additional ability to connect with the victims. the advocates will also be providing services and support. i like to think they do it in no other city like they do in san francisco. working with partner agencies is key to this. this is a cooperative effort that happens to be located inside the police department. i want you to take special note that we have a children's play area to keep them occupied, safe, and warm. we have books in chinese that were provided by a community member. we have books in spanish that are on the way. we want to make this a place for everybody. i will not go on and on. i really want to get to what is important. that is to get inside. i will pass the microphone i cai

appreciate his support in pulling this off. it took a lot of change and collaboration of the police department. they moved their space, they work on their time off. they worked with me and the command staff to get this done. i think when you go inside, their hearts are in the right place. this is the deputy chief. >> good morning. fiona mah appreciates the invitation and appreciates the effort to better serve victims of crime in san francisco. as the chair of the select committee on domestic violence, she has been a tireless advocate

for victims and survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking. she is unable to join us as she is chairing a select committee hearing. >> thank you. thank you for being here. we have a special victims unit. it has been a culmination of a lot of discussions. i want to thank chief suhr. we said we would have to do more and do better with less. with those ideas in mind in knowing we have a dwindling force but increased amount of demand from our communities, we needed to do smarter things. it makes so much sense that this innovative idea of bringing the various investigative units together in the same space and under the same command can make

the offer is even more resources put together. i want to thank the community- based advocates for their willingness to bring resources to work with our law enforcement. this effort is also a reflection of the commitment from our police commission. i want to thank each and every one of them and their leadership in working with the community and our police chief. it means so much to bring more and better resources and enforcement of our laws right to where the victims need it. this is a special time. we have the most vulnerable parts of our population, women, children, and elderly, who can get better service here in a culturally competent way. i am proud to be the mayor of the city who knows how to do it better.

for the state of california, our elderly population is the highest level in the whole state. bringing more resources to the victims who may be financial victims, victims of abuse, as well as recognizing this being domestic violence awareness month, that we will do better with this coordinated effort. i am excited to see this unit come to fruition. i thank the chief for making sure we reorganize properly with the future in mind. i am glad to begin the ribbon cutting and allow everyone to see what we have done and for the committee to know that we're working hard to increase -- for the community to know that we're working hard to increase the resources for them. [applause] >> thank you, mr. mayor.

we have the president of the police commission. >> it is great to see the collaboration between the commission, the mayor's office, the police department, the district attorney's office. it will increase the expertise our officers have. it will streamline the process in terms of managing the units. we're looking at losing a lot of officers to retirement. this is an excellent idea to train them in new areas. we owe it to the precious crown jewels of our city. this is a great place for children to come and a great place for women to feel comfortable. i know the most domestic violence cases, the victims may decide not to cooperate. the results are sometimes

tragic. i want to thank the mayor and police department for taking a big step in leading the state and country and how we handle these issues. thank you. [applause] >> i want to acknowledge our new officers in charge that are assigned to this unit. lt. jane, lt. foxx, and lt. scallini. i also want to acknowledge the dedication and ongoing hard work that the investigators assigned to the different disciplines that will be culminated here. they have the logistical move and continued to work on their cases as we were moving forward with these -- this.

they still had to work on their cases in debt outstanding job during this difficult time. along with that, i wanted to say thank you again to the mayor and chief for making this happen for us. it was a long time overdue. we're very excited. chief? >> channel 26 is really taking a beating. [laughter] i am going to forgo the honor of cutting the ribbon. i will ask commander sandra tong who conceived of and was the first commanding officer of one of the first domestic violence sections in any police department in california to do the honors with mayor lee with these not so classroom-safe

scissors. we will have you come forward and do the honors. [applause]

>> we have much to discuss.

i am looking forward to getting started. we are honored that the mayor of san francisco has stopped by. i am very pleased to introduce him and give him a few minutes. he said he only needed 45 or 50 minutes. [laughter] i am kidding. here is the mayor of san francisco. please join me in welcoming him. [applause] >> good morning, everyone. welcome to san francisco. i want to thank all of you for being here. i have two more weeks to say this. let me say it clearly. welcome to the world series champion city and county of san francisco. it is a great testament for web .0 to be here for the eighth

time. it is your decision to bring this back every year for the last eight years. it just goes to show and prove we're leading the world in technology. san francisco was ranked the no. 1 annual growth for high-tech jobs. this growth is not slowing at all. last week, i welcome one company to their new headquarters on howard street. the least 90,000 square feet of space to tech companies that plan to employ over 600 employees. this is just the tip of the iceberg. according to a recent real estate report, there are 40 technology companies all currently looking for 2 million square feet of office space in san francisco. to put this in perspective, this is the equivalent of four trans-

america. midst of space. tech companies employ over 20,000 employees. i am committed to ensuring that san francisco remains at the center of the tech industry. that is why i have created the central payroll tax exclusion. i signed it on stocks. i reached out to check ceo's to understand what more we can do to help. i have also committed to a wholesale review of our tax policy to develop more equitable alternatives that do not punish job creation. we are working hard to find other ways to interact with technology. our city is the first in the nation to pass open date up legislation. san francisco has been a leader in allowing the community to create over 60 applications

based on this day to. over the summer, our department of technology hosted hackathons and resulted in the creation of 23 apps in created over 10,000 hours of civic engagement. i want to present a challenge. we are a consent -- congested city. into the years, we will host america's cup, -- in two years, we will host america's cup, one of the largest events. over 500,000 people visit the city on any given day during that time. one of the complaints i hear the most is that people get their cars towed away when their part in the wrong place. it can cost $500 and leaves them with the worst taste in their mouth. they were here to celebrate something. i want to challenge you. find me a solution.

let there be some hand-held device that can warn somebody that their car is about to be towed. we can save a lot people having disappointment in their lives. we will work on the data to release it. you can go at it and help us to resolve one of the biggest problems we have, that is sparking any towaway zone. can you help us to do that? [applause] all right. by insuring the san francisco business policies encourage job growth, and by staying at the forefront of ideas like open government, i am confident that our city will continue to be the place where entrepreneurs, innovators flock to us as a place where you want to start your business, stay, and grow. i want you to know that we want you here to start a mistake, and

grow. thank you for holding the summit. we appreciate your presence. stay here and keep growing with us. [applause] >> i am really looking forward to getting a text when i am about to get a ticket. i get a lot of tickets. step back here and we can take care of that. [laughter] thank you very much. >> connect is so important. every quarter we have a chance to come together to get so many volunteers and so many providers to provide some hope for people who are homeless and you guys are the most precious people that we have ever assembled. all right! [applause] so i understand this is the 40th

event. i was 40 19 years ago. but i feel younger every day. but the city has so much to offer, and when we concede to this idea -- and i know we're going to honor a great leader, robert garcia today for her wonderful leadership on this whole idea today, and she's so much deserves it, but you know guess what? this idea has not only resonated here in our city, we have not only helped over 22,000 people for medical services, with mental services, with housing referrals, but we've caused some 220 other cities in our country, in canada and australia, to model their approach similar to what we're doing here in san francisco. so we've got a great idea. today we have a thousand volunteers. you're part of a great force. [applause]

we have over 200 providers and, of course, lead sponsor i want to give a thanks to blue shield. thank you! thank you, tom epstein for being here today. in our corporate citizens are joining us because they know this is a way we can touch a lot of people. since 2004 there have been over 12,000 homeless people that have gone through the program not only project homeless connect but housing first. got in touch with people who cared about them. talked about what they needed and now are in long-term permanent housing. isn't that wonderful? that's the way to do it. it's not good moving people -- about moving people off the street or shuffling them from one corner to another, it's about care. it's about humanity. it's about how they do if right. and that's how we get people to look at their long-term future.

if they're not caring about themselves and they don't think anybody else cares about them, we're lost. we're going to increase our homeless population. so we're doing it right. we've got to plan, the plan is in place. ten-year, plan and reflects our policy here in san francisco that is permanent housing, long-term care for people. that's how we involve ourselves as better human beings. thank you for being part of this great, great cause in our city. thank you for producing the wonderful hours you're going today. thank you for volunteering your work and also thank you for changing people's minds about who our homeless are. there are people right on the edge right now. i know there are fantastic protests going on on wall street and so forth because they're hurting our. financial causes in our whole country is hurting us. causing a lot of people to become homeless. we have to lead with our humanity. that's the way we should conduct

not only social services but business this a more humanitarian way. getting people jobs, finding houses for folks on a daily basis, not to just be up to project homeless connect. but we have to lead the way and lead with our hearts. i want to thank awful you for being here today celebrating the 40th day event. thank you very much for being here. [applause] >> thank you. that gets me excited. what is, is is a collaborative effort. you didn't have to come out but you saw the need and said it's rainy and cold but i will be there. that's what makes this group so exciting. give yourselves a hand! this project would not work without a collaborative effort. and so we want to thank you but we also want to thank some of the founders. gavin newsome who couldn't be here today was very influential and many other people that we want to thank.