i am the director of the mayor's office of housing. i want to welcome everybody to what will be a spectacular affordable housing development, yet another spectacular affordable housing development in san francisco.

on this occasion, i have the pleasure of introducing a variety of people who will talk to you about this particular project and to acknowledge the wonderful people who are contributing to the creation of this housing for formerly homeless veterans. in san francisco, we have tried very hard to provide housing for all those who need housing and provide it not just with bricks and mortar but with wraparound supportive services. this is another example of that. we have on this special occasion a special guest, a person who has been a great supporter of affordable housing, the assistant secretary. before we have heard speak, i would like to ask the mayor for a few remarks at this time. thank you. [applause]

>> good morning. we have a very dedicated team. this is a very special occasion. we get to welcome in our secretary of hud who has been a wonderful partner along with the local hud office. they have been great partners with the city of san francisco. decades. this is a very special project to us. it focuses on our veterans and what we're doing to help our veterans. that has been one of the most important goals and reflections of the values of the city. we want to emphasize every opportunity we can where we say that our veterans deserve all of the help when they come back and are adjusting in life. i know of no greater partnership and with our high offices --

down with our hud offices -- i know of no greater partnership them with our head of block -- hud offices. we had a chance to meet with president obama at the conference of mayors. he had our cabinet members meet with us. we let him know that mayors across the country are struggling with how we deliver services and deliver on the promises made by this country to take care of our struggling families, low income families. he has delivered with the kind of programs that hud has any kind of programs we have with our local talent. i want to thank reverend fong and others. we have a new director of the mayor's office of housing opportunities, partnership, an engagement.

that is bevan dufty. the veterans, the contractors, nicole from our local offices. we have assembled contractors and a marvelous design team. their expertise is to use old buildings that look worn and unusable and recreate them with the highest level of environmental quality we could possibly have. i know the best talent is here working with cahill and our veterans and veterans' offices to make sure that this housing opportunity comes in on time and does its best to reflect our values. i want to thank everyone for assembling together to make sure this promise is delivered. a special thank you to our hud national office, the secretary,

donovan. we had a chance to talk about this system -- specific project. the deputy secretary came out to view the progress. it emanates from the national leadership by an increasing strongly that we are delivering on our promises. this is why we get to announce that we're still the third lowest unemployment rate in the whole state of california. we are delivering on these promises. thank you for all coming today. [applause] >> at this time, i would like to ask the assistant secretary to come up and say a few remarks. as the mayor mentioned, she is a wonderful supporter of affordable housing.

her lifelong career as been committed to economic justice and the creation of affordable housing. she is a personal friend and somebody in the right position at the right time. without further ado, assistant secretary marquez. [applause] >> it is my pleasure to be here. i do not get to come home very often. it is nice to be here. we have been friends a long time. we're both natives. we have watched the city changed over the years for the better. mayor, congratulations on your election. we're also proud. i want to thank you for helping us out and doing such a wonderful job in this area. at hud, we're focused on the issue of ending veteran homelessness. we have made a commitment to the president that we would end veteran homelessness in five

years, along with the secretary of the va. we have worked hard to deliver on the promise. in the past year, we have brought it down by 12% in one year. that is difficult to achieve. it comes from specific focus between the va and different offices in hud to make that happen across the country. this particular project is wonderful. it is serving those who have been on the streets along time. there are folks who have really suffered. we do not want to forget them as young girl men and women are coming home. we do not want to forget the folks who have been on the streets along time -- a long time. they have aged beyond their years. we want to help them. this is the type of program that does it. does it with special plans. the whole program has built over 1 million units in 20 years. it is a fabulous program.

it helps extremely low income people all the way to home ownership for people just beginning. this is an incredible example of that. the couple of days ago, the president made a huge announcement about housing. one thing that does not get as much play in the press is the focus on the very poor. he made a $1 billion commitment to the first affordable housing trust fund. he has said it will be included in his budget in a few weeks to congress. that affordable housing trust fund is focused on rental housing for people at 30% or below the area median income, folks like those that will get the opportunity to call this place home. we're very excited because we're already working on what has been passed but never funded. we're calling on congress to fund it. the president has also made a commitment that included in his budget will be $15 billion

program called project for build. it is the neighborhood stabilization program to rehabilitate foreclosed properties across the country. it will put people back to work. we estimate the $15 billion program will create over 200,000 jobs and treat over 350,000 units. many of them look like this and achieve these goals. today we had encouraging news. the unemployment rate in january dropped to 8.3%, the lowest in three years. over 257,000 jobs were created in the last month. we're moving in the right direction. we have a long way to go. a comprehensive list of programs like the one the president obama announced a couple of days ago, for the struggling poor, those working their way into the middle class, and ultimately a national refinancing program

that will help those are current in payments to stay current. it will ease stress and help families save about $3,000 a year. we're talking about a full complement of programs that takes you from when you need a hand up to those who just need a hand to stay where they are and keep fighting for their families. i am pleased the mayor and staff invited us to witness this. i grew up here. going to school, i was right here every day riding by. i knew exactly where this building is. thank you for to beautiful day to be home. congratulations, mayor, and your entire team on what you are doing. i have had the pleasure of working with the non-profit communities involved in this project for a long time.

other members of my family continue to be involved in san francisco. best of luck. i look forward to coming back and greeting the first tenants calling this place home. congratulations and thank you. [applause] >> thank you, very much. the mayor mentioned the development team managing the construction of the project is ccdc, chinatown community development corporation. the project manager is kim. she gets to the day to day work to shepherd this through. one of the greatest challenges of affordable housing is that it is difficult to finance affordable housing and get it constructed. it is even harder to keep it running. the organization that will be keeping a running -- it running

and serving the residence for many years is swords to plowshares. they will have the heavy lifting over the long time. to really change the lives of those residents of this particular development. they have had a long and successful track record in doing so and deserve all of the support that we can give them going forward in the future. the whole notion of it takes a village, it usually takes a whole district to do a project. in some cases, it takes the delegation in washington, d.c., also to help. there are many people to thank. i would like to thank the leaders office. i see dan and nicole, also the d.c. staff, bob edmonson, i want

him to know that we really appreciate his efforts on behalf of this project. the leaders in helping to finance this particular project also. in addition to the leader's office, we want to thank senator boxer's office. there they are. thank you very much for being here. thank you for all of your assistance. supervisor kim, she is a wonderful supporter of affordable housing. she could not be here because of a scheduling conflict. as we have wonderful leadership at the national level at hud, we also have wonderful leaders about the regional level. this is the regional office that has contributed greatly to the success of affordable housing in

san francisco. i would like to acknowledge ophelia. [applause] rafael, maria. [applause] they are the team that does the implementation. one thing about this project, we have talked about the sponsors, the bottom line is it is about the people who will be here. i wanted to do a shot out -- shout out to cheryl cooke and the county veterans office as well as john from the veterans affairs. they are the folks locally looking after our veterans. they are advocating on their behalf to ensure that they get the services they deserve. lastly, i would like to

acknowledge the department heads who are here. mayor mentioned bevan, also trent. there are awards the will help to fund the operation of this development. the ongoing operating support will probably come through his department. this shows the commitment of the city towards providing wraparound services to our veterans. leslie, i like to acknowledge -- lastly, i like to acknowledge those whose debt financing helped -- gap financing helped. you on the unit contributed to the project. this project is have we done. -- you have all contributed to the project. this project is have we done. it will be even better when we can open the doors. blogging rosenthal -- bobby

rosenthal from the veterans department. [applause] we are going to pass out hard hats. we will see them before. i am sure everybody will be here when we open the doors again for our veterans. they do, everyone. -- thank you, everyone. [applause] >> thank you very much. knows

>> the executive director for saint anthony foundation, honored to welcome all of you to this hope-filled and ossetia's differ the foundation. for those of you may have been down in the dining room, today is a special day for all of us, especially our guests. in october of 1950, father alfred bodeker, a pastor just up the street, open the doors of saint and the 's dining room. he saw it as a growing need on the sidewalks outside the church. everyday folks were lining up, searching for food. he felt that handing out a sandwich at the back door was not a dignified way to assess people, and it did not help to address some of the core problems that those folks were facing. so he was able to acquire at the corner of golden gate and jones, an old on a body repair shop,

and he converted it into a dining room. from the start, he wanted it called a dining room. and everyone that came to the doors for a meal was to be called a guest. all of the volunteers, all of our staff throughout the last 61 years and knows that we greet everybody who comes through the doors like we would greet somebody coming into our home, with that same hospitality, that unconditional welcoming. so that not only are they getting a fine meal, but they're being reminded that their dignity is in tact. and that we're there to stand with them through whatever hardships they are facing to start a new day. on that first day, father alfred thought he would serve about 150 meals. but 400 showed up to eat. they managed to have enough food for everyone. the dining room also became known as the miracle on jones street, because somehow there were always able to feed everybody who came. here we are today, everyone,

2012, 61 years later, 38 million meals later, and we are, today, serving our last meal in our original dining room. we are relocating for two years the tiberi dining room. on the same spot where st. anthony's was started, a new dining room is going to rise up. we're very excited about that. we're excited today to be launching both the start of that new building, lodging the public face of our capital campaign, and together, as a community, bringing it all together so that st. anthony's is demonstrating its commitment for the next 60 plus years to serve the people of san francisco. one of the things we have always valued as partnerships. this is no different. not only are we building a larger dining room, about 43% larger, in fact, we are also bringing two of our other programs under the second floor of our building.

our clothing program and our social work center, both on the second floor. it means that our guests have this integrated services right there, immediately where they need them. another partnership i am very proud of his partnership with mercy housing but they're going to be building 90 units of affordable senior housing on the upper floors. this corner of golden gate and jones is going to be transformed. there will be a 10-story building on the corner. it will bring food, counseling, clothing, and housing. and i think that i can say that the mayor has always emphasized the need for partnerships. we can address the challenges we are facing as a city when we all pull together and we bring our best to cells and our best expertise to address the challenges we face. and caring and sharing is a theme i know the mayor has promoted throughout his efforts and continues to bring to his leadership in san francisco. certainly that is what st.

anthony's exemplifies and what we do each day. it is my honor to introduce the leader of our fine city, mayor ed lee. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you for your leadership. father, thank you very much. you represent really the best of what we do in san francisco. i am so glad to join supervisor scott wiener here today. our fire chief is here. members of our police chief and the district captain is here. jane kim is here as well. a wonderful collaboration of people that have come together because of st. anthony's. not only are the meals important, but it really is the spirit and connections that people get when they come to a center like this. it is warm, friendly, people open themselves up for dialogue. and quality of life and then

becomes something that is mutually talked about. i am thrilled to join here. i do not see it as anything negative today, just because it is colorado maybe the last meal served here for now, but it is won that excites me for the new chapter of st. anthony's. the new head of mercy housing is doug schumacher, who came as the head of our mayor's office of housing. i know he will be heading up a building this wonderful housing complex, along with the ground floor meal center that you have here, while you take care temporarily of the serving of meals to people who really need them and want them and good, wholesome food that has always been at the heart of the expression of love and support at st. anthony has. i am also proud to share the stage was someone like larry baird. i have to say this, when you say the word of the name giants, there is only one giant in this

city that we welcome. that is the san francisco giants. you know what i am talking about. [laughter] i will say this, i am really happy to associate st. anthony's and what the giants have done in partnership with them, because it is something i have always wanted to see, our businesses, our sports team to be able to make that strong connection as they have historically done. not only to the management come down, like larry himself, but the owners and the players have been here serving meals. again, showing the love that this city has, the connections that we all have, because it is about connecting people in life, no matter what stage they are, what economic level they are at. i am -- i have always about the city for the 100%. everybody lives here, and what we do and what sherry does and went sherry announces a need and

the father praise for people to come, people should listen. and they should, and they have to. and that is why we chose our director of hope, housing opportunities, partnerships, innovation, embracing and engaging our communities. bevon is here today to help serve these meals. he is supposed to be on vacation, gearing up for the very hard work he is going to do. but i know his passion has already been shown for so long. so it is natural that he comes aboard and helps. these are the kinds of people that i want to surround myself with. the supervisors, with good administrators, people in the community, the business community, that all coverage on the important part of improving people's lives, opening up communication, giving the heart of san francisco out in the open and making sure that we take

care of their buddies needs. with that, i am happy to be here. i am happy to be part of service to this. and sherry, congratulations on this stage of bringing forth for st. anthony's. i am excited to see a brand-new building, but also the same hearts to go into that have always been here. thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you so much. speaking of hearts, many of you are today volunteering with us. and every year, roughly 10,000 volunteers come and give of their time and served meals, help out in our clothing program, our clinic, and our various programs. but at the core of what we do each day in the dining room are our regular volunteers. men and women who, for years to come in every day of the week -- some have a monday, some have a

wednesday. they come in every week on that day, and they surf. they greet our guests. there's some of the most constant sources of hope and inspiration for our guests. many of our regular volunteers have been with us for 15 years and over, and we're so grateful for them. i know that as we embark on this new adventure, saying goodbye to the original dining room is also a sad tug on their hearts. but we're bringing for the spirit of generosity and care that our regular volunteers bring each and every day. i am honored to invite two of those stallworth volunteers to join me and say a few words. kathy and bill. [applause] >> good afternoon. i can attest to the energy that is going on in the dining room this morning, having been there for a couple of hours this morning.

there is sadness because we're leaving, and there's also a joy because of the new stage we're going to get up as sherry said, my name is kathy, 15 years ago i noticed an ad in the church bulletin. so i thought i would give it a try. i would come down here and began volunteering. when i first walked down that driveway of what used to be a garage, i noticed that i was on sacred ground, holy ground, if you will. there is an era of compassion and love and service and dignity and respect that i do not find any place else, and that is why i keep coming. 15 years, and i hope i can do even more. i wanted to share a very short story with you that sort of speaks to my experience here on a weekly basis. just before christmas, the wednesday before christmas, one of the guests motioned to me and said, i want to tell you about

this new show that i have seen. and he was very excited to tell me about an old show from the 1930's and how it was now being seen on his computer or laptop at home. after a few minutes, i took up his enthusiasm and energy and i sat down with him, and he continued to tell me the story and how excited he was. although it was not something that i know about particularly, i found that we were just two people sitting in a dining room and sharing some time together. and there was no longer the server and the guest. it was just us. and i left that day feeling as though i had been touched in a very special moment. it is those moments that make the dining room some magical for me. thank you. [applause] >> thank you.

my name is bill. i have been with st. anthony's for three years. i think it is a great privilege to be able to serve. st. anthony's is very special. last friday, i attended one of the great old san francisco at restaurants that reopened in in north beach, original joe's. i was there, chatting with the owner, and i told him was a very impressed by the new restaurant. i said, what is the capacity? he said, well, we served 502 for lunch today. i said, well, that is nice. we served 2200 for lunch. [laughter] [applause]