Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit locally in March 2020, Central Coast Home Health and Hospice had almost 70 volunteers on its roster who helped provide much-needed companionship and respite to hospice patients and their loved ones. Now the program is almost nonexistent. The activities and services offered through the Central Coast Home Health and Hospice volunteer program vary depending on a patient s needs and the volunteers involved, but Volunteer Coordinator Nicki Tempesta said the overarching goal is to provide some comfort, compassion, and friendship during a difficult time in a client s life. Volunteers often take wheelchair-bound patients out for walks or to see the ocean, they read to patients, play games with them, write dictated letters for them, or do little chores around the house.
click to enlarge Photo By Jayson Mellom
FAR FROM OVER SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow and the California Attorney General appeal SLO County judge s ruling to disqualify the district attorney s office from prosecuting the case against Tianna Arata and six other defendants. On Jan. 8, the Attorney General s Office and the District Attorney s Office filed separate appeals of the Dec. 11, 2020, order recusing the DA s Office from the case. SLO Superier Court Judge Matthew Guerrero s order disqualified the entire SLO County District Attorney s Office due to a clear conflict of interest based in part on an email paid for by SLO County District Attorney Dan Dow s re-election campaign. The email was sent out to his supporters by Dow and his wife, Wendy Dow, less than 48 hours after his office charged Ara
Help out the homeless To sign up for a volunteer shift at the El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO), visit echoshelter.org/volunteer or call (805) 539-7858. Volunteers can choose from a variety of roles with flexible hours. ECHO is looking for more volunteers as it grows its programs and services. Volunteers have always been the cornerstone of what we do, CEO Wendy Lewis said. Last year was historic and eventful for the El Camino Homeless Organization (ECHO). And not just because of COVID-19. On top of managing the pandemic, the 20-year-old Atascadero nonprofit also opened a new shelter in Paso Robles the city s first.
The San Luis Obispo Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Task Force presented its final policy recommendations to the SLO City Council on Jan. 12 the culmination of four months of meetings centered on how SLO can improve its climate for underrepresented ethnic groups. click to enlarge
CALLS FOR CHANGE
In response to Black Lives Matter protests last summer (pictured), San Luis Obispo assembled a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Task Force. On Jan. 12, that task force outlined a set of policy recommendations to the City Council. The 12-member task force assembled in the wake of the Black Lives Matter protests last summer urged the City Council to name DEI as a major city goal for 2021-23; to create an office for DEI within the city; to develop and implement a DEI strategic plan; to commit to ongoing funding for DEI work at nonprofits; and to empower the Human Relations Commission to
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