and they can wind up homeless or remain homeless. there is increased use of fire, police, medical emergency room visits, that kind of thing, so keeping services like the stone wall project are ways to reduce the money spent in the city and county on things like that. our services actually are a small amount of money to actually give the city a lot more. our folks are resilient. they have the power themselves to make changes in their lives. they need a hand at this point. cutting the services effectively means cutting off what we feel are really important safety net services. just want to ask you to please not cut the [bell rings] supervisor chu: thank you. next speaker. >> good morning, supervisors. i am here to talk about the stonewall project. i want to thank all of you for finding some of the funds

necessary for a long stone wall to continue to run these outpatient programs. the program has been effective and should not go down, especially given the high rates of methamphetamine use in san francisco. has been an important part of my recovery process and has accepted me for who i am and where i was at in my life experience. the feedbacks dole gives me is informative, non-judgmental, and non-support data. -- non-authoritative. we are allowed to voice our stories. all the staff are experienced in facilitating group discussions and with counseling clients regarding the dynamics of drug recovery in general. i have worked for several years with three counselors at stonewall. like a lot of gay men, i had a lot of other issues.

specifically, i have some family issues. i had a horrific coming up experience. they kind of take on a therapeutic role, and because of that and because of my relationship with them, i have been able to transcend and find some resolution are around that. because i stay clean and maintain a several years long relationship with them, you're sort about to re-enter the workforce, and it is imperative for me that i continue that relationship. not only to stay clean, but to make my transition to the work world successful. so please do not allow such a valuable and meaningful resourced to so many gay men who want to become contributing members to san francisco to fade away. the stonewall program is an asset to the city. so thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning, supervisors.

i am here to speak on behalf of the stonewall project, the san francisco aids foundation. so opposed to the budget cuts because without the help i have received from stole all -- i mean, when i first went, i was losing my health, partnership with my partner for 21 years, my home, possibly my life. i do not know where i would be without them today. if you could find a way to spare them, i definitely would appreciate it. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning. i have been hiv-positive since 1986. diagnosed with aids in 1992. depression, grief, despair had overwhelmed me. in a downward spiral of self medicate -- sells medication became my life. last october, ahp referred me to the stonewall project at the aids foundation where i now

attend two group book readings, full catastrophe living for stress management, well as wednesday's, also, one-on-one counseling, and a harm reduction group each and every week. i now have the tools of support, understanding, and community, which coincide with the life program to support me on my journey forward. thanks to these programs, the next 25 years will not be anything like the last 25 years for me. i have my life back. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning. i am hear from the san francisco aids foundation also to speak on the stonewall budget cuts. i have talking points here for you today, so i will not read everything on the page. i know i have probably gone over all of this with you before, but

you're so glad you were able to hear from our clients. i think they articulated better than i could how important these services are for them and what an asset this program is for the city. i wanted to highlight that with the closure last year, there really is no information -- no other place for these folks to go q we have worked closely with the city to expand our services, to address all the drivers identified in the san francisco 80 prevention section -- hiv prevention section. we have work to develop the needs written out in that plan, so this is a critical part of the hiv prevention work of the city, and i urge you not to cut this program. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good afternoon. my name is travis abernathy. i am a tip we would-time participant in the life program

-- a two-time participant in the light program. people who know my story would tell you i have been living with aids for 35 years as of today. if it were not for the life program, i would still be in my wheelchair that i spent three years in. i ask that you find in your heart somewhere a way to make this work. without the program, i would still be trapped in my house, afraid to go out, afraid to reach out for help. i know that with a budget, you guys have a lot of things in your hands that you have to deal with, but this is one thing i cannot let go. i need the life program in order to exist, to communicate with my fellow people that understand me. outside of the life program, i have nothing. it has brought me from a very dark place in my life to a place where you saw it at now -- i am act now -- wehrhere i am at now.

i ask you please to somehow make it work. without the program, so many people will not know what i know, and that is not right. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. i am speaking on behalf of the housing rights committee of san francisco and also bay area legal aid. the thing that makes the housing rights committee unique in the city of san francisco is that there are no requirements, no income requirements for anyone to seek our services. the only requirement is that they be a lender. that gives us a huge impact in the city, letting people know what their rights are and being an advocate for them. the benefit of having bay area legal aid next door is that whenever someone needs a lawyer or we need to see someone's -- seek someone's legal advice, we have somebody right there.

it is a very efficient system, and i cannot tell you -- every time, every day somebody comes to the clinics that we have put together, and they are amazed that this agency even exists. they always are very thankful and very grateful that there is someplace they can come and know that their grievances, their complaints, their issues will be taken seriously, not just, "you are just a crank" or "you do not understand the law" or something like that. we make sure people understand their rights, make sure they get those rights, and that there will be consequences for people who do not than that. i ask you to think about the efficiency we do, the impact that we have, and please do not cut our funding. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning, supervisors.

i am jason bennett. i am here to speak on behalf of the program. after all my parents passed away in georgia, i moved to san francisco to deal with my depression. shortly after i moved out here, i found out i was hiv-positive. i went into depression again. i started seeking support groups in the community. it was a hard struggle, but

after last january, i discovered this shelter. i can tell you, from that point on, i feel like it is a second, new family, here in the city. this past week, i was able to start the new life program. i can tell you, without these programs, i would be completely devastated. so i am begging you all to find it in your hearts and budget to keep the program alive and available. you do not know how much it

means to me. thank you for your time. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is brad late. i am an elected member of sfciu , and i want you to hold the line on our costs. san francisco takes great pride in leading the counties of california in developing the home care movement. there has been a movement to save and provide for the public, and more efficient home-based care. it saves the city person and is better for our clients and people of need. san francisco has always led the way. we are just asking that you

hold the line with our modest health costs. keep them the same. other counties have moved ahead. santa clara county now pays 66 cents more than us. we have not received an increase since 2007, actually before then. we urge you to support the important work that home care work represents for ourselves and for the city. also, the home care program has brought to the city great savings. the 6% federal community needs choice provision will free up dollars for the city funds. also, the 3.6% cut to our client hours and own income has meant a saving for the city. these two items alone our way larger than the proposed cuts

that were initially in the budget, that we hope you will exercise. i urge you to support home care. -- excise. let's keep this a city where people are happy and healthy. supervisor chu: thank you. >> [speaking chinese] >> hello, supervisors. i am a member of sciu. >> [speaking chinese]

>> in this economic crisis, i am only earning $11.50 per hour. i have not had an increase for the past four years. this will burn my life even more for the medical increase from $3 to $10. >> [speaking chinese] >> meaning of the play home care

worker is more than benefits. we provide care to disabled and seniors so that the family members of them can have a greater contribution to society. our work is to make sure the community has a safe place for the disabled and seniors. >> [speaking chinese]

>> i urge you to keep the premium the same, and also find more ways to be more protected and increase access to home care members for the health-care system. this will be a greater contribution to society, to the community. all workers can be helped and have a greater impact on society to create a better community. >> [speaking chinese] >> thank you very much. this is what i have to say today. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning. my name is maria perez. i am home care provider in san

francisco. one of the executive board members of sciuuhw. i am here today to ask you to protest against the increase of our health insurance premiums. i know to you it may seem like a small portion, but to us, it is a big impact in our financial situation. as our members have mentioned, we have not had an increase, we have no sick days or days off. we provide a service to our seniors and disabled persons with gladness and pride. we also have a country rich in the 3.6% from our pay. we estimated that was $2 million we saved the city. also, the impact it would have on the city because we are already low income. a lot of our members would have

to go into the universal health care providers here. san francisco will probably need to be paid more money. i also want to present to you, supervisors, we have got out to the community. there are over 2000 petitions here signed by the residents of san francisco. we took the time to talk to them individually and told them about our problem. they are also supportive of protecting home care and not increasing our premiums. and they know the impact this will cost care providers. i hope that you take this into consideration as the residents of san francisco have, too. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you.

>> hello and good morning. i am the director of education as san francisco opera. i am here to represent a group of us from arts organizations. eight are here today. san francisco ballet, san francisco performances, san francisco jazz, odc dance, san francisco film society, san francisco symphony, and san francisco opera. we are also joined by members of the sentences for unified school district visualize performing arts office. we represent over 200 grantees. we ask that you please protect the proposed budget for the arts. everyone need to sacrifice, but the arts community has taken a disproportionately significant cut in the past. we ask to stop being unfair to the arts. we have done the best we can to cut our budgets and be creative

in ways to generate revenue in this very difficult economic time. more cuts to our funding would result in cutbacks on staff and a reducing programming. please nknow, our 200 members, e benefit san francisco in many ways, including educational programming to tens of thousands of schoolchildren. almost every public school in the city receives programming with us. the programs are with children who need it the most. they tend to be the more low income, disadvantage, and emotionally-scarred youth. we have ways to reach them and give them a chance to learn in a new way. we also employ thousands of residents and voters.

and we bring in millions of visitors to the city to participate in the arts, and that is a wonderful tax revenue. for example, the san francisco opera ring cycle is now in 21 countries, 46 states. [bell rings] supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning. my name is genet. i was born and raised in san francisco, and i am an arts administrator living in the city. i was exposed to the arts through the arts program. groups of musicians came to our school throughout the year and made me aware of the different kinds of music available in our city. the program also provided the opportunity to attend a private concert by the san francisco symphony. all of my friends and neighbors

also received the same educational experience through this program. as i became more interested in music, i took lessons and became a trained musician. the entire arts community had a profound impact on my current career path. aim provides comprehensive musical experiences for every child grades one through five in every public school in the district, as well as some independent and parochial schools. 25,000 children from every neighborhood in the city. these programs provide for arts organizations and ensure san francisco children received an education that includes the parts. the arts are an important part of our city and has a positive affect on everyone and has personally influenced my life as a citizen. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning.

i am an educator, former student of the san francisco unified school district, a voter, and community member of jefferson elementary school. i am also lucky to be an opera teaching artist. it has been my great pleasure to work with the students, teachers, parents, administration, to support and contribute to the student learning across curriculum's as an opera teaching artist. why do the parts work? it could talk about that all day, but i can tell you this. my students that cannot sit down, i have a job for them in opera. my students to love textbooks, there is something for them in opera. we can contribute to all of that, and we do. that happens through active opportunities to practice their critical thinking, problem- solving skills, and all while addressing curriculum connections across all disciplines.

i would like to leave you with one thought about students that i have. for those of you who have not had the pleasure and honor to witness these students' reading opera, there is a pretty special image of watching first graders skip down the hall, holding hands on their way to research, singing the songs they have written. as a community enters an elementary, we join together at the end of the year, supported by parents and teachers and the administration, to show this joyful learning through cross curriculum training. thank you for your time. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good morning. i am a recent graduate of abraham lincoln high school. i am here on behalf of sf performance is to advocate for the sustained funding of the arts.

we explored the realm of poetry in my english class but before we were able to analyze poetry, we had to learn that it takes many layers. it takes time and effort to understand what it meant and how the poet achieved it. but we also learned there is the opposite of poetry, and that, in general terms is television. where poetry takes time to uncover what it is saying, television gives instant gratification. instead of waiting to be rewarded, television gives you everything up front. not only did my teacher apply this to literature and poetry, but he also applied it to music. a lot of the music my generation listens to today is instant gratification and there is no depth to it. all they look for is something with a repetitive and beat which gets stuck in your head. most of these songs simply talk about drugs, sex, and getting lots of money to spend on drugs and sex.

but there is the opposite of that. there is music that takes time to fully understand and enjoy its meeting. this is where the grant for the arts comes in. my teacher invited sf performances to come to our class to perform. we had an incredibly talented opera singers sing for us. she composed and sang a song made out of numbers. she then sang a song which emulated the route and busy streets during the industrial era. the clack of payment only help to engulf the listener into the world artist was creating. sf performances and grants for the arts knows that musical performances can be deeply emotional. i believe all students should be reminded that music can have death and can mean something more. that is what i urge for the

continuation to the grants for the arts program and in turn, continue funding sf performances. supervisor chu: thank you. >> my name is james hartley, a member of the board of the san francisco opera. as a fourth grader in oakland, i have music in my life. i played the violin in the school orchestra, i sang in the church choir, and i learned the lyrics to every broadway musical on 78th. that year, my class attended madame butterfly at the opera house, and that began a lifetime of experiences that have arranged -- enriched my life. as the director of the san francisco opera guild, more recently at the san francisco opera, my goal has been to share this treasure of musical experience. opera is a combination of music,

history, dance, music, and theater, and is the perfect vehicle to bring to our classrooms where music programs have all but disappeared. with opera programs in the school, people saying shortened versions of operas, create their own, tell their own stories through words and music, and for for them before their school and family. they come to the opera house to see dress rehearsals to full- length operas. they seashore and movies up on stage performances and they come to the ballpark to see simulcast of productions. last year, over 65,000 children participated in these programs, in addition to their families and teachers. grants for the arts is the city's gift to our children, the life enhancing treasure of music. supervisor chu: thank you.

>> who i am the director of education for san francisco valley. i can tell you how the valley, like the opera use the money from the city to teach her stand-up thousands of children across san francisco in every sector in every neighborhood in every district. that would be an easy story. instead, i want to tell you a quick story. imagine an inner-city family, single mother raising three kids, growing up in san francisco. the three children are struggling to make ends meet. one child, by the age of 6, is diagnosed with a learning disorder. by the age of 8, that china is diagnosed with adhd, put on ritalin. unfortunately, as a result of that, senses are dulled and the child does not have any sense of where they are, cannot read, child does not have any sense of where they are, cannot read,