space and staff without it. they provided us with great service, great people. i have hired three from the jobs now program. all have worked out. i want to have them work for me forever. [laughter] no, everything you see here, it was created by the jobs now program people. it is an amazing program. like i said, i do not think we could have made it as well as we have without it. i think it would have been a much bigger struggle for us as a small company. anyway, i want to continue and expand this company, and i plan to use the jobs now program over and over again. you know, i really want to encourage other small companies to use it, to utilize it end up in it that from it as i have.

i want to introduce you to maticia, the first person from the jobs now program. she is an amazing baker, amazing person. smart, funny. she is really shy. she may not say a lot right now. but i want to point out that she has helped make some of these beautiful pastries and breads and sandwiches, and she is just amazing. here she is. [applause] >> hello. i went through the jobs now program, and it really helped me. i feel like f i would not have gone through the jobs now program, i will not be where i am today. as far as jobs now and the general assistance program, like, general assistance helped me pay for school and to get through school. if i did not go through general assistance, i would not be here. i would not be working with all

these great people and seeing all these new faces if it was not for the jobs now program. and i really want to thank them for helping me better my life and not just be a kid at home playing on the game station, not doing anything with their life. i want to thank them for that. [applause] >> we also have a few other employers here. representing a broader spectrum of who hired the jobs enough votes. we have a champion from the small business sector, who really was a proponent and supporter early on. that is scott hougi, e, who is

here with one of his employees. a fabulous success. one of the biggest employers in san francisco, ucsf, is here. a supporter and a bit hirer of jobs now folks. a local small businesses here as well. i welcome them to share their stories. anyone want to come out and say a few? scott. >> well, i was very fortunate. i hired a person with jobs now, who came into our office, and the most important asset to a business is their employees. and celia has proved that time

and time again. she had a child early on and we had to throw her out of office because she wanted to come back to work the next day. but there's another side of this that played a very positive role in our business. because of the economy, we could not hire anybody, and it was creating a lot of stress with our existing employees. being able to hire celia, and getting that payment allowed us to hire somebody about 10 months earlier than we would have otherwise. it took a lot of stress away from the other employees. it was a great program. i hope it can be reinstated at some point. thank you very much. >> first off, i would like to say thank you to everyone who pushed for the program. my boss, scott, the mayor, people at the career link

office. this has been at not only the start of a new career, but it has helped me and my family in a lot of ways. i am and mother of four children. i have learned a lot. i have insurance. i first heard of this program when i was working temporary at the summer legend snack program. so everyone was worried, you know, it is the last day of work, what are we going to do? and of this young lady said, well, i heard of this stimulus program, and it was september of 2009. and i said, yes, and i told everyone from then on. i said, there is a stimulus program, everyone, just go. the was so excited, and i was there every day trying to look for a job. i am very, very lucky to work for the insurance company. everyone there is just wonderful.

i am thankful to be part of such a wonderful program, jobs now. he is hoping again, you know, push for it, because it is a wonderful program. thank you. [applause] >> hello. my name is charlotte. we are a book rental company. we started in 2009. started by two couples. we funded it ourselves, worked ourselves, many hours away from my young baby and everything. this program helped us move towards six people total. some have gone on to other programs, have gone to college, have started businesses themselves. it has been an absolute success. we could not be almost breaking even now. we cannot do that unless we would be up to a fast forward our program with the help of this program. it has made an incredible difference for us. we supply books to kids all over

the country. we helping local schools to have a shortfall of books. we have had a lot of opportunities to help our community. it has been a great process. everyone we have had has been outstanding. teshena, who has been with us here on valentine's day, i do not know what we would have done without her. thank you. >> i just wanted to say thank you to the jobs now program. without it, i would not be where i am now. i was out of work for three years. i am a single mother of a 3- year-old boy. it was very hard. i started to lose hope for our future. this program gave me a better sense of hope for my future and my son's future. with the help of working for this company, my son did not like to read books at first, but now he loves to read books. you know, i am just really thankful for it.

i would really appreciate if they can keep pushing the program. and, you know, thank you. [applause] >> all right, a couple minutes. i am with the university of california san francisco, one of the larger employers in san francisco. one of my roles is to coordinate the community outreach internship program, which is a little program we have had for about a dozen years. we reconvened the program about two years ago. we were struggling with finding funding to help pay the stipends for community residents applying to the program. we were very fortunate and tremendously thankful that the jobs now program started around that time. that first year in 2010, i think we were able to tap into about $280,000 funding was allowed as

to pay for 20 interns that year. this past year, we had 19 graduates of the program. 17 of those graduates who completed in september 2011 are still working at ucsf. we have been very fortunate. i am also proud to say that through the support of the jobs now program, we have been able to leverage the funding. we have gotten quite a bit tough foundation funding, a private funding, that will allow us to rot two cycles for the program for 2012. it has been tremendous for us at the university. incredibly painful for the staff of hsa and the mayor. i will turn it over to one of our graduates from 2010. >> i just want to say thank you to everybody for the program, because it was a big chance for my -- a big change for my lai. a single mother with two kids. i lost my job. i was a carpenter for eight

years, local 22 in the city. it was a live changing experience. i started the internship program, and now i am in a career position in the neurology department as a patient coordinator. it gives me the opportunity to go back to school and to pursue my career goals to be a radiologist. this is the opportunity of a lifetime. i am is standing testimony of it. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, everyone, for coming in and sharing. i have to recognize the folks in human services agency. without them, there is no way this program would have been pulled off. jim, tony, and steve -- scott, were hiding. bernadette, as well. there were able to grow a

program or we had initial goals of 1000, which we thought were too high. and to exceed that by four times is amazing. thank you for your innovation, creativity, the hard work. with that, i definitely want to thank again mr. sheldon for coming out from washington, d.c., to recognize our program. and of course to mayor lee, a super supporter of this, and he will continue to be. it is not mentioned specifically in your 17-point jobs plan, but i will say that this is a key program to his goal of getting thousands of san franciscans back to work. with that, i will close. thank you for coming. [applause]

>> good afternoon. i want to thank everyone for coming. this is going to be the it gets better video, the first of its kind, produced by a law enforcement agency in the united states. some months ago, the commander came to me and said that she had a guy. it was a revelation at the time. she meant shawn norcutt, who was going to do our video for us. he has become not only are championed but our friend. unbelievable. along the way, i would be remiss if i did not recognize mike and albea, who worked with shawn to produce a very powerful video on such a critical subject. the young people in this

country and in san francisco. without further ado, it is showtime. >> my name is greg and i'm the chief of police for the san francisco police department. i was a small young man in san francisco and i would get bullied all the time. i had many brothers and sisters and i really appreciated when people stop off for me. i cannot even imagine what it is like growing up as a lgbt youth today. nobody deserves to be bullied. it does get better. until it does, we are going to stick up for you. believe me, it gets better. >> my name is andrea. >> my name is windy and i am a sergeant. >> i am a commander. >> i am a sergeant with the san francisco police department. >> i am a dispatcher.

>> my name is michelle martinez and i am a commander with the san francisco police department. >> i am a police officer. >> i am a commander. >> i am an officer with the san francisco police department. >> i grew up in new york city triet >> houston, texas. let's right outside manhattan. >> i am a native she said. >> my father was a sicilian man. >> my mother was and italian catholics. >> my mother was from japan. i was a bit of a tomboy. >> things got very awkward and strange for me. i had to start trying to act like one and look like one. >> i would always dress in jeans and converse tennis shoes. my girlfriends would be checking out the guys and i would be checking out the girls. >> i had these close friendships with my best girlfriend and i

was hiding from my senior prom date. >> there was never someone i could talk to because i thought i was different. >> by the age of five or six i already knew that i should keep it on the down low. >> i knew, absolutely, that i was not supposed to talk about it. >> i was not honest with myself or my family and. >> you are raised with the idea that you're supposed to grow up and have a family. >> find the man of your dreams to would support you. >> grow up and get married and have a husband. >> a wife, two children, a defense. -- picket fence. >> i did not have any positive gay role models that were out there. >> all of the imagery associated with gays and lesbians was someone you were supposed to laugh at or someone who was supposed to be ridiculed. >> i did not have anything that

showed me it was ok to be who i am. >> i had times when i did not want to get up and get out of bed, face the day. >> the feeling was really low. >> i wanted to just not be around. >> i thought of suicide. i was depressed. >> mostly, the message was that there was something wrong with me and i should just died. >> it did not feel good to want what i thought everybody should want. it just made me angry. >> there was a part of me that was a little bit ashamed. >> when the pain got too bad, in the pit of my stomach, i realize

i need to tell my parents. >> mom, i think i am gay. she says, i think i knew that. >> it was harder for me to tell my mom that it was for my mom to hear what i needed to say. >> i was a police officer for four years, thinking i was the only gay male police officer in the world. i believe i was the only gay male police officer in the world. >> others were like, huh? >> their jaws dropped. i expected my father to have a different reaction than he did. he looked about me and said, are you happy? i said, yes. he said, he looked down and said, then who gives a shit? >> and then he said, maybe solve all is not a good idea. softball is true all gayness for

women. >> i started crying and i broke down and started -- and told them. i want you to know that i am gay. there was a very long pause and me crying and all of a sudden, my grandfather, who is, by all means, the typical person that would not accept someone who is gay, he broke the silence and said, stacy, we love you. >> my whole world suddenly opened up. >> telling that first person was a big deal. after the first few people, i just started acting like it was everybody should know this.

>> this is who i am. >> i will never forget this. i opened the door, my dad is out there. he looks at me and says, i am so sorry if i ever said fag. >> my life now is great. >> i would have missed the first time being held by someone i love. loving, i would have missed experiencing the joy and jubilation of life. people who show me amazing new things all the time, new ways to think and look at the world. i never foresaw being a police officer. i thought it was something that i could not do. >> things keep getting better for me. >> it does get better. >> i will help you and i will protect you and i will listen. >> we are here to help make your transition as smooth as

possible. >> it does get better. >> oh, it gets better. >> so many people just like you. >> things start getting better as soon as you reach out to other people. >> you do not have to tolerate peoples in on acceptance of you. you just forge ahead and do what you love and it just gets better. >> nothing in life is worth harming yourself. nothing. if you give up trying, they have one. you cannot let them win. >> you just need to be you. >> you need to know that you are ok, you are beautiful. you are a person who has tremendous value. you have something to give. >> you are not alone. >> stop putting up with everyone's crap. just be yourself. >> people might talk about you, but it is all ok.

there is help out there. >> call the police because we will be there. it will get better. >> it gets way better. >> a lot better. >> it does get better. your life can be so full of love and amazing. special experiences and it gets so much better. [applause] >> if i could, can i get the stars of the show to stand up and take it out? -- take a bow? [applause] they talk about the courage of cops all the time. that took a lot of courage to do that. shawn, thank you.

god bless you. without any further ado, the mayor of san for cisco, -- san francisco, edwin lee. >> i had a chance to preview this as well. the one that touches me is, i am a san francisco police officer. i am there for you and i will help you. it will get better. those are the ones that stand out. masterfully placed in this video by some of those who just started appreciating and led by the chief and commander, having the officers really unveil their own personal stories. it is, for me, a moment of being proud of our department and everybody in it. it is hard for people to come out and say where they have been. but this police department, with

this video, how it is put together, is now joining a worldwide campaign. a campaign that we have been forced to acknowledge. it has to be done because of the numbers of stories that we have heard across the country. in cities like ours. bullying, harassment, discrimination have caused young teenagers to consider the worst of life at their age. that isolation and loneliness that accompanies that, the have not been heard by adults and people and had not seen partners in their areas. the consideration of suicide has been unveiled in this country because of that. the trevor project and the it gets better movement started about 1.5 years ago.

it has made it through different point of the country -- different parts of the country, political persons of notoriety, including nancy pelosi all the way up to secretary of state clinton and president obama himself, recently. we felt and i have very much supported the collaboration that lee did with our chief and the war department to get everybody to speak out on this and contribute to this very necessary content -- campaign of education. representatives of our school department, are unified school district, our public safety agencies, to share in this responsibility that we need to talk to our kids. we need to tell them the words that are here. we need to put it in a way in which it really gets to them. it is not only well done, but you cannot walk away and not be emotional about wanting to be part of this movement.

i want to thank, from the bottom of my heart, the individual officers who stepped up, not only as uniformed officers, but in our whole public safety division. everybody is coming together to say that -- i think this is an incredible contribution that is the first in the country of officially contributing, as a police department, adding its voice to voices that need to be heard. a lot of kids still need to hear the love and embracing that we have for them, the care that we have for them. they know that there is an answer and they know there are friends and they know there will be police department, to act to protect them against these things so they will feel for sure that things will get better. this is a wonderful

contribution. shawn, it is masterfully done, and it brings out not only the officers' lives, but our unity as a city to want to do something significant that could contribute to this worldwide movement. thank you very much to everybody in. [applause] >> the next speaker is school board commissioner and the mayor's adviser on families and education, hydra mendoza. >> thank you. i had a chance to see this this morning and i am just so proud to be in a city where the leadership has taken this courageous step to talk about something, particularly for our youth, that we have had a really difficult time confronting. for the last 20 years, san francisco unified has been a leader around adopting curriculum, making wellness'

centers and your resource centers available to our youth. it has not been enough. the court to all of this is always about the caring adults. what you have demonstrated for us today is the ability to reach out and connect with our youth and let them know that there is a caring faction in our community and every part of san francisco that is going to be there to help and not judge but to support. i am proud and honored to be standing here. i want to rattle off a couple of statistics that make this so much more important than some -- than anyone realized. nine out of our 10 lgbt youth in our schools continue to get harassed. one-third of them get one day -- skip one day of school due to safety confirms. there are four times more likely to commit suicide. 45% of teen suicides are from the lgbt community.

28% of our teachers do not step in when something like this happens and even a larger percentage of kids. we have a full-fledged effort to make people not be bystanders but to step in and this is exactly what you're doing for our youth today. from the bottom of my heart today, and on a personal note, my brother came out when he was 22 and i was the first person that he told. i cannot imagine what he went through from when he felt the need to come out and when he actually came out. i wish he had folks like you to support him the way that our youth are going to be supported. from the bottom of my heart, thank you very much. we are planning on getting this out to all of our schools. we're going to make sure it is part of all of our programming and curriculum. thank you very much for your leadership, and all of you that have courageously come out to say, they are great kids and it does get better. [applause]

>> pretty much, right now, this video is available on the website. it will be up loaded and available to the general public on youtube from now on. we keep talking about the police department, but we got help from the dispatcher. the dispatcher keeps asking me all the time, god bless you for stepping up. i wish i had a trophy to hand this guy. but i do not. you are the best. come on up. [applause] >> all i have to say is, i am new to san francisco. i actually moved from dallas just in time to watch the giants trouble them. i am so happy. i