risk of halt of use -- alcohol disease is having to understand this in relation to your relationships. this is a risk for the business of businesses often fueled by the consumption of alcohol and its companion, the differing of its unallocated public costs to suggest any action that might inhibit the lubrication that keeps the wheels of business moving. this is a risk in the city where the young adult reigns supreme to suggest that alcohol might be a "companion from which one might seek relief sunday. this is a risk in a city that is

still struggling with the effect of self medication without a halt in the lives of its hundreds of homeless people to suggest that the distance between them and us is not so great. this is a risk in a city where being progressive often means the embrace of a freedom of choice to the extreme that it is the responsibility of all of us to agree to conditions with those less strong than ourselves can be made whole. this is a risk to support a fee that calls to our consciousness the social interconnectedness of it all. not been caught -- i call on you to take this risk and support this measure. it is not our walk down the easy road but in order to understand the possibility that will unite us.

>> i'm coming here representing the california alliance for retired americans and the senior action network. it is time that we charge for alcohol. this is the time to reimburse people for the costs incurred for the expenses of law- enforcement, treatment, rehabilitation, and education. we support the fee increase. we want san francisco to lead the way. i need to tell you that although out of use is harmful at any age, and this is never more harmful than on the elderly. the impact of the entries is much more severe. the risk of harmful interaction is much greater. the general physical affect is more debilitating. for this reduces the quality of life in elderly patients. i asked you to take this

mitigation to the board and i hope that it will pass there. we support you. thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. i represent the behavioral programs. i am a business owner and i of lived in since the scope for more than 30 years. this provides enjoyment to many people. this is also a source of revenue to many businesses. this is a very good idea. this was well researched.

i encourage everyone to vote yes. if there's anyone in this room that is not think that san francisco has a problem with excessive drinking, i encourage you to take a walk down market street and count the number of people who appeared to be affected by excessive drinking. i would encourage you to count the tourists who are mortified by the behavior of some people on market street. they will go back to chicago, ohio, japan, germany, and they will encourage people to come back and spend money.

>> i am 19 years old. and i am a youth advocate for the youth council. this is a program at -- the point that i want to make is that we don't think that -- we don't want this to completely stop alcohol. we also think about how this will affect young people and affect communities who are affected by alcoholism. we think that this ordinance will help to prevent alcohol misuse in the first place. i think it would bring about some change. this was a a lot about us in san

francisco. >> thank you. next speaker. >> i am the executive director of the national conference on alcoholism. i serve on the national board of directors and i'm the chairman of our national public policy and advocacy committee. i am here to say that in mitigation fee would generate the revenue to offset budget cuts to programs that treat alcoholics, enforce drinking related laws and the hospitals that treat those who are drinking. we have experienced serious budget shortfalls and we are predicting more public health related cuts for the next fiscal year. such cuts reduce the ability to increase alcoholism -- to treat increased of gaullism.

this is a factor in nearly one- quarter of nearly the emergency room it missions. there are directed the edges to imposing the mitigation fees to offset the cost of drinking in san francisco and no disadvantages. the city spends $2.1 million for prevention. if $2.1 million raised from this fee and a matching funds were used for prevention, the city will have doubled its efforts. an increase in effective prevention programs will reduce underage drinking as well as the prevalence of alcohol-related problems in the next generations of citizens. we want to make the streets of san francisco safer and prevent fatalities. the positive impact of this

mitigation fee on the economy would be significant as a large portion of the burden for paying for the problems will no longer fall on the general fund and this will retain jobs for addiction professionals and the employees will stimulate the economy by increasing consumers and. >> i am the executive director of the black coalition on aids. i have been a health care provider and a public health official and i am now providing health care services. i of seeing the devastating impact of alcohol and drug abuse in san francisco. when we talk about mitigation,

we are talking about the mitigation to the individual and the family and to our community. these dollars are critical and essential to addressing the disparities that occur as a direct result of the consumption and over use of alcohol. when you have negative consequences that impact the fire, police, and health department, they are impacting individuals, children, families. everyone from the community that i work in recognizes the need for this see. the committee i am working on currently in the south the sector is overburdened by disease, a chafee and aids, and we need the support that this legislation will allow us to receive.

the people of san francisco deserve and have a right to health care, this is not a privilege. >> thank you very much. >> hello, supervisors. i am the executive director of the latino commission. i would like to say that since 1991 we have been providing services to those who have used and misused alcohol. our concern is that we are over represented. we probably have half or 44.9 of the cases which are specifically to latinos. we are limited as to the services. i go out to treat those that come in suffering from this disease. if you're talking about job

retention, it is and heard that there are services to deal with

have 20 employees and they are fed up because first it was the health care initiative or the minimum wage with no tip credits. now the people making 30-$40 an

hour are making more than the owners. you will kill the industry, you will kill the reason people come to spend money in san francisco in our number one industry. >> please refrain from clapping. i generally don't want to have too long. if you could refrain, i would appreciate it. >> i am a young mother working with horizons are limited. i speak for all of the when i say the recent budget cuts have ruined our communities and our mission for reform. i supported this fee because we need this program to stay strong. thank you for your time. >> thank you.

>> good afternoon. i'm the program director at horizons unlimited. i've had the pleasure to witness the benefit and the light changes that prevention and treatment programs have had for our youth. i have witnessed the horrible effect that alcohol-related harm has had on families, youth, and our community is. what we are asking for is a pittance in relation to the billions of dollars of profit made by alcohol. the services that this would support is vital to supporting and sustaining families and communities. i want to share some of the activities that we do which is medium messaging. on the way here, i am also educating myself, i'm looking on the billboards and i probably passed about 10 alcohol-related billboards. at the end of each of says,

trent responsibly. we're asking them to act responsibly, thank you. >> i am here to represent the san francisco green party who stands in strong support of this fee to pay for services. to give some good indications, i want to bring this down to a very personal level. first of all, on a positive note toward alcohol. i like this stuff. i am a fan of microbrew. i like organic red wine, especially