people in san francisco. i am a single mother with three children. i did not have a chance to gain one, nor do i qualify for public benefits. when i applied for a shelter behof, i tried to get one and i explained that i had three children. they said that if there is a bet available, i would receive one, but i was never able to receive a bed. >> i work -- i know how the system is working. i know how the policies of the previous mayor and what they are

saying about homeless. it happened in the gavin newsom era. because some officials in the city have eyes for, people that are only in shelters. but they can see the invisible homelessness. we have more than 500 families living. a bunch of children, homelessness. we have a lot in san francisco,

but we don't have family housing or low-income housing. those families, the city doesn't take care. for the first time, the officials thinking about having left homeless in san francisco, that is not true. we have more homeless. in my opinion, who supported the initiative and i support all the homeless people in sentences of receiving cash or anything. i support them because it is important and that these people have money. supervisor kim: thank you.

i have to have you wrap up. thank you. >> in the afternoon, supervisors. i recently became homeless again. three years ago, i utilize to the shelter systems the was very beneficial to me to the point where i was able to save, who moved out, and of placing in the bayview area. i have just recently moved out and because of drug dealing right in my building. i am 63 years old, not 23. i decided to not get caught up

in any type of problems behind this scenario. i decided to utilize the shelter systems again. i would like to address an issue. one particular issue with how the staff communicates with the people are living in the shelters. three years ago, i address that issue with the human rights commission on how they serve the food. now i will address how they talk to people. just yesterday, we had a project manager who stood up and have the audacity to tell people, and we have a better than 200 men. if you have items that cannot

fit in your drawer, we will back if up. there was a policy in place where we were allowed to leave our items on top of the beds. when you imagine? [chime] people carrying bags around, i think it was very rude. his tone of voice was very rude. he is here now. i want him to the that there is a rite of coming his way. supervisor kim: we heard you, thank you very much. >> supervisors, thank you for your time. some years ago, cannot cash wasn't a man -- implemented -- care not cash was implemented.

it is time for change. a volunteer on the coalition of homelessness, we see what the outfit is going through. it is time for change. it was implemented at a time when crime was high. once again, please. it is a time for change. >> we are getting stories that keep% of seniors, people over 65 have been refused shelter beds because they are taking away from the way be unfair system is run.

and has the head was saying, it is true. wheat get a little bit more. my rent is $600. i give a hundred and 40. try living on $240 a month. of a lot of seniors cannot make it. if you have to go to the doctor and pay for medical or you have fallen to veto the whole of the other program, i support the initiative. >> i urge like the measure before that the sponsors consider removing this from the ballot. the subjects can probably only be dealt with ultimately with a valid measure. could lead to have more review.

-- it needs to have more review. the shelter feed it granted as the cash payment. it will cost millions of dollars as implemented. these things need to go through a hearing process and need to go through vetting the prior to the drafting. it is clear with this measure as well and we urge you to reintroduce it, go through a regular legislative process and place it on the ballot for 2012. >> i had no intention on speaking today, but got has

mysterious ways of working. this initiative came back -- supervisor kim: i like your shirt. >> it's faded now. i want to reveal something shocking. i am homeless. i was here when there was initiative -- i am here to say one thing. without a doubt, there are families out there. i am an activist. i would not dare sleep in one of the shelters. i would rather sleep on a hot tin roof. it is not that i am home was because i have to, but that is who i am. a community activist. i want to get on the case to find out what is happening.

for the first time in 20 something years to see what happens to the individuals. i am not that educated, but i am accused to what is going on at city hall. i appreciate that you want to revisit this, it should be looked into. i will find out what is happening with the homeless program. it is despicable that lady's with families have to go through, the indignities. check into the housing authority. all the houses they have a boarded up, why can't you take one for the homeless and family people? they have them boarded up, for what? raychem open for the homeless. supervisor kim: i will call the

rest of the speaker cards. [reading names] if i have not call your name, you may live up after the speakers. -- line up after these speakers. please step up. >> some of you may recognize me, and unfortunately, i am homeless. i was thrown in here by a vindictive vendetta in the share of's department, but that is a long story. anybody that wants a 90 day bad has to be in line at 6:00 in the morning. other than that, there is no way

they are going to get a 90 day bed. for a one daybed, you have to be there at the latest ha, 8:00. and wait until the beds are finally released at 5:30. in essence, you're wasting your whole day coming back and forth and waiting for a bed. i recently applied -- in my case, the regulations have changed. it is a piggyback program. guess how much i get per month allowance? $65. the remainder of that goes as contribution supposedly towards my bed in the shelter. there are people out there on

crack or what ever going into the shelter and getting the same beds. this is not right. i deserve to have a chance. i can't afford to pay my phone bill, my gym, i cna't take - - can't -- can't take a shower. the gentleman that was talking about looking for a job, how my going to get there? [chime] supervisor kim: only because you brought up the issue, what time you get in line for a shelter bed? >> a 90-day bed? you have to get in line at 6:00 in the morning. if you don't, within 15 minutes, they will tell you there are no 90 daybeds left or they will send you to providence. nobody wants to go to providence. supervisor kim: why does nobody

want to go to providence? >> there is a lady that i was telling her how they get a 90- day bed. you go down, stand in line, and she said the same thing you did. i said, you can always go to providence. a lady, older, about my size, she said the last time she went to providence, she was robbed. they don't open up until 8:00 at night and they throw people out at 6:00 in the morning. there is no dedicated transportation. people are looking to get hurt. feel free to call me. [laughter] supervisor kim: i have one more card. i have called all the cards at this time. >> recently, a move from

washington state to get away from a terrible situation i encourage their and lived here for a job. i've gone myself homeless. in the process of looking for a place tuesday, i found myself a drop in mission where they gave me a chair to sit in to sleep. i currently residing in a chair at night. it is not very comfortable. this chair is on third. i am going to talk about the homeless. and this is not the first time that we have had a problem with depression or a bunch of almost all of a sudden.

whether a problem in 1930 as well. president roosevelt took on this problem gladly and made lots of changes to legislation. everything that created a lot of these homeless facilities. what i like to address today is that things change. and these changes need to be addressed. with the problems that we are having, how they are fixable. we can change and create new social outlets for people to learn how to take care of their lives and better themselves. we don't need to be put in positions to discreate more poor actions on our part. like everyone else trying to find work, i am trying to find

work, too. basically what i had to do is sleep in a chair. if you want to sleep in a chair for an entire month, the use think it is worth it? supervisor kim: your check has been reduced? >> i don't receive it yet. supervisor kim: please come up. tw tewwo minutes. >> a homeless person works for the city and county for 35 hours a month. they get their shelter bed and their check. they are not allowed to try to find a better price or whatever that is appropriate to them for

their tastes. freedom is not for america's for people? you are going to dictate what my money is spent on? it is all wrong. >> i am on the border of directors on the coalition for homelessness. i work in the community as an advocate for homeless folks. and also serve as the chair of the shelter monitoring committee. i am here to speak in favor of the fair shelter initiative. this topic is very dear to me and close to my heart as i experience what many currently faced just three short years ago. the initiative was created to help people out of homelessness which it has done.

unfortunately, it has created an unintended consequence of an equity among folks trying to access the shelter. and there was more care to be given out. in 2004, -- today, there is a net loss of 330 beds. since 2004, we have faced millions of dollars of budget cuts. substance abuse programs and case management services. some of the more significant closures include outreach services, mental health treatment, [reading a list of

places] this list is no way exhaustive of all the losses of homeless programs. it is important to review these services. supervisor kim: thank you. [applause] >> i work with the coalition on homelessness. we have a problem in california with the excessive and addictive use of alcohol, heroin, and cocaine among rock stars. did anyone propose that recruiting millionaires to be

prohibited the would be out of office rather than voted into it? we were to claim that lawyers ought to have preferential treatment because their money is somehow better, they would sound equally laughable. we have only been able to have this ridiculous debate because of the notion that poor people are somehow different from the rest of society and unable to make decisions. i want to clarify that the initiative says one simple thing. shelter is not housing and should not be rented out at housing rates. homeless people not deserve to be told of allied that is. >> i am a member of the public that has had the opportunity to have real discussions about this initiative with san franciscans have been most closely be affected by this initiative. these are people who are homeless, many i talked to were

homeless by choice. h within a because if they are recipients, the money left that is not enough to live on and the people who find a humane, which is, to wait in line all day for a bad hand be turned away when vacant beds are being held. is your job to listen. >> rarely have we gotten more

directives that on the singular issue. people that are disabled, and they are tired. they are tired of what they feel is paying rent for a cot. the resulting increase in hunger and destitution that they face, this initiative will not impact the baseline fund for housing. this money pays for the operation of current housing and that will continue. it does not dismantle the program. it is news to me that shelter is

the entirety. that is not a narrative that has been spawned over the last nine years. the idea that this will attract people from out of town is conjecture. they have tried to prove this over and over again, and they have never been able to prove that people come from out of town for services. the data shows the opposite. this initiative will correct a disastrous mistake. a mistake that has led to the displacement of working elderly , even jury -- a very dangerous prospect. [chime] supervisor kim: cast to a question? something that has been really frustrating coming from the policy and is that we hear so many different things about time. what is the time that people

believe they need to get out in order to apply for a 90-day bed? >> if you want to be sure your and the front of the line, people will line up about 3:00 in the morning. they opened at 7:00 hand expanding that opportunity for folks, to decrease that the crunch, they come back. most of them are turned away and there is the whole process. they can try to get a bed there. a close at seven. on the last survey that we did of this, it was typical. we averaged the number of hours that people spend from the time they started in the time they

secured a shelter bed. does it add up to more than two weeks continuous hours was the average. then we looked at what kind of bed they got and frequently, they got a 1-9 bed. it is not just about when the beds are released, it is about the fact that people have to go half after day because it increases the line. >> i am a shelter worker. i am not here to talk about what i do at the shelter, i am here to talk about the care not cash program. what i have seen personally, is this.

care not cash is working. people that are having hard times, maybe we need to look at that issue, but don't tear down another one. maybe we need to create more beds. maybe we need to do something else. but let's not take away from one program to help another program. >> supervisors. i am a member of the health

center community advisory board. associated with dealing with the homeless. there are a lot of miserable stories today that made me sick. but you can't give money to a homeless person and expected to turn out well. they voted to remain neutral because you cannot break what is in effect. it has been 20 years since $422 has got a hotel room. there has than a certain amount of diseases that have set in. if this comes up again, without some kind of revision, the advisory board will vote to oppose it. the public health indications are just too great.

how can you go to a hearing on trying to update violence? and proposing this? there was a time when it first came in that they tried to cut people off of their maintenance money. that resulted in an increase in crime. the homicide rate rose for five years after that. why you think gavin newsom became mayor? supervisor kim: any other speakers? seeing no other public comment --