we are homeless prevention program funded through the federal stimulus money program that is scheduled to end in six months. i just wanted to express my gratitude for the private partners in city coming to the table to pledge additional resources, as i know that the end is going to prove to be incredibly detrimental to our continued of care. in the past few years we have served over 600 with $1 million in resources. these families have been provided the background assistance, subsidies, and we have helped families living inside of substandard housing to move into a safe and decent housing. one of my concerns is the volume of families that we have seen that have faced months and months waiting to get into housing authority units. we are grateful that the san

francisco housing authority units is here today to partner with the homeless agencies. we want to make sure that this hearing holds them accountable to responding immediately and quickly to move these families into these units. also, to further what sarah mentioned, to talk about the other 150 + current vacant units that are available to easily help these families. we look forward to being a part of the partnership with these other great, non-profit agencies behind me, to address the critical issue. housing is a basic human right. families in san francisco should have access. thank you for your time today. [applause] supervisor avalos: thank you, next speaker, please. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is douglas. i have lived in san francisco for 59 years.

my opinion, homelessness in san francisco was like political corruption. it is never going to end. i hope you have all of the locked in solving this problem. as you become more successful in solving homelessness, if you solve the problems of 100 people, i can assure you that it will be more from another part of the world that will be coming to san francisco to take their place. you have to be realistic. this problem will never end. the more successful you are at it, you would actually get more work. i guess, in a certain sense, it is kind of a problem that is perplexing. i have to realistic solutions for your consideration. -- two realistic solutions for your consideration. when the 49ers leave san francisco, i would like to see candlestick park with an inexpensive dolma placed over

it, turning the parking lot and the park into informal housing and recreational facilities to help the homeless. i would like to see the stands converted into classrooms, so that this way the homeless can reach and be able to have some sort of education. i think that is a better use of candlestick park. to help the homeless. my second suggestion is to turn treasure island into another area where the homeless can benefit from the open space. you can put portable classrooms there. you could put in recreational -- recreational facilities. we could use the buildings to educate the homeless. i think that those two can help. the third suggestion is that would like to see city leaders publicly donating money, so we know who really supports the homeless. thank you. [applause]

>> good morning, city operations. walter paulson. ♪ if you are going to san francisco be sure to have some budget -- some budget homeless money there if you are going to san francisco, you are going to find some homeless help theire all across the nation they got money before they went on vacation on this motion, bring it on like a money ocean so those that come to san francisco, they are going to find some homeless help there, they will find some hope, help

on, hold on here, they will find some help here they will find some help on here today ♪ [applause] >> good afternoon, supervisors. i am here to support the families that live in hotels, shelters, under the bridges and in their cars. i hope that you can give them a welcome, holiday christmas gift for housing. i want to say thank you. [applause] >> hello, my name is kimmal. i came here with my daughter in her three children. i am thank you for a motion allowing us to be here and by

being a 24-hour drop in center, we were able to stay there and get ourselves together to try to find housing. we have been trying to find housing at a steady pace for two months. nothing fits our pockets. we cannot afford anything. we are begging you to please open up the 800 units that are affordable for our family. [unintelligible] it is a lot. is this too many? i have another daughter who is currently at home. she thought she had a place for her children tonight. now she is back home on the streets -- now she's back on the streets. open those 800 units, please. help us. it is a lot of stress. it is emotional. it does not make sense for kids to get up at 6:00 in the morning

and be out in the streets for 12 hours until this time for them to come back. there is nothing here for them to do. in the freezing cold, there is nothing. please look at those that need your help, need housing. need to eat at the table. need to get their sanity back. everyone is mixed up and confused in this homeless situation. under the bridges. i do not understand that. how come they cannot get into shelters? [tone] >> my name is geneva. i have been homeless for two years. i have been on the waiting list for that long. my number was high. are around the 3000, 4000, i got there at 302. i have not had a letter or anything. and i have been at the shelters

for almost three months. since i have been in the shelters, my kids have been sick. back and forth to the hospitals and doctors' appointments, i cannot do much to get a job while in this process. having more units available then you are supposed to, i give out more than are needed now -- the winter, when it is cold. it makes sense. i feel like if more people knew about the situation, and more people had turned care about the homeless, anyone could be in this situation. you ain't got to be low income or a pedestrian to make you homeless. any situation could make you that way. you could come from the richpoor

being rich to poor in a minute. it could happen to anyone. you do not have to have a specific reason to be on the streets. it do not take much to end up in my position. people laugh at the homeless and it is not funny. she would like to speak on her mother's behalf. go ahead. how do you feel being homeless and having to go to school? >> sad. >> ok. so, what is your daily routine like? >> i go to the shelter? >> how do you feel about that. is there enough time to study? >> no. >> do you need help?

>> no. >> what time do you have to get up in the morning to get ready for school? >> 5:00 a.m. >> how does that make you feel? do you feel like you will be able to get enough sleep to study and make it through life? >> no. >> how do you feel when you go to school? do you have enough energy to work through the day without feeling tired? >> no. >> [inaudible] >> because they laugh at me. >> i want to make sure that she gets to speak in her own words. i know that you are helping her. perhaps she is not ready to speak right now. >> do you have anything you want to add? >> help the homeless. >> speak. tell them how you feel.

>> sad and homeless. >> what do you want to say to them, in your own words? >> help the homeless. >> how old are you? >> attend. >> thank you. supervisor avalos: thank you very much. [applause] next speaker, please. >> hello, good morning. or good afternoon. i am working for the coalition on homelessness. for many years, it seems i work with the commission and i seen so many mayors talking about the crisis of homelessness in san francisco. it is going up. what is the mayor doing to end homelessness in san francisco?

not enough. not enough. of course, there are 2200 homeless shelters in san francisco. when one of the officials last week on the 30th of november, saying that there is not a crisis -- it is a crisis when there are 2000 homeless and other ones that have been homeless for years. we can see that it is more like 4000 in 5000 homeless children in san francisco. -- 4000, 5000 homeless children in san francisco. why we do not resolve to fix this problem? i would like to see on this agenda for the next one, mr. ed

lee, mayor, to put specific attention to resolve the problems of homelessness. i do not want to see more homeless familiesi do not want e homeless families, and i do not want to see more homeless families on the waiting list to get into a shelter. i would like to ask him to apologize to their families for what happened last week, because what he is saying is not a crisis in san francisco, it is a crisis. thank you. i am waiting for an answer. [applause] >> next speaker, please. >please, i want to go through

the testimony, and with so much clapping generally not allowed in to keep it to a minimum. thank you. >> gracias. >> thank you for everything. >> [speaking spanish] >> first, we have a lot of

feelings. we feel a lot of pain that with all of this trouble. obviously for the kids, because when they asked when windier -- when we're going to have our own place to play, we cannot find an answer to that question. [>> [speaking spanish] >> what are we supposed to say? we need to lie? i do not think that is the good way to teach your children, but sometimes i like to my daughter. >>i like to heard telling her we're going camping. she does not know what is camping, but i say that because i do not want to tell her we're going to the shelter.

>> [speaking spanish] >> please command the meeting with the audience and the mayor. he can see the problem face to face. here the families, and find a solution for this. >>we need a solution promptly. thank you. >> next speaker, please. >> buenos tardes.

[speaking spanish [ ] good morning, supervisors. my name is yvette. i am part of the coalition for the homeless. >> [speaking spanish] >> we have a lot -- too many. i think that is not just a

problem, but the problem it is also with school districts. the children there are not doing well academically. it is a trauma for them to be homeless. >> [speaking spanish] >> we ask the mayor, we are asking for two things. to give us an audience. and we have information about the shelters that is on the peak

of capacity. more families trying to find a shelter or somewhere to stay, but unfortunately there is. we have all of the information. give us a solution to this problem. >> [speaking spanish] >> we put a heart on your hand and the man us a solution to the problem. and-- demand a solution to the problem. [applause] >> one more? >> hi.

i want to say something. housing. my name is mario. thank you. >> thank you. >> my name is wayne. i have two kids and my wife have been [inaudible] . we do not have no money, nothing. we have to stay in a park for a while.

every day we get to the shelter. [inaudible] thank you. i do not speak really good. ok. [applause] >> hello, my name is l.d. the community. i feel this city needs to step up their efforts in helping the homeless. it is a crisis, and we need to be addressing it in that way. i believe this is so serious and we can do things in a much better way if we just make the effort that needs to be made. i know the work they do, and i know the truth is here -- the

true sincerity they have. if it was not for the people of this city, there would not be no city. let's take care of the people. [applause] >> any other members of the public that would like to comment? anyone else who would like to comment, please come forward. >> hi. well, let me start here, i definitely believe that let me give you some of the things i recommend your do. first of all, -- >> could you please identify yourself? >> i am charles. i would recommend you have the

team masterly several apartment buildings. the mou process is not currently working. some of the housing have ability programs. the other thing is we need to definitely think about how the stability of these housings. hopefully that is a piece of legislation you will create to make laws more stricter when people move into housing. i am also thinking about -- i think the case managers at these places need specialized training so they will be able to help people get into housing and where the housing is, and how to navigate the process. i think i was given a housing application that was pretty much as big as this book.

they expect me to fill that out. it is not a simple issue dealing with this, so i think you have to figure out how to bring more jobs into the city and county of san francisco. i also feel you have a problem with accountability system. i just feel like they should not have come from the coalition of homeless. this should have come from the local coordinating home was board. this is overrun by service providers are you are not getting the information. i find it problematic that this guy is going to pull 150 housing units out of the blue somewhere just to house these people what they have probably been fake it for years. -- vacant for years.sarah short

did a presentation about a year ago. it needs to be said, she did a presentation about a year ago, and it was very much opposite of everything that sf housing said. it was totally opposite and i -- [unintelligible] >> thank you very much. [applause] if there are no other members of the public that would like to comment, i will close public comment. >> the african-american -- >> i have already closed public comment. i want to thank everyone for coming and speaking in your advocacy in your work, because obviously this hearing would not have happened if you have not spoken up.

i believe we would not have the stories that come out in the media because he is speaking up and talking about conditions. clearly the city as a problem in the city that the city has not been adequately responding to. you do not need me to tell you that, but i just said it. i want to thank you for coming forward and making things happen. we of coordination now between city departments and housing authority that has been a long time coming. we also have a donation that has come from the private sector that i think is welcome as well that is a start. we have to look at -- from how we can prevent these conditions from worsening. i want to make sure we're moving along the right track, so i think your effort from the community side has been instrumental in making that happen.

also want to thinank mr. cayhan for being here. i think mr. rorar at comments he wanted to express about his comments in the paper. and i would like to give you space to do that. and i want to have follow-up as well. there are lots of people that spoke here, very personal stories. stories that are not often spoke on television. made me feel very uncomfortable. i want to acknowledge that was done in you revealed to me and to the public that it is very difficult to hear but we need to hear those things. thank you for doing that in giving us that uncomfortable must that helps us to do our work even better to acknowledge the conditions out there in the city. >> thank you for the

opportunity. i do not often comment on what is portrayed in the press, and we all know how the media sometimes has its own way of spending things, but this one was particularly alarming for me, and it was the quote attributed to me about this not being a crisis. unfortunately this was taken out of context. what i said it is not a crisis that demands the opening of new shelters, but one that requires us to address the lack affordability of housing and lack of income or low income among homeless families. unfortunately that whole " did not express. -- that whoele quote did not get expressed. supervisor avalos: i want to

work with providers to make sure we close the loop on any family that potentially is at risk of prolonging the condition of being in a shelter. i think it is support we do that. also, you can summarize for us what has been achieved so far in terms of new programming in new funding, just to summarize that again before the close of the hearing. what do you see as a challenge to make sure we're reaching more families as well? >> thank you for having the hearing and the families coming out and taking the time to share their stories with us. at times uncomfortable, but important to hear. you ask me about ensuring families get connected to the system, and we will make sure that happens. there was testimony about the mayor's not meeting with families. the mayor is well aware of the concerns of the