ground-up approach to preparedness. i thought you'd want to know that. >> very good, thank you. other? yes. thank you for sharing that. i just wanted to record that it's the 22nd anniversary of [inaudible] the neighbored emergency response team is always a great option for people to consider investing about 1 hours of their time. it's a wonderful program and on october 14 there will be a large-scale drill at fisherman's who i have about 8:00 until 9:00 and on the 16th, there will be drilts throughout the city for members who have gone through the program and to bone up on and practice their skills. thank you. >> thank you, chief. yes? >> harold of the american red

cross. this is her first meeting so i want to introduce meredith who is replacing aaron, who has gone to the dark side. he's now a fundraiser with the organization. >> hello. >> happy to have you on the team. >> is representative bart here? >> yes. >> ok, so i wanted to welcome mark lewis, member of the disaster council. if you'd like to introduce yourself. >> good afternoon. i'm the deputy chief of r.p.d. >> we're thrilled to have you. thank you for coming. thank you. other comments from disaster council mexico? any announcements? -- council members? any announcements? ok, how about public comments? supervisor farrell has joined us.

actually quite a while ago. we were not able to introduce him at the beginning of the meeting. anything you would like to say, supervisor? supervisor farrell: i'm fine, thanks. have a good weekend. >> if there's no public comment and no further comment, this meeting is adjourned. thank you all so much for coming.

>> we have much to discuss. i am looking forward to getting started. we are honored that the mayor of san francisco has stopped by. i am very pleased to introduce him and give him a few minutes. he said he only needed 45 or 50 minutes. [laughter] i am kidding. here is the mayor of san francisco. please join me in welcoming him.

[applause] >> good morning, everyone. welcome to san francisco. i want to thank all of you for being here. i have two more weeks to say this. let me say it clearly. welcome to the world series champion city and county of san francisco. it is a great testament for web .0 to be here for the eighth time. it is your decision to bring this back every year for the last eight years. it just goes to show and prove we're leading the world in technology. san francisco was ranked the no. 1 annual growth for high-tech jobs. this growth is not slowing at all. last week, i welcome one company

to their new headquarters on howard street. the least 90,000 square feet of space to tech companies that plan to employ over 600 employees. this is just the tip of the iceberg. according to a recent real estate report, there are 40 technology companies all currently looking for 2 million square feet of office space in san francisco. to put this in perspective, this is the equivalent of four trans- america. midst of space. tech companies employ over 20,000 employees. i am committed to ensuring that san francisco remains at the center of the tech industry. that is why i have created the central payroll tax exclusion. i signed it on stocks. i reached out to check ceo's to

understand what more we can do to help. i have also committed to a wholesale review of our tax policy to develop more equitable alternatives that do not punish job creation. we are working hard to find other ways to interact with technology. our city is the first in the nation to pass open date up legislation. san francisco has been a leader in allowing the community to create over 60 applications based on this day to. over the summer, our department of technology hosted hackathons and resulted in the creation of 23 apps in created over 10,000 hours of civic engagement. i want to present a challenge. we are a consent -- congested city. into the years, we will host

america's cup, -- in two years, we will host america's cup, one of the largest events. over 500,000 people visit the city on any given day during that time. one of the complaints i hear the most is that people get their cars towed away when their part in the wrong place. it can cost $500 and leaves them with the worst taste in their mouth. they were here to celebrate something. i want to challenge you. find me a solution. let there be some hand-held device that can warn somebody that their car is about to be towed. we can save a lot people having disappointment in their lives. we will work on the data to release it. you can go at it and help us to resolve one of the biggest problems we have, that is

sparking any towaway zone. can you help us to do that? [applause] all right. by insuring the san francisco business policies encourage job growth, and by staying at the forefront of ideas like open government, i am confident that our city will continue to be the place where entrepreneurs, innovators flock to us as a place where you want to start your business, stay, and grow. i want you to know that we want you here to start a mistake, and grow. thank you for holding the summit. we appreciate your presence. stay here and keep growing with us. [applause] >> i am really looking forward to getting a text when i am about to get a ticket. i get a lot of tickets. step back here and we can take care of that. [laughter]

thank you very much. >> good morning. i am proud employee of the department of veteran affairs. i have worked at the va for 23 years. i have been working with homeless veterans for 21 of those years. [applause] my title now is coordinator.

that translates to regional homeless coordinator. region 21 encompasses northern nevada, all of northern california, hawaii, and guam. i want to make sure we have enough resources to end homelessness for veterans. i am proud to be here. i want to welcome all of you to our kickoff event. this is to help launch our national tick off event. the purpose of that is to make the public aware of all of the services available for ending almost as. there were 28 sites.

to run the country. san francisco was one of those. they wanted us to do a kickoff event and let each site decide how they wanted to showcase their program. we got together and said we could not do this without our community partners. the purpose of the networking breakfast was to acknowledge the 30 or more community providers that are here today to help us figh homelessness and end it by 2015. that is the goal of the current administration. [applause] we had our breakfast this morning. people may still be hungry.

there is coffee and other goodies. thank you to the salvation army for hosting this event. we have helicopters. we did not do that on purpose, but it adds to the drama -- and the sun came out. i am going to start by welcoming our honored guests. ed is the acting medical center director and my friend. we have worked together a long time. he is a big believer in our mission. lieutenants smith, regional commander of the salvation army. come up here. thank you. [applause] the principal deputy undersecretary for health. he flew in all the way from washington to be here and speak with us. thank you. [applause]

state senator leno, thank you for being here. [applause] mayor lee, thank you very much. we're happy to show you the facility. [applause] and nancy pelosi, democratic leader of the house of representatives. thank you for being here. [applause] we are going to hear inspirational words from all of them. i am pretty excited about that. the pressure is on. i am going to take a few minutes to call out some folks to show you how we all work together. our partners have really helped us today. is kathleen mccall here?

she is the director of the golden gate cemetery. she is one of our partners. thank you for being here. we have our folks from social security. please stand up. thank you for being here. [applause] did i miss somebody? sarah is here as well from social security. when we do our vet connect, she helps us. we get clothing donated and tailored. they shower and leave with tailored clothes to go interview for jobs. that is pretty special. thank you. [applause] ophelia bascall is the regional

administrator for hud. ed cabrera, thank you for being here. [applause] ed and the council are big proponents"srgu on opening dood working on endling homelessness for veterans and everyone. martha is another great provider. she keeps us on the straight and narrow getting our permanent housing vouchers out. my buddy from washington used to be in palo alto. he is now the chief clinical director of clinical operations for the eight homeless programs,

keith. [applause] over there is my other buddy. i have lots of bodies. -- i have lots of buddies. is from the mayor's office. thank you for being here. we could not have done this event without the salvation army. i want to thank jack, the executive director, for all the work you did for this event. i am going to go quickly. stephanie hall, the program director, thank you. cathy cooke, is a veteran's case manager. john, the administrative assistant. then we have lainie and judy.

lainie and judy ar ethe the p.r people for the va incidents -- and the salvation army. thank you. we have people from the state department of veterans affairs. please stand. thank you. [applause] then we have the d.a. case workers, the chief of social work, joanne peters. please stand. we cannot do this without you. [applause] i want to do a special shop out -- shoult out to john walter, our outreach worker at the va.

some job descriptions set all other duties as assigned, he got the assignment of our reach as well. margie from the va and jeff joseph, thank you for being here. [applause] oh, wow. i am so used to my boss, the visiting director, sheila c ohen. we traveled together for three days. she is the visiting director. [applause] we were doing and out each event in hawaii. i think announced to as a homeless coordinator. we also have the chief operating officer for the division here. [applause] last but not least is my deputy.

thank you for being here. [applause] jake martin, thank you. [applause] that is a lot of people. now we are going to have welcoming remarks from the acting medical director. [applause] >> i guess i get to raise the boom. i did not need any added pressure, but thank you anyway. good morning. welcome, everyone. i would like to welcome our honored guest, lt col. steve smith, senator leno, mayor lee, thank you all for coming today. madam leader, thank you for

your an unwavering support to our veterans. it is an honor and pleasure to have you here today. [applause] i am so proud of our mission and to be here today as we bring attention to the effort to end homelessness. she has covered the important role our community plays in the effort. as a career va employee, i have had the privilege of serving america's veterans. it is a particular honor to serve in the mission to eliminate homelessness. sadly, veterans lead the nation in homelessness, depression, substance abuse, and suicide. these are daunting facts. something must be done about it. with the cooperation and partnership of those of you here today, we will work together to decisively end homelessness.

we've heard the list of the formal forces that have gathered. together, i think we can do it. is our honor, duty, and mission to help those in need. the va has set a goal of ending homelessness among veterans by 2015. some may find this a difficult if not impossible goal. we do know that we can reach this goal together with the assistance of our federal, state, and community partners. those who have served this nation as veterans should never find themselves on the streets living without care or hope. i remember the words of an elected official who spoke at the wall-breaking of our recently opened a clinic. he said he heard people talking about veterans deserving this care. he said there is no deserving in

the equation, you have earned it. we agree with that. on behalf of the va medical center in san francisco, a pledge our unwavering support and dedication -- i pledge our unwavering support and dedication to that task. [applause] >> please help me in welcoming lieutenant colonel smith, the divisional commander of the salvation army. [applause] >> i think we're all fighting the microphone today. we're pleased to have you. the salvation army facility. this is one of two alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers in san francisco. it is part of a myriad of programs we operate in the city.

at harbor lights, a veterans can break free from the chains of addiction 3 comprehensive treatment program that offers progressive care, education, work force development, and character-building elements. that is combined with top not counseling and resources offered by the veterans administration's. our graduates have the opportunity to acquire the tools they need to achieve independence and lead healthy and productive lives. the salvation army has a long history with veterans dating back to world war i where our volunteer lassies provided care and aid to those serving on the front lines. i also have memories of my uncle who was in the salvation army during world war ii. he was assigned to oahu where he

would show movies in the fields to servicemen. today whether they are newly enlisted, serving at home, or discharged, the salvation army is there to ensure the health that our brave the veterans never ends. we're pleased to open our doors today to host this great event. we're looking forward to working with vets in the future and specifically to eliminate homelessness among our local vets. thank you very much. [applause] >> i am not going to keep moving it up and down. our first speaker today is va principal deputy undersecretary for health. he leaves programs for the veterans of the administration.

he has been a longtime leader with the va and is responsible for implementing a broad reforms in the delivery of specialty and emergency care and have significantly improved the quality of care provided across the va health care system. [applause] >> thank you. it is my pleasure to be here. thank you for that nice introduction. i have to get this fixed. as a cardiologists, i still see patients. that is the most important thing i do. it helps to give me the perspective of how to make things better. let me thank the salvation army for hosting us today. this is a wonderful opportunity.

i like to recognize the elected officials as of everybody has already done. i think this is a very important statement, the fact that you are here today. it means a lot to this community and us. it is a statement about the kind of support there is for ending veteran homelessness. the folks who have put this together have done a fantastic job. there is little i can say that would add anything to the probable commitment they have to making this program work. as you will hear and learn, this is not something the va can do by itself. this is a program that is built around the organization of our community partners in ending this terrible problem of homelessness for the veterans. to the community service folks,

thank you. we realize you are the ones doing the heavy lifting. your contribution is absolutely necessary in this effort. the veteran service organizations, are federal, state, and local government partners, my counterparts in the state veterans affairs programs, thank you for your leadership. to all of the veterans here and other distinguished guests, we very much appreciate your heartfelt support of this initiative. it is my pleasure to be here to help launch this veterans outreach initiative in san francisco. there are similar programs going on in 28 cities across the country. some are big in some or smaller -- are smaller, more rural areas. it has taken a tremendous amount of team work to make this successful. i am here on behalf of my boss, secretary shinseki.

i want to make a comment about his commitment to this. when he was sworn in two years ago, he said one of his primary goals as secretary was to end homelessness by 2015. that is an incredible statement. he said we would end homelessness. that is going to happen not because he said it or because i am here. that is going to happen because of the passion of the local people dealing with this all across the country. it is the people's passion that will make this happen. this is a difficult situation. it will be easy to turn a blind eye to it.

it would be easy to ignore it. it would be easy to blame them. we could put a token effort or mandate on it to say we did something. or we can take this on as a national commitment. it is our call. it is your call. i think the fact that you are here today, the work you do every day, says a lot about who we are as americans and how we will continue to support those who have answered our nation's call. we do not owe this to the veterans. as you heard, it is not something they are entitled to. it is something they have earned. they have protected our freedom. in their time of need, we need to protect them and help them out. [applause] this national program