to speak to the Officer of the Day. Walk-ins are welcome.
Senior Engagement
Curry Senior Center operates a variety of on and off-site programming to engage clients where they are, with what they need. Program goals include reducing social isolation and connecting to appropriate services.
Peer Outreach
Addressing the Needs of Socially Isolated Adults is a peer outreach program funded by the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) of California. The program is designed to help connect isolated older adults to services and social activities through peer outreach while supporting the Peer Outreach Specialists in their own wellness, recovery and professional development.
The population we serve is:
- Individuals 55 and over
- Resident of the Central City neighborhoods or homeless
- Seniors who are lonely, isolated or in need of connecting to services or social activities
Care Navigation
The Care Navigator program, in partnership with Shanti, serves older adults and adults with disabilities who are socially isolated, low income, have limited or no English-speaking proficiency, communities of color, or of the LGBT community. Care navigation with Peer support, assists program participants to maintain their independence, in navigating the complexities of services and activities, while promoting engagement with resources in the community.
For more information about referrals and program eligibility, please contact Daniel Hill, Program Manager, at (415) 533-4039, or daniel.hill@sfdph.org
“Thank you so very much for helping Bruce find some peace and stability in the last year of his life.”
—A participant in our behavioral health program
