>> welcome, everyone. my name is bevin dufty, and we're so excited your your for the public launch of the san

francisco home for heroes campaign. let me introduce some of the individuals who are here with us. we do have several speakers. we have several veterans who are here and bad recipience. you will be able to talk to them -- bagehot recipients. you'll be able to talk to them after the ceremony. michael and thomas and joseph -- have a touch, the veterans here with us right now? i just want to say, this is an incredible partnership jump started by our friends and the veterans administration, but we could not be successful without some of our partners. i would like to say the san francisco association has been incredible. also, peter weiss is here, and i would like to say a part of

this story has not been known. we want to acknowledge this. we're so pleased with some of the leaders of the chinese real- estate association are here. archer woman is here. we also have our president elect. cvs and visa are providing gift cards. i would also like to say that our representatives from hud have been incredibly important. you'll be hearing from the leadership of hud. jake martin is here from the va , and joanna's year as part of the incredible case work that has gone on. and trent, his incredible team. and joyce krum, his deputy for

homeless services. i want to acknowledge they have been helpful in pulling together the nation's when an individual needs furnishings -- pulling together damnations when an individual needs furnishing. -- pulling together donations when an individual needs furnishing. and so, to start us off, our mayor, ed lee. [applause] >> thank you, bevin. i want to reiterate my thanks to the board of supervisors for working with me. bevin, is an ex-person on the board as well. we are also proud of the work you have started. i cannot think of a more

patriotic thing to do than to find a homeless veteran there home in san francisco. i would be the first tuesday, despite all the success we will ever do -- to say, despite all the success we will ever do, and you know the economy is growing and we're trying to find people jobs. housing is expensive. that is why we're doing the housing trust fund and other efforts. but people who need our help our veterans. we owe it to you. we owe it to you for the sacrifices you have made to the country over the years to keep us safe. yes, we join the president of the united states in this effort and what he signaled, even as late as yesterday when he was here, and we honor that commitment by hud. these vouchers are not easy to come by. they are precious. b-s that, in light of the economy of the -- it is that in

light of the economy of the whole country -- should we not honor that with the best effort to find housing come -- find housing, put a roof over veterans? i just want to put it in context. our effort here is to do something right. it comes from the heart of san francisco. we want to do that. we owe it to our veterans to do that. we are calling on all our public partners, and i really want to thank our real estate partners for stepping up. we have great individuals who would have come today with those units already been offered. and we are not only announcing, we are already in the effort of implementing these 50 vouchers for the first 100 days. in fact, it is less than 100

days. bevin, and his enthusiasm, started this program already on may 9. so, we're well into it. we are also making sure the conditions of these doctors are met in an expedited fashion. -- vouchers are met in an expedited fashion. units have to be inspected. they have to meet conditions. we will perform all of that within 48 hours of knowing where those units are. we will make all the different agencies work, remarkably, in a very easy way. we will make it all as painless as possible. again, to the benefit of veterans and there needs. we are not waiting for the winter 27. we're not waiting for stories to come out and have somebody with a camera it to a veteran and out cold they are in the middle of

winter. yes, this is the time to do it. last week, we had of that move into a 1-bedroom apartment, and his landlord received a check for $1,612 for the month. that is a wonderful thing. does that happen to be one that was turned down by over 100 landlords and had already given up on his voucher. his caseworker, dennis, got to him and got back to him on monday. by that friday, he was housed. in 5 days. that should be a new turn around standard, right there. in 5 days. we owe it. that should be what we are doing. i also want to thank henry alvarez from the housing authority. you ever doubt these vouchers with hud -- you have worked out

these vouchers with todd. and as bevin said earlier, you have great community partners. i am so proud of you folks. you have been at it for so many years. we're glad to keep your funding at a level -- i cannot wait to open that otis street with the. i also want to thank the chronicle and its seasonal sharing fund, the salvation army. they're wonderful partners. if you have an apartment, and i am speaking to the rest of the private sector and the city, or even the public sector in the city, if you have a unit that is available, please offer it up. these are great vouchers. there is money behind it.

there is serious money behind it. but we need the other side of it to be successful. at the heart of anybody in business, they want to help. we just have to get suet. we want to make sure we present ourselves rights, and at the heart of this --i want to thank another property owner. judy is here. you know, if anybody out in the public wants to add to what visa is doing or others in terms of moving costs and furniture, we will person late thank you for that effort. this is just san francisco. we need to do this all over the country, as our president has said. i want to honor that, because it

is a national commitment we are fulfilling here in san francisco. for all our partners here today, we can make sure we end homelessness in san francisco. thank you for all your help. thank you. [applause] >> @ would like to welcome the members of the rules committee, the board of supervisors. supervisor kim, supervisor campos, supervisor farrell. >> i want to thank the mayor and bevin dufty for inviting as. as someone who represents the tenderloin and 150 otis, which i am so excited about -- we can

fund subsidies. we can fund services. but we need partners and property owners. shelter is an issue our office has been prioritizing. we are trying to figure out what we can do to improve our situation. it is men and women who have served our country in homeless shelters and on the streets. that is unacceptable. thank you very much. >> i would like to echo as well to thank former supervisor dufty and mayor lee for making this possible. as the son of a veteran, this is not only personal, but it is a moral obligation we have in government to do everything we can to support our veterans. with a data some -- whether that

is on a local level or a national level, there is nothing we can do that is more patriotic than to help our veterans. this is such a big step in the right direction at a local level. i want to thank our local a administration and all the public and private partners that are here today. thank you on behalf of the board of supervisors. we look forward to making this a successful model for the future. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. you know, bevin dufty and i sat next to each other in the board of supervisors for a couple of years. i want to echo of the remarks that have been made. i want to thank all the partners that are here, especially partners in the private sector making this happen. this issue was going to be addressed the right way. we are a city that knows how to

get these things done. we are setting an example for the rest of the country. i want to thank the mayor for taking this issue on as a priority. i think it is disgraceful we have so many veterans to sacrifice for the country that don't have a roof over there head -- their head. i think it is great be in san francisco are leading the way. thank you very much. [applause] >> our partnership with hud and the va is at the forefront. as the mayor in decaturh,enry alvarez is at the forefront. our regional representative is under available -- unavailable to be here today. but the deputy director is here to deliver remarks. wayne? >> i want to thank you and good afternoon.

as the hud deputy regional minister, i am honored to be standing here withhope director bevin dufty and mayor ed lee. my federal colleague from the san francisco veterans affairs medical center, and our private sector property owners -- we must help support this housing program for homeless veterans. the 100 days program as part of a larger national effort called 100,000 homes in which hud and the u.s. interagency council on homelessness are working with local communities around the country in a bold initiative to end chronic homelessness for the most abominable on our streets. this national effort was launched -- the most vulnerable on our streets. this national effort was launched. team is made of of local

leaders, housing authorities, hud, the nonprofits that work together to set ambitious 100- day goals. most of the goals were set to deliver the vouchers while improving the targeting of those vouchers. each of the community teams left to there workshop with 100 day- goals and plans. the goals were trained around real result. based on the specific number of homeless veterans in 100 days or the timing for contact and placement and housing. hide it is proud to partner with the va and the city -- hud is proud to partner with the va and the city of san francisco. to clarify how hard the works, hud was cleared to fund an

additional 200 housing vouchers. the va identifies a homeless veteran, prefers them to the housing authority and provides them with case management services. these are all important elements of the program. hud is the federal agency that convenes the san francisco bureaus and guides the initiative. i want to make sure i acknowledge mark ruiz as the team lead for the home initiative here. also george, in the back of the broom, and toed cabrreras, whose work has been a central. we're working to find homes for chronically-homeless veterans who have a hud voucher. specifically the goal is to find

housing for 50 veterans and 100 days. to accomplish this, we need owners and lamb motor -- and landlords to join our efforts. we know we have a long way to go before we can call this effort a success. it requires sustained engagement by the community. as for the housing choice voucher program, also called section 8, rent paid to landlords is comparable to rent received on the open market. i wanted knowledge the heavy lifting in the homes for heroes program is being done by the va case workers and the staff at the san francisco housing authority. the administration has made a commitment to in veteran homelessness by 2015. we'd look forward to working with local communities to achieve that goal. i would like to thank community partners for that dedication to

continue making homes for heroes of best practice to eliminate homelessness for veterans. our veterans deserve nothing less. to 100 days has already begun. there is only 70 days to go. thank you very much. [applause] >> next, we will hear from jake martin from the veterans administration. these are not just numbers on the page. dba has been essential -- the va has been essential. >> i am take martin and the work for the va. i have been there for about 20 years. i am homeless center director. i am joined by our chief of social work. we've seen many, many homeless veterans come to my clinic down at third and harrison.

in 2008, we received 35 vouchers. i had over 300 veterans expressed interest. we interviewed every single one of those veterans to make sure that we were housing the most eligible, the most chronically homeless veteran. it was a daunting and lengthy process. i see one of my case managers in front of me who was instrumental in getting that done. every morning when i come into our clinic, what i see is men and women who served in the armed forces who, and myself as a veteran, who worked on the plane that i flew in the middle east. who helped pack my parachute. who did all the things necessary to make sure that mission i had was achieved. that is to i see every morning when i walked out there and see the homeless men and women in the clinic, he