Avenidas

Re-Inventing Aging

Avenidas has temporarily closed its three facilities to help contain and mitigate the COVID-19 virus. Call (650) 289-5400 or visit Avenidas Without Walls for assistance.

Find Resources

Avenidas Without Walls

Avenidas Without Walls

Film & TV

Many places online provide access to highly entertaining and informative movies and TV shows, so we gathered some top rated places to start. With so many ways to enrich your life through comedy, new discoveries, and the bonds of human empathy, being present even when relaxing with a screen can keep you connected to your social network. If you like, share your thoughts about a recent watch on your Facebook page, and tag us @Avenidas.

Rare Filmm’s Cave of Forgotten Films (free)

International Documentary Film Amsterdam makes 300 documentaries available online. Story at Cineuropa (free)

Jake Gyllenhaal in Enemy

Vulture’s list of the 40 best Netflix movies you’ve never seen

Rotten Tomatoes Binge Watching Guide

Fandango Now (pay per movie to rent or buy)

Fandango Movieclips on YouTube (free short segments)

Preventing Pandemic movie by the Foreign Policy Association (free on Vimeo)

PBS Great Decisions trailers; episodes available from Vimeo on demand

South By Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival Shorts 2020 (provided free by Mailchimp)

Movie options from your public library: RBDigital, Kanopy, Hoopla, and Overdrive. (Connect to these through your library website with your library card for free access)

Online Wellness Classes

Now more than ever, online classes are a valuable resource to continue learning, honing your coping mechanisms, and connecting with others. Here are a few recommended courses to consider.

Yale University is offering a free course online, The Science of Well-Being, that teaches you how to be happier. It became the most popular class in Yale’s history and garnered national and international media attention. Read an overview of the weekly installments and potential results in “Yale’s most popular class ever is available free online — and the topic is how to be happier in your daily life”

“The Science of Happiness” from University of California Berkeley on edX.org teaches the ground-breaking science of positive psychology, which explores the roots of a happy and meaningful life. It offers students practical strategies for tapping into and nurturing their own happiness, including trying several research-backed activities that foster social and emotional well-being, and exploring how their own happiness changes along the way.

ONLINE — Legal Planning for a Crisis

What You Need to Make Sure You and Your Family Are Covered

Presented by Michael Gilfix & Mark Gilfix of Gilfix & La Poll Associates, LLP

Restricted access to information and services is a serious problem in light of the Coronavirus. Michael and Mark Gilfix will lead a series of webinars to help educate you and your family about critical legal and long term care planning topics. Take advantage of your time at home, and bring your children into the discussion! Michael and Mark will present these incredibly timely and important topics to the Avenidas community in an easy to understand and entertaining manner.

As we all go through the Coronavirus crisis together, it is critical to understand the steps we must all take to ensure that we and our families are legally covered. Who can act for me if I’m in the hospital? Who can make decisions for me? Who can manage my finances? Talk to my doctor? How can I be sure my family will be covered?

We will go through the three key documents that all of us need, the decisions that must be made, and the steps we must take to establish and update these documents. We will discuss ways to communicate with your family to plan for these situations, and the logistics of how it all comes together. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn and take action.

The last 10 minutes will be devoted to written questions. We strongly encourage community members to invite their adult children to participate as well!

Log on information will be emailed to registered participants.

Register Now

How to Join a Zoom Meeting

Zoom is a very straightforward application which you can use to join meetings and webinars. It works pretty much the same on a wide range of devices, desktop PCs, laptop PCs, tablets and phones, Windows, Apple and Android. It is a popular platform that Avenidas and many others will be using to hold meetings and teach classes while we are unable to meet in person.

Instructions from Zoom

You can find instructions with illustrations on Zoom’s website. They also have many video tutorials like the one below.

Printable Instructions from Senior Planet

Senior Planet put together an illustrated PDF guide to Zoom which you can download and print. Also available in Spanish and Chinese.

It includes a handy list of Successful Video Tips for a good experience.

Click the the thumbnail image to download the instructions.

Our Zoom Tutorial

Zoom has many features, but joining a meeting is the simplest use, so you can just leave all the more complex features and discussions for another time. 

These brief instructions should help you. Please join 15 minutes early, as you may need to download the ZOOM app and you may need to figure out a couple of things.

Installing the Zoom App on a Computer

If you have not already installed the Zoom client on your computer, you will be prompted to do this when you click on a link to join a meeting in a browser. This can delay your entry to the meeting, so it’s best to do it ahead of time.

  • You can download the Zoom client for Windows or Mac from the Zoom downloads page. There are multiple downloads on this page. You want the Zoom Client for Meetings.
  • Zoom will begin a dialog asking permission to download its application. Click “Yes” or “Save File.” (The dialogs are slightly different depending upon which machine you have.) Your browser will save the ZoomInstaller program to your usual downloads folder.
  • Install the Zoom client by double-clicking on the ZoomInstaller file after it finishes downloading.

Installing the Zoom Cloud Meetings App on a Phone or Tablet

  • Go to the App Store (for iPhones and iPads) or Google Play (for Android phones and tablets). The app you want is Zoom Cloud Meetings. If you are reading this on the device you plan to use for Zoom, click these links.

Creating a Free Zoom Account

The Zoom app will prompt you to set up a free Zoom account. You can join a meeting from your browser without an account. If you create an account, you will be able to host your own video meetings. (Group video meetings are limited to 40 minutes on free accounts, but one-on-one meetings are not.)

Joining a Meeting

Join a Meeting on a Desktop or Laptop

  • Zoom will start up automatically when you click on a meeting link.
  • If you receive an ID rather than a link, double-click on the Zoom icon (white video camera on blue background) to start the app.
  • Click the blue “Join” button with the “+” on it.
  • Enter the meeting ID in the “Join Meeting” box and click “Join.”
  • Enter the meeting password if prompted to do so.

Join a Meeting from a Phone or Tablet

  • Start the ZOOM app.
  • Click the blue “Join” button with the “+” on it.
  • Enter the Meeting ID using the numeric keypad.
  • Enter the meeting password if prompted to do so.
  • Click “Join Meeting”

Your Meeting ID and Password

The meeting leader will send you the meeting ID and Password.

Things to Know about Zoom

  • You can join with or without turning on your own video camera. You are welcome to turn off your camera if that is more comfortable. However, leaving your camera on encourages a sense of community and allows others to see you.
  • Zoom has a “Touch Up My Appearance” option under “Video Settings.”
  • You can hide your video from your own display if seeing yourself on camera distracts you.
  • You can join a Zoom meeting with or without turning on your microphone. If you want to talk, you will need your microphone turned on.
  • When you join your microphone will be muted. Otherwise, lots of confusion can occur. 

Get Pro Tips from WIRED

WIRED Magazine has a good article full of tips on Zoom.

Tips for Using Zoom: How to Become a Videoconference Power User

As the pandemic pushes work online, Zoom is the new office. Follow these tips to get the most out of those video meet-ups.

Read the complete article »

See you soon on Zoom!

AARP Tax-Aide Counseling Suspended

Update 3/23/20: All AARP Tax Aide locations are closed until further notice.

If the person has an appointment scheduled at Avenidas, we will call them as soon as we are able to schedule appointments. If they would like to schedule an appointment the should call 650-289-5400 or email info@avneidas.org to let us know and we  will add them to the list of people we will call once we can schedule appointments.

The deadlines for filing federal tax returns and paying any tax owed has been extended to July 15th. California had already extended its deadlines by 60 days and is expected to extend again to match the federal extension. Taxpayers can file their income tax prior to this date and are encouraged to do so if they are receiving a refund.

Taxpayers are encouraged not to file an extension at this time because they already have an extension until July 15th and would only need an extension if they cannot file by that date.

The Tax-Aide tax counseling for Palo Alto has suspended tax preparation until it becomes safe to resume. This is being done in coordination with the AARP Foundation and Avenidas in accordance with the 7-county shelter-in-place order.

As coronavirus (COVID-19) developments change hour by hour, AARP Foundation is doing its part to flatten the curve of transmission. A top priority for us is ensuring we are protecting those most at risk, including our volunteers and taxpayers. Therefore, we are suspending AARP Foundation Tax-Aide services beginning March 16 until further notice.

We will continue to assess whether we can open again in some or all sites for the remainder of the tax season and if the tax season is extended. Check this web page periodically or call 1-888-227-7669 for updates about the status of Tax-Aide sites.

AARP Website

Read about the Coronavirus Tax Relief Program on the IRS website.

If the taxpayer had an appointment on March 13 or later, we will call the taxpayer to reschedule when we know when we will be resuming tax preparation.

A taxpayer that did not already have a scheduled appointment should notify Avenidas that an appointment is desired and those individuals will also be called.

If a taxpayer would like to speak to a tax counselor, they should ask Avenidas to forward the request to the tax counselors for a return phone call.

If an individual wishes to the file for an extension, the IRS form is 4868. This form is a request for an automatic extension to file until October 15, 2020. An extension allows the tax return to be filed late but requires that any tax due is paid with the form.

Lastly, taxpayers should be aware that tax counseling at Avenidas regularly has tax appointments after the tax season, these appointments continue until early December. 

Amy Andonian’s 10 13 Ways to Stay Active at Home

  1. Grow your mind: take a free course online!
  2. Feed your body and soul: do some home cooking!
  3. Work that body – engage in regular exercise!
  4. Find some balance – practice some yoga!
  5. Caring for an aging loved one? Stay connected – join an online caregiver support group!
  6. Expand your perspectives – listen to a TED Talk or podcast!
  7. Escape to a new world – curl up with a good book!
  8. Feel the beat – listen to some tunes!
  9. Visit a museum – virtually!
  10. Keep your brain engaged – do some puzzles!
  11. Get out of your head – meditate!
  12. Get some fresh air – go outside for a walk or work in the garden!
  13. Stay connected – Facetime or Skype with friends and family or write/send some letters and emails!