kids can go to college and whether they're in a lab in mission bay, installing solar panels or opening a business in the outer sunset, at its best san francisco is a city for everyone. we are a city for the 100%. [applause] and we will only realize our true promise and potential when we serve the needs and aspirations of each and every one. i'll tell you one of the ways we can do that. we need to create a permanent source of revenue to fund the production of housing in san francisco. [applause] so that we remain a viable place to live and work for everyone at every level of the economic spectrum, not just low-income housing, but

workforce housing as well for middle class families. we must never let up on our efforts to fight homelessness, move people off our streets and into supportive housing. we must continue to embrace innovative approaches to helping families and individuals find a permanent home. so this week i will direct the mayor's office of housing to convene a broad working group of housing advocates, city officials, developers and community leaders to develop a measure that we can place on the november ballot to create a permanent housing trust fund. san francisco must remain a place -- [applause] san francisco must remain a place where every one of us can call home. let's roll up our sleeves, let's go to work and let's get it all done. plauseplalls

[applause] i'm aware this isn't just government, sometimes it's plex. sometimes we'll be tempted to derail the process or look to demonize one group or another, i'm telling you now as your mayor, we have no time for that. we're all elected by the same boss, the people of san francisco, and they expect us to get things done. [applause] you may not always agree with me, but every day i will make one pledge -- that every decision i make is what i think is best for the city and for all the people of san francisco. that is my standard. san francisco is the greatest city in the world, the greatest city in the world. [applause]

and because of our people and because we are the innovation capital of the world, i have no doubt that we will confront and overcome each of our challenges. let us take up the call. let us make the city work for everyone. together, let us get it done. thank you very much. [applause] [applause]

>> you may be seated. mr. mayor, that was a marvelous message, and some of the people who are here to share this moment with you and to say congratulations. names have arrived from people like newsom and others on these little yellow cards, and i should, of course, acknowledge first and foremost the closest thing we have to a president, and that's charlotte's secretary, george shultz. [applause] and diane, acknowledged in the

group of mayors, i identify the ones who are here now. but this city has a legacy of all of the people who have served continuously participating. and mr. mayor, you are indeed blessed, because not only is ginax-mosconi here, but joe alioto is here. and a true son of san francisco, the son of mayor kevin shelly and the mayor jack shelly, kevin shelly. [applause] and then supervisoral account, john after loss is the other supervisor -- av loss is the other supervisor that has shown up. and in the citywide elections, the professor is here. [applause]

and on the state level, formal supervisor tom, assembly member tom. board of equalization member, betty yee. and, of course, mr. mayor, i refer to the -- governor, is that yours? [laughter] >> i believe so. [laughter] >> two children, very young kids here, precocious as all get-out, and they're already seeking headlines.

board of education member appropriately for the school kids, emily morris. state controller. [applause] and your own controller, ben rosenfeld. [applause] school board member, rachel norton. school board member sandra lee. [applause] and you referred earlier to the selection of the police chief, and you named him your police chief. [applause] and gavin newsom named the first female fire chief, joanne hayes-white.

[applause] and you kept gavin newsom's chief of staff, steve. where are you, steve? [applause] and then, mr. mayor, all this just didn't happen, all the business of the beautiful blue drapery decking out staal and -- city hall and the blue carpet and the horns aplenty heralding your arrival, that all happened because of the committee headed by none other than charlotte cholets and maw enthusiastic, and they put that all together with the inaugural committee. stand up. you're a member of that inaugural committee. [applause]

and then, of course, mr. mayor, you hosted, during the christmas holidays, an event for a very important international unit, and as this city obviously unfolds in its international importance under your leadership, the counselor corps of san francisco is going to be very important. and for the 70 or more countries represented, would the council corps members please rise, so people can see who you really are. [applause] >> now, san francisco would never be complete -- you've heard of i left my heart in san francisco, app that's all part of who we are about. but there's something else that's become equally as important in this city in terms of the relationship with this city, and that's none other

than what jo shuman silver has been putting together now one way or another, in memory of and on an ongoing basis, steve silver, beach blankets babylon. so cool it and watch beach blanket babylon. ♪ ♪ ♪ it only takes a tiny quarter ♪ this great big world to find a place that you love ♪ my home upon the hill i find i love you still ♪ i have been away but now i'm

back to tell you ♪ san francisco open your golden gate ♪ you let no stranger wait outside your door ♪ san francisco here is your wandering ones wandering no more ♪ it only makes me love you best ♪ tell me you're the heart of all the golden west ♪ san francisco welcome me home again i'm coming home to go roaming no more ♪ san francisco open your golden gate you let no stranger wait outside your door ♪ san francisco here is your wandering one saying i'll

wander no more ♪ the pictures only make me love you best ♪ tell me you're the heart of all the golden west ♪ the golden west ♪ san francisco welcome me home again ♪ i'm coming home to go roaming no more ♪ [applause] [cheers and applause]

>> do whatever else you wish to do. there is a food court right in back, so if you have been here since before 10:00 and you need some sustenance, it's there. you may tour all of city hall, but most importantly, you should spend a little bit more time enjoying the incredible effort that has been put into performing and pleasing and entertaining you most of the day here in san francisco at city hall in honor of mayor ed lee's inaugural ceremony and the inauguration of the 43rd mayor for the city and county

of san francisco. can you imagine you got number 39, 40, 41, 42 -- >> what about me? >> 38. [laughter] we planned that little act. so, mr. mayor, you and your family now may want to head to the spot where you can start shaking hands and taking pictures and wave goodbye for the moment, and i'll keep going. >> thank you. [laughter] i shouldn't be a witness here. thank you. >> thank you. [applause] >> the 43rd mayor of the city and county of san francisco and his family! [applause]

>> i tried to think about this room as the dream room, where we dream and bring some of those dreams to life. i feel very blessed that i have been able to spend the last 31 years of my life doing it my way, thinking about things better interesting to me, and then pursuing them. there are a lot of different artists that come here to work, mostly doing aerial work. kindred spirits, so to speak. there is a circus company that i

have been fortunate enough to work with the last couple of years. i use elements of dance and choreography and combine that with theater techniques. a lot of the work is content- based, has a strong narrative. the dancers have more of a theatrical feel. i think we are best known for our specific work. in the last 15 years, spending a lot of time focusing on issues that affect us and are related to the african-american experience, here in the united states. i had heard of marcus shelby and had been in join his work but never had the opportunity to meet him. we were brought together by the equal justice society specifically for this project.

we were charged with beginning work. marquez and i spent a lot of time addressing our own position on the death penalty, our experiences with people who had been incarcerated, family members, friends of friends. pulling our information. beyond that, we did our own research. to create a picture that resonated with humanity. it is the shape of a house. in this context, it is also small and acts like a cell. i thought that was an interesting play on how these people make these adjustments, half to create home. what is home for these people? the home is their cell.

people talk a lot about noise -- very noisy in prisons. that is interesting to me. looking at the communication level, the rise of frustration of being caged, wondering, where does redemption fit into the equation here? [singing] i think both of us really believe the death penalty is wrong, and is flawed for many reasons. the list is as long as my arm -- about several others.

we feel this is important for both of us, personally, to participate in the debate of this issue in a way that we can help people frame it for a conversation.

supervisor avalos: good morning, and welcome to the city operations and neighborhood services committee. my name is supervisor mar avalos, the chair. i am joined by supervisor elsbernd. we will be joined shortly by supervisor mar. the committee clerk is ms. gail johnson. >> all persons attending this meeting are requested to turn off all cell phones and pagers. if you submit copies of materials to the members of the committee, please submit an extra copy to the file. if you wish to hand in speaker cards, please put them in the container by the rail in front of you, to your left. supervisor avalos: ok, thank you. please call the first item. >> hearing on the city's response to the surge in homelessness, and families and for various city agencies,

including the her -- human services agency in the housing authority to outline the response to the crisis, including any plans to expand the rental subsidy programs, and he plans to address the loss in federal homeless prevention and rapid re-housing funds, any plans to increase, is prevention efforts, any plans to expedite the filling a vacant san francisco housing authority units, and moving homeless families into them, and ways we can protect households from for closure evictions. supervisor avalos: thank you, madam clerk. i call this hearing just last week, but it is an issue that has been on my mind for a number of months, especially with the advocacy of the coalition on homelessness, and a lot of the families are related to the coalition, and they work with a lot of homeless families. it was first brought to my attention about our crisis in a sheltering in providing housing

for families in san francisco probably at the end of september, beginning of october. in fact, while i was out in my extracurricular activities over the past seven months, at the interfaith breakfast in october, a lot of the focus was on homelessness in san francisco, and a lot of people who work at that time running for mayor expressed that a big part of the homeless population consists of families. that was also in contention that the mayor himself -- and as a city, we have a responsibility to ensure that we're supporting the least among us and the growing number of homeless families or families at risk of homelessness is something that the city cannot ignore. i do want to thank the coalition and the families connected with the coalition for coming forward, for telling their stories, difficult stories to tell about being marginally housed oregon difficulties

dealing with education situations. there are numerous stores already in the san francisco chronicle and the examiner about family homelessness in san francisco, and people coming forward to tell the stories, it is very difficult. but those types of synergies between advocates telling their stories and media picking up on them are ways that we can actually shed light on our troubles and how we can come up with a response. i was very pleased to see, this morning, the story in "the chronicle" about a family making commitments to help families who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. i think those types of support that come from time to time are essential for us to be able to support struggling families and to show the kind of city that we truly are. so we owe a great thanks to the

efficacy effort for bringing this july, to the attention of city officials, and also to this family as well for their commitment to the families. i believe we have much more to do. as a city, not looking at -- and no, fixes in the last 18 months, we're looking at long-term, how we can put our services in place and how we can support struggling families. i know we are greatly challenged in doing that with our recession and the number of jobs out there for people, as well as our city revenues and programming, but i think that is the work we can do, working together, community, city, and private foundation folks to be able to come up with solutions that can really work. i am pleased to see the story that came out today. i know we have folks from the mayor's office, as well as hsa

and the housing authority who are here to explain some of the solutions we have currently. we will be asking questions about that. we'll also hear from advocates as well, about their experience, either being homeless or what solutions they can pose to us, as well as the city. first up, we have someone from -- what was it? from the mayor's office. >> thank you, supervisor avalos. good morning, supervisor elsbernd. i know we're waiting on supervisor mar. i appreciate hearing about the plight of homeless families in san francisco. i want to give you an overview of the situation as we see it and then type for the city departments to talk about our response to the supervisor -- superintendent garcia needs to leave a little early, so we may start with the superintendent. in sentences go over the last 24

months, and nationwide, we have seen a marked increase in family homelessness. this is a difficult statistic to track, and i think you know that, largely because it is a difficult thing to talk about and a lot of the shame and things that may exist around that, but also sort of putting our hands around that and understanding the situation. the primary data point to use in san francisco is demand for a full-service shelter system. folks who have said they're absolutely homeless in the shelter. it includes families were living with family and friends throughout the bay area, family staying in one of our current overnight shelters, families who, within a few months, will be reaching the time limit in our full-service shelter system. families living in residential hotels in the city and around the bay area. and families staying in cars and on the streets but there are currently 79 families in the city's full service system, and that is a long-term shelter where people have a room.

there's food and service there. not the overnight shelter. in addition, there are 253 families on the waiting list waiting for shelter, an all-time high in san francisco. in 16 years, whenever see numbers that high. when we look to the national data with respect to homeless families, there is a few things we know. we know that they do not have higher levels of mental illness, substance abuse, or engagement what the child protective system when compared to other poor families. they simply have a housing problem. in its san francisco, the problem is related to a dearth of affordable housing, often coupled with lack of income. i want to make sure people understand that this is very different than a chronic thomas issue that we have dealt with in san francisco. supervisor avalos: i think the sure chronic lawlessness and families in the mix of people who are chronically homeless is something that we have acknowledged.