unequal access which is inequality in a city supposedly devoted to equality. according to the figures that i heard today, you know, let's additional homeless people sleep indoors every night and protects all housing funded by g.a. when it comes to the seniors, disabled, vets, then i think that it passes a line. it is not just unfair at that point, it is inhumane. and just because we passed care not cash does not mean that we can't do remedial work on that. so, i want to thank all of the

supervisors who are sponsoring this legislation. thank you. >> thank you mr. barnes. >> my name is nancy cross. and i am a senior. i have been in the shelter system for over two years. and why is it two years? because the shelter system is designed to make it very difficult for anybody like myself to get a reasonable place in succession. the city has adopted an ordinance about smoking that the regular hotels for tourists, 75% of the beds are reserved for non-smokers. but what about the people that are trying to get out of the shelters? i had a scientific education

and i know the harm for smoking. i don't smoke but i am forced to go in and out of shelters which maintains a perpet -- secondhand smoke. and people going in and out of the shelter and out what they breathe and smoke in the shelter. they can go 24 hours a day. it used to be 8 hours until some of the staff. the staff is very much exposed. the job seems to be going to smokers because other people can't stand it. they have a program against alcoholism and all of the drugs but they never say a bad word about smoking in the shelter system because the city is getting so much tax money from that it is supporting the

children services and the hospital emergency rooms so they don't help people prevent smoking by reasonable amount of education. they just say well, if you decided to stop come to our general hospital and we will give you private treatment. now we are making the disaster of homelessness continue by making conditions of ill health at the shelter and the seniors even trying to get a non-smoking place to live in at the shelter. >> thank you very much. >> >> thank you. we will certainly take a look at those documents. >> i'm sorry.

thank you. i just want to say on behalf of me and my coalition, coalition of homelessness, we love you. and we admire you ask we thank you so much. you are beautiful inside and out. i would just like to say too god bless these women, men and children who are in the process of obtaining shelter. i would like to say if it were not the same people none of the services that help them now would be in service anyways. and what i think the city of san francisco would want is a logical solution for a fair share initiative. the shelters in housing under the fair share initiative, all housing will be preserved. the initiative fixes a flaw in the law that caused dozen of empty shelter beds every night. some people pay roughly $300 to get a residential hotel room while other people pay the same amount for a shelter bed. that is not fair.

feel free to talk about your own experience with shelter housing and how they might be changed by the fair shelter initiative. have you getting a shelter bed because you are not on caap? have you gotten a shelter bed and seen other beds around you empty? have you received cash but had to get by on $2 a day because you were paying rent for a shelter? these are things the public should hear. i just want to say that i am totally for fair shelter initiative. and i am not for risheseness and human people's rights. i think we should all live by 'e much for being here. -- thank you so much for being here. >> i am an activist for health care and the homeless.

i would gladly give up a check for a place tuesday. but then we ran out of places to stay. we're going to take your money away and give you a shelter bed, i was going to hate the idea of staying at a shelter because of the horrible misuse of the shelter residents by the staff. i have never been treated so poorly, so rudely, or so in humanely garbage that we call a shelter employees. they are an insult to the word

humanity. all the training that we can give want to change them at all. either they don't go to the training is a war they go and they don't sink in. any kind of advocacy we have done to try to fix the way they treat the shelter residents the is not working. they need to be wiped out and have a clean slate. supervisor kim: i will call five more names. >> [speaking spanish]

>> my name is maria. i support the shelters in the elections in november because it has helped me a great deal and it has helped other homeless 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] >>