Monthly Update
Apr 17, 2024
The April Update
Hello, friends of Easy Does It; here is what we have to share about our activities in April.
Our first Community Meeting of the year is taking place on April 18 at 5 pm, we look forward to hearing feedback from the community we serve to continue improving the quality of EDI’s services. Although we are still a month away from the season of community events kicking off, we are hosting another Wheelchair Repair Workshop at the Adeline Farmers Market on April 30. Our Client Satisfaction Survey has just been sent to everyone and if you have not already filled it out, please let us know how we are doing. We have also welcomed another new member to our Team of attendants, Charles, and are still looking for volunteers for our Board of Directors. A huge thanks to everyone who came to our Berkeley Library Wheelchair Repair workshop, and to our Emergency Attendants Team for participating in a refresher Transfer Training event. Finally, we are excited to share new Community Resources from Berkeley Rides for Seniors and the Disabled, CalGrows, and the City of Berkeley.
Tomorrow’s Remote Community Meeting

Our first Community Meeting of 2024 is taking place on April 18 at 5 pm. Easy Does It holds Community Meetings twice a year to offer the community an opportunity to provide feedback on how the quality of our service has impacted them. This year, we are opting to hold the meetings on Zoom, as there was little to no interest in attending in person. Registration is not required to attend, but you can add the event to your calendar from our website in order to get a reminder and the zoom meeting link.
Learn MorePBS’s Joyride is Seeking Volunteers for Interviews

Vital Casting is seeking folks aged 75 and older interested in the opportunity to participate in a PBS interview series called Joyride. In this series, older adults are taken for a unique and safe bike ride, reflect on their lives, share their stories, and make new memories. Production in the Bay Area takes place in late April and early May. If you’d like to share your story, Rebecca from Vital Casting would love to hear from you as soon as possible.
Rebecca Snavely
rebecca@vitalcasting.com
323.422.4417
Still Seeking Board Members
We are still looking for Volunteers for our Board of Directors. Easy Does It’s Board plays a vital role in shaping the future of our Agency and for holding the staff Team that operates our emergency services accountable. Although to be a board member is an unpaid role, it is essential that members of the Community we serve continue to participate. If you or someone you know would be interested in joining, you can apply on our website at the bottom of the page where it lists the Board of Directors.
Apply Online
Farmers Market Repair Workshop

If you missed our Wheelchair Repair Workshop at the Berkeley Library, fear not. We have another one in the works that will be held at the Adeline Farmers Market, hosted by our friends at the Ecology Center. Our Repair Team will be there on Tuesday, April 30th, from 2 pm to 6:30 pm. Be sure to stop by to receive free Tune-Ups from our Repair Team and free EDI Merchandise, which will include Tote Bags exclusive to Ecology Center’s Market to reduce your reliance on plastic. We look forward to seeing you then.
Learn More
Client Satisfaction Survey
We’re also happy to be working with Elly and Joe on finishing the EDI Documentary we started working on a year ago. Unfortunately, they had to take a break from production due to other projects, but they are again filming interviews and day-to-day operations at Easy Does It to finish their documentary work.
Take SurveyWelcome to the EDI Team, Charles

It is our pleasure to welcome our newest emergency attendant, Charles, to the Team. Having spent years working as an attendant for his family, he is excited to do this work for the community that EDI serves, as he recognizes how essential caregivers are to seniors and people with disabilities. So, expect to see a new face the next time you seek out emergency attendant care from us.
Transfer Training at the ERC
We are still looking for Volunteers for our Board of Directors. Easy Does It’s Board plays a vital role in shaping the future of our Agency and for holding the staff Team that operates our emergency services accountable. Although to be a board member is an unpaid role, it is essential that members of the Community we serve continue to participate. If you or someone you know would be interested in joining, you can apply on our website at the bottom of the page where it lists the Board of Directors.


Thanks for Attending Our Berkeley Library Repair Workshop
A huge thank you to everyone that came to our Berkeley Library Wheelchair Repair Workshop. Levan and Rick were pleased to be able to help you with tune ups on your power chairs, manual chairs, and mobility equipment. We also really appreciated the opportunity to connect the Berkeley Library’s patrons with our safety net services that help seniors to live independently in their homes. We are looking forward to many more opportunities to provide complementary tune-ups as we head into the community events season.

Berkeley Rides for Seniors and the Disabled (BRSD)
Berkeley Rides for Seniors & the Disabled (BRSD) assists City of Berkeley seniors and disabled adults with traveling throughout Berkeley and neighboring cities by supplementing their transportation costs with free taxi, accessible wheelchair van and GoGoGrandparent (Uber/Lyft) rides. BRSD is for Berkeley residents age 70 and older or those certified as disabled by East Bay Para-transit of ANY age. For more information and an application, please visit their website or call their offices,
Visit Website
(510) 981-7269
Community Resources
CalGrows
CalGrows is the California Department of Aging’s workforce training program providing free career building resources for paid and unpaid caregivers of older adults and people with disabilities.
Resources include:
- Free courses to build attendant skills covering everything from Dementia Care to communication.
- Up to $6,000 in training incentives (for paid caregivers only).
Access a free Outreach Partner Toolkit with helpful resources to reach out to your network and connect them with CalGrows here.
View Outreach ToolkitBerkeley Ready's Disaster Mental Health Classes - April 27
Attend Berkeley Ready's Disaster Mental Health Classes to learn about mental health preparedness and other useful strategies to manage difficult mental health situations that can occur in disasters.
These classes are part of the CERT curriculum but open to all community members involved with or interested in CERT, and it will provide information about key topics including:
- Traumatic Events & Mental Health Overview.
- Personal Preparedness.
- States of Disaster Response.
- Common Responses to Trauma.
- Responding to Acute Distress.
Registration is required. There are no fees associated with attendance. Materials, including a copy of the PowerPoint deck will be provided via email after the session.
The Disaster Mental Health Classes will be held at the Berkeley Library West Branch Community Room, which is wheelchair accessible.
Register NowFree Soul Line Dancing Classes with Valida Holmes
Part 1 – March 25: Design a Medicine Bag: Join our community in creativity as we design unique medicine bags. We will be focusing on intention setting and affirmations while we paint canvas bags with fabric paint that will be used for medicine bags.
Part 2 – April 1: Carrying a mobile toolbox with Herbal Allies: After our medicine bags have been painted and dried, we will fill them with plants and flowers to create our unique herbal ally blend. We will spend time together in meditation and intention and learn about select herbal allies and their energetic contributions to supporting our well-being and collective wellness.