productive life, by cutting our funding, the opportunity for those people to recover has diminished. they spend more time in our emergency room, more time in our ambulances, and more time taking more expensive care. thank you very much. supervisor chu: thank you. >> hello. i am chairman of the public safety committee for the hayes valley neighborhood association committee. we meet monthly to discuss the public safety issues in the western addition, hayes valley, and the lower haight. i consider magic to be one of the best public safety programs in san francisco. last year, the board of supervisors honored two of the members of the team with certificates. the mayor's office provided a certificate for the summer safety success. double the drop in crime in our

neighborhoods last year. what are we talking about? $75,000. that is less than the cost of one officer. what are we having? we have 400 youth at field day. 600 at conable. 250 at the black and white ball for young adults. we give away 1200 backpacks last year. it is a program that works for public safety. and if the supervisors believe in public safety in san francisco, they will restore the money. the people, the youth in san francisco will thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. [applause] if i could ask members of the public to refrain from clapping so we can move forward with public comment. >> hi, supervisors, ross mirkarimi. i am case manager for westside community services. i am here on behalf of my

agency to advocate for our community management program. program provides free case management and mental health services to young adults ages 12 to 24 in the western addition. when the program began, african- americans in the western addition were already apprehensive about receiving mental health services, even though the community identified this as a need and a walk. because of this, our staff had to find a way to connect with the community said that they could gain our trust and become interested in our services. we found our way into the community through mo magic. we attended community events and were allowed the opportunity to work with their kids, providing life skills, violence prevention groups, case management, and recreational activities. that the collaboration and the dedication of our staff have, we would not be able to provide vital services to the community. we are in the homes, in the communities, and in the schools, bridging relationships and

forming bonds with kids who do not normally have a stable person they can count on. why take away money from a program that has had more than 500 youth graduate, to improve school attendance, 12 get jobs, 16 receive mentoring, and over 10 families receive mental health services? with your help, we can only increase these numbers and our services. thank you, and please restore our funds. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. before i start, i want to a knowledge and thanks supervisor ross mirkarimi for his support and the efforts he has put into building collaboration within the community. and just the efforts around that and the impact it has had on the greater community. i stand today first and foremost andkia just spoke about west

side. dealing with the stigma of mental health is important, and we need the services and funds that support getting services the help that they need. west side has done a great job of building relationships and getting into the homes and the schools and building those partnerships and helping to address some of the issues around post-traumatic stress disorder and the issues faced with truancy that really are deeper than having issues in school. the other one is a city wide service that is huge. in a community where children are suffering with mental health issues that they do not really have identified and in a community where sometimes alternative ways of earning money are at the forefront, programs like this are important in terms of having the police having a place to refer students and you, and those programs that are supportive in helping them get rid engaged and

finding positive alternatives. it is really important, not just for the western addition, but for the entire city. and one thing we would like to see restored is this idea of workforce development and relief job development programming. money put into getting that transitional age youth and those 24 and up, not just doing internships, but some type of paid internships where people understand that the skill set is a little bit lacking, but they will support them and help them get to the next place that they need to be. again, thank you. those are the three areas that when we had our community meeting were important. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> hello, and good afternoon. i would like to speak on behalf of mo magic organization.

cheryl davis makes programs for the teenagers of the western addition so they can better themselves. she is constantly giving back to the community, and she takes the children and treats them as if they were her own. getting them towards the path to go to college and teaching them work as well as life skills. thank you for your time. >> good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. her commitment and dedication inspired me and showed me that you can be anything i live with a little hard work. her effort and dedication to help clean up the streets and have helpful programs that changes the lives of our youth.

when funding gets low, she uses the money out of her own pocket, and that tells me she really cares. if it were not for her, i would probably be around the neighborhood causing all sorts of trouble and commotion. i appreciate all sister davis has done for us in the community. i needed help, she would have both hands out. sister davis is a phenomenal woman, and i am grateful for all she has done. thank you for your time. supervisor chu: thank you for your time. >> good afternoon. on behalf of the mo magic organization and its participants, i would have to say sister davis loves the community with all her heart. she demonstrates is becoming to

the community center and interacting with the children and helping them better themselves physically, emotionally, and mentally by sharpening their academic skills and social skills. she is an individual i recently encountered, but she has made an impact on me for life. her selfless acts are uncanny. he has brought many people together and given them a place for people in the community to enjoy themselves and feel safe -- she has brought many people together. thank you for your time. >> i am director of opportunity impact in the western addition. want to thank supervisors mirkarimi for his support, in particular of the neighborhood, the youth, and the challenges we face over the past several years.

while you have been in office, you have been a tremendous asset, and you will be missed, but we will keep an eye on you. a lot of folks spoke to sharyl, and she does not want or enjoy the attention, but i think what it speaks to is a woman and an agency stepping up and filling the needs wherever they are. they are absolutely around youth and serving teenagers as well as the traditional age that cheryl has taken on more than a dozen and given them jobs recently. even the 25 and up in our neighborhood -- they really need some work force development, and that is not just more training. that is actual jobs and business opportunities, and she is always seeking new opportunities for those folks and making it happen. in addition, education, youth programs, summer services, keeping our community centers alive for our community, working together and building collaboration.

you hear her name over and over again because those are needs, and she finds a way to get it done. so rarely does she speak on her own behalf or let any of the rest of us do it, but we would love to see the services that she is trying to make happen get the support that they need. thanks. supervisor chu: thank you. >> i am and activist in the western addition, and i have been with the mo magic program from the beginning. i am very glad that this summer, that we were able to restore them. we have parents bring their children in, which was not happening before. we have young men that, in, which they were just talking about. we do need services for those young men. they are being very patient. they are asking for training, asking for jobs. we really need this to happen

before stuff starts happening again. things have stop happening, but we want to make sure that these young people between the ages of 19 and 25 get the opportunity to get some type of training. when i tried to go through training, it was always we get the training, but we never got jobs place. we need something -- somewhat like sheryl that works in our community. all the times they have given people the opportunity to do these things, but it is not happening, and we really need it right now. right now, with the kids and stuff, it is going well. now we have to make another step for those older transitional people. thank you. thank you all for helping us all these years and making mo' magic a reality.

>> good afternoon, supervisors. i am here representing hospitality house. i am the manager of the tenderloin self-help center. i want to thank supervisors kim for your recent visit. i like the fact that you came by to see the work that we do. the last time i was here, i spoke to the fact that hospitality house saves lives, and i'm here to reiterate that point. just this week, two weeks ago, when my case managers was able to finally get housing for one of our program participants who has been homeless for over 10 years. i have to say, after it happened and he came and thanked me and thank my case manager and simply him saying that there was anything he could do in return, let him know, and it is always really touching to me when i have to let folks know that it is ok, this is why we do this type of work. hospitality house is a crucial safety net to our program for

dissidents, to the tenderloin neighborhood and obviously to the safety of the entire neighborhood. everyone has been watching the news and seen the spike in violence and in desperation simply from our program for dissidents and people in the neighborhood. i want to reiterate the fact that we are desperately needed in the community, and we do a lot of good, and once again, hospitality house saves lives. i really appreciate it. because we are needed, and with the state of the economy, the state of our state budget, as well as our city budget, things will only get worse. we need facilities like this to make sure that those in greatest need can, at the very least have the opportunity to have their opportunities -- to have their needs met. >> good afternoon.

i want to first acknowledged the supporters of hospitality house. could you stand up or just wait, everyone that is here? i have a special friend right here that is with me, a participant of our program. i just wanted to, if you guys do not know, to tell you about how important this program for our programs are to the community, being on sixth street. there are a lot of changes going on, and i know for a fact that the services that we have and the services we provide are vital for the development of sixth street. we are a safe haven. i was at a meeting last night, and that is one of the things we talked about, places that are safe havens for the community, and it is so needed for the community to have us there. we're the only place in the neighborhood where people can actually use the bathroom. and when you take a car ride

some place and cannot use the bathroom, imagine that being your everyday dilemma. we are a place where people can come in and have their humanity restored. be a place where people can socialize. we are a place that has case management, and we are trying our best to work with the mental health issues in the community. i know for a fact that without that kind of help for the community, that the violence is not going to go anywhere. especially when we are in a time when every last one of us or almost all of us are one check away or one step away from being homeless. we definitely need our programs. we need our budget restored. lastly, one of the things that i want to share -- our staff and our participants -- we are all one community and all one family, and all of us have gone through trials and tribulations in our lives. i have been where my

participants are, and i know that we are all -- [bell rings] so what we would like to do is just ask you to restore our funds back so we can do the work that we need to do in our community that we are in. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> i would like to say that how they serve the homeless people, the low-income people, and the middle income -- the mental people, and i think we really need the hospitality house and all their support. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good afternoon, budget committee. i have a three-pronged message for you regarding restoring the funding to central city hospitality house. first, as a san francisco voters and residents of district two, i have to tell you how much my neighbors and i are looking forward to enjoying the revitalized market street arts

district. we know very much how central city hospitality house figures into those cleanup efforts. hour drop-in centers offer a place to go to the bathroom or to get a drink of water. that is allowing the sidewalks and fountains of market street to be free and available to neighbors and to the taurus. second, as a public health doctor and faculty member of the department of family and community medicine act -- at ucsf, i could cite endless boring statistics on how each hour a drop-in centers closed, the risk to a homeless person's health and safety is exponentially increase. such places are indispensable sites of refuge and sanctuary, and, as elvis said so eloquently, they save lives. third, as president of the board -- i am very proud of that -- of

hospitality house, my fellow board members and i are committed to coming to speak to you as often as it is necessary to remind you that the measure of a civilized society is the care it provides to its most needy citizens. i also thank you for your service because i know you have a hard job. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> hello. how are you doing this afternoon? i am speaking as a client over 10 years, dealing with substance abuse. all aspects and different levels, through the organizations that you have provided for us. ok? i am going to tell you a little bit of substance abuse rehabilitation and how important these organizations are -- important to keep. from hitting rock bottom -- i do not know if you have been there or not, but i have. i had nowhere to go, no where to eat, no where to live. these organizations, my life has

progress. housing, knowledge of my addiction, to my recovery. also, personal counseling. also, a foundation of stability where i can be responsible in the community today. this made that happen for me. i do not know how important it is for you, but i think it gave me my life back, and i am willing to give my life back to these organizations. i provide an volunteer my time with these organizations, and i feel that is important, too. this is what we do. help one another. they help me grow, and by the growing, i can give back to the next person in line that is in the same situation i am in.

so i ask that you keep these programs open with all the funding that they need, and i challenge you as individuals to visit these organizations, and then you would know how important they really are to society and the individuals that live in the city and around the world. so i thank you for this time. have a good day. supervisor chu: thank you. next speaker please. >> [inaudible] as state representative, i would like to say that cutting all these programs and stuff like that because what is going on is not helping. your and all over the place. drugs all over the place.

i'm not comprehending this. you know what i'm saying? it is a big problem. so we need to get the funding right. that is all i want to say. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good afternoon. i am currently an employee with central city hospitality house. i just think and look on a daily basis at the two-block stretch from market to howard street. there are no other services available within this two blocks. think about everybody that is out there, those that actually want to get services -- we currently have eight staff members, including case managers. sometimes, all these people need is just one person to talk to. as busy as it is in there and is busy as it is up and down sixth street, the chaos that goes on in our clients' lives, that were sent -- that one person to be able to vent to, to be able to

get help from. that one person can make the biggest difference. that one little bit of extra time that we can spend with our clients. just think about those two blocks. think about this two blocks and ask yourself with these people will get that help. who will they be able to speak to? thank you. thank you. -- supervisor chu: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am staff manager for the health care industry in san francisco. a representative of seiu local 1021. we are honored to represent over 5000 employees who work in the health department. those employees put their life at risk every day when they go

to work. they do so willingly, but we feel they do their best in security and safety when they go to work and complete their assignments. we are urging a no vote in this prop j. we feel that would be a step back in security and safety not only of the staff, but also the patients and visitors and public in sanford cisco that uses these facilities. the dph has been knocking itself out trying to convince you that you should contract out the services. -- visitors and public in san francisco that use the services. we would agree with them and others who have pointed out that this is a defective system that needs to be fixed. for example, the management costs of the current system -- over 28%. we think that is excessive. furthermore, there are definitely excessive overtime costs when we have sheriff deputies filling the jobs of

people and being paid time and half. this is a problem that needs to be fixed. there are many things that can be done to make the current system more efficient and more effective. the dph has advanced the argument that says private securities somehow can do more and can do better than the public security can. we think that is flat out wrong. we have consulted with attorneys on their argument that they could do things that the public cannot do. in fact, a patient has rights. the public has rights when they are in the hospital and around the hospital, and those rights do not change, whether or not they are being violated by public security and -- or private security, and the city is the one liable for that. we encourage you to vote no on the spirit they have used acmc -- supervisor chu: thank you. >> is that my two minutes? what happened to my warning bell? thank you, supervisors.

>> just to pick up where ed left off, private security cannot violate civil rights in the way that public security can. in other words, they are saying to you that -- i consulted with many -- i work at the lawyer's committee for civil rights in the 1990's around police brutality, and we had never heard that private security could suddenly violate someone's civil rights differently than, say, a police officer. when i consulted with some civil-rights attorneys last night, they conferred to me that in fact, yes, private security are bound by the same constitutional protections and when visitors come in to san francisco general, they have the same rights, whether it is private security or police officers, and to argue otherwise to the civil-rights attorneys was morally repugnant and outrageous to claim the you could shield yourself from liability by subcontracting out -- are you going to hired thugs to come in and beat up on

people, and is ok because it is private security and not police officers? how outrageous is that? i want to know that we also have concerns about management going around and asking people to come out here and to public comment, and some would argue that that is a violation of labor law and put under pressure on workers to be asked by management to do so. finally, i just want to recognize that seiu 1021 represents many non-profits. we are in support of full restoration of the budget just as coalitions. -- the budget justice coalition opposing cuts, and ask that restoration be made. thank you. >> hello, supervisors. i work at st. anthony's, which functions as the hands below the government-funded safety net, providing by it -- needed services.

we have a free technology program we do in partnership with san francisco network ministries. we do not receive government funding, but we are affected by our safety net is defunded. as the recession has taken its toll, we have seen demand for our programs sort. our dining room program alone has seen a 10% increase in the number of meals we serve. on our busiest day, with certification 6335 mils. the proposed cuts to substance abuse treatment, employment services for homeless and formerly homeless senior services, mental health support services in support of housing and drop in services for homeless people that remained in the budget will harm balder will members of our community. should the cuts go through, we

expect to see more and treated for mental health issues amongst our guests, lack of access to bathrooms, case management, and basic support services for homeless people in the tenderloin, and an increase in active drug use. harvey, homelessness, and health disparities are experienced by communities, not just isolated individuals. unfortunately, tough economic times often lead to budget battles were one type of community service can be pitted against others. we are here today not as an organization who stands to lose a city contract but as a community member who will suffer if the basic safety net that supports our infrastructure is degraded. we are united today with our community partners who receive city funding, with our clients and guess who also receive services funded by this committee, and with the thousands of guests to volunteer their time with us because they believe the san francisco supports all of its residents, even the most disadvantaged and most vulnerable. supervisor chu: thank you. from my understanding, the overflow room has been closed because we no longer have individuals there.

anyone who wants to come into chambers has the ability to do so. there is no line outside, either. if there are members of the public who wish to speak on the budget but have not yet spoken, please line up. otherwise, these will be the last two speakers. >> i am a bay area native and student. even though the proposed cuts to health and social services might not personally affect me, i have been given an opportunity the past few weeks to experience the people they would be impacting and am therefore advocating full restoration of all of them. due to the meetings i know you have all participated in any handouts you have received, you should be fully aware that the proposed cuts are immeasurably dangerous to our community and understand why full restoration is necessary. there seems to be a few major effects, however, that you still need to be made more aware of. first of all, homelessness is a priority for all voters. yet, yoil