Local

On Sunday, January 28, 2018, North Bay LGBTQI Families will hold our 2nd Annual Family Formation Symposium at Social Advocates for Youth from 9am to 5pm at 2447 Summerfield Rd, Santa Rosa, CA. Supported by a grant from the LGBTQI Giving Circle Sonoma County and generous community donors, this is a free day for LGBTQI families and prospective queer parents as well as LGBTQI youth and elders looking for community. Social Advocates for Youth is a homeless youth organization – a high percentage of homeless youth are queer because of the still high stigma within their families of origin. SAY […]

In response to a strong surge in demand, Covered California is giving consumers more time to sign up for health coverage that will begin on Jan. 1, 2018.  Over the past three days, Covered California has seen more than 38,000 new consumers sign up for coverage, which means that as of Dec. 13 more than 182,000 new consumers have signed up for coverage since open enrollment began. Compared to the same time last year, when 156,000 had signed up, this enrollment marks an increase of 26,000, or 17 percent. Many of these new members are taking advantage of the fact […]

  The firestorm that ravaged Sonoma County in October has taken a devastating toll on our community, with 6,800 structures destroyed, 24 deaths, and more than $3 billion in losses. More than 100,000 people were displaced from their homes, and countless numbers of people have lost absolutely everything. While this disaster has been chaotic, the response should not be. With 34 years of experience in philanthropy, we know how to make strategic and impactful grants to support the well-being of our community. To date we’ve given out more than $200 million dollars to Sonoma County organizations addressing issues such as […]

The Santa Rosa Metro Chamber is partnering with Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit and downtown merchants to boost business during the holidays. This weekend and that of Dec. 2-3, shoppers will get a free one-way ticket on SMART for every $25 they spend. In all, 5,000 passes will be handed out to shoppers at participating businesses. Passes are valid through Dec. 31, and must be handed to an on-board conductor to be redeemed. For information and a list of businesses participating, go to pd2go.net/XgzBoj. The chamber will also create a guide to downtown deals and savings available this holiday season. The […]

The deadline to claim Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) for workers who lost wages or became unemployed due to recent fires has been extended to December 18, 2017, from November 16 by the U.S Department of Labor. “This is an important support for the many residents and workers affected by fires in our county,” says Katie Greaves, Director of the Sonoma County Human Services Department Employment and Training Division. “As of November 8, residents had filed 4,700 applications for Disaster Unemployment benefits. The number of customers visiting the Job Link office for employment and job search support doubled in the four weeks […]

Join our community event “Recovering with Pride: A Holiday Gathering” on December 9, 3 – 6 p.m. to learn more about what we are doing to support a strong, healthy community for LGBTQ people and fire victims. We are hosting a community gathering by LGBTQ youth leaders, in collaboration with Positive Images, at the Fountaingrove Lodge, an LGBTQ retirement home. Fountaingrove Lodge residents were evacuated from the fires for several weeks, and were only able to return home recently. Join us as we welcome them back to their home, build connections across generations, and create a space for people to […]

Sonoma County is famed for its spectacular restaurants. Dine out at 90 amazing eateries on Thursday, November 30, and 25 to 50% of your purchase will go directly to Food For Thought’s life-giving medically-tailored meals and nutritional programs. So dine out with us on November 30th—it’ll be the most satisfying meal you’ll have all year! To become a participating restaurant, please fill out this form or contact our Events Manager, Mary Bigelow-Gale, at (707) 887-1647 or MaryB@fftfoodbank.org. Click here for a full list of this year’s participating restaurants. 2017 Call for Ambassadors DOFL is FFT’s biggest fundraiser of the year, […]

Today, a 24-hour hotline and rapid response structure will be launched in Sonoma County to help defend undocumented immigrants from the increase of immigration enforcement, ICE raids and other attacks by the Trump administration that are causing fear and anxiety in the immigrant community. This endeavor consists of collaboration from over 50 community groups and organizations and involves over 600 individuals from all parts of Sonoma County. The structure includes: • Bilingual dispatchers that will answer the hotline and send trained legal observers to document ICE raids; • Trained legal observers that will track, verify, and document ICE raids that […]