david pryor her to leave the housing and and get back on a lower level, which -- they have required her to leave the housing and get back on the lever level, which requires less spirit i do not know -- and get back on a lower level, which requires less. i do not know if i explained that well enough. >> i am a member of the senior center going on 10 years now. i appreciate all of your support for the senior centers. the program that i use increasingly more is the lunch program. and there have been some cuts in it, but we still serve twice a day during the week, one at 12:00 p.m. and 1 at 1:00 p.m. i want them to continue.

i also depend on public transportation, and i appreciate the senior cards for clipper. thank you very much. >> good afternoon. i'm victoria from the independent living resource center. thank you for waiting to the end for me to talk. i will talk about the housing needs for adults with disabilities who are not seniors. as mr. sloan, our first speaker, said, they cannot get into this housing. it has matured -- as mr. richards said, it is very hard for them to apply for the vouchers and it is hard to get the man arts to take them. one big disadvantage for the adults with disabilities in this city is public housing. this woman was not a senior when

she came to san francisco and was not a senior when she lived in standard housing. she finally got into public housing when she was a senior, but to others it is closed now. i have been working with adults with disabilities and i have material i can e-mail to you. thank you. >> congratulations, christina. >> thank you. it cracks i have a speech -- >> i have a speech impairment, so it is quite to take me more than two minutes, but i will do my best. i am here with my mobility service document to testify before you how these budget cuts have altered by life.

i am a person with a disability, which is hidden and often misunderstood. one, i have a brain injury. i can feel the discord burning within the city with regard to those of us who are viewed differently. i have endured a reduction in in-home support services and ssi benefits where i can no longer afford to buy food at my local grocery store, safeway. when i applied for food stamps i was told i was ineligible and that i have too much money. the cuts i have endured over the last five years have so increased -- cannot pronounced

the word. the legislative body chose to ignore. in short, because i am reduced to my reduction in my disability income, i cannot enjoy the full and just life that all of us want and deserve. who among you here before me would be content to have their life altered and changed and take my place? thank you very much. >> thank you. gregg's good afternoon, supervisors. -- >> good afternoon, supervisors. this has been a really important hearing and there has been a lot

of sobering data that has come out in this, as well as sobering personal stories from seniors and people with disabilities. i have to say, hearing that more than half of the seniors in our city are struggling to make ends meet, it makes me kind of ashamed in a certain way. and i feel like it raises, for me, fundamental questions about the direction our city is going. i know there is a real fear out there that san francisco is becoming a younger place and people with a lot of money are able to live here, and that you're well. a lot of people are being marginalized in the process. i know there are a lot of people here, both in leadership positions, and people in general in the community who

want something different for san francisco and they want us to be true to our progressive history. it will want to live in an inclusive city where everyone works well and we have a strong basis. we have partners who are very committed to ensuring the rights of people with disabilities and for seniors to continue living at home with support. but the proposed cuts to services happening on every level really threaten the ability to do that and we have to insist that the 1% pay their fair share. and unless we are able to do that, people with disabilities are right to continue to suffer. it is a fundamental question of justice and a fundamental question of the kind of city that we want to build. thank you.

>> good afternoon. i want to direct your attention toward this document. in 2005 ended in 2006, for 18 months there was a study done around health and impacts on the east side of the city. maybe to coincide with this profile that's they had given as is to get together with the department of health and that the next hearing, look at whether those numbers coincide with the demographics and roveri have in our document.

housing and health and food coincide with one another. if a person does not housing -- does not have housing, they will not be healthy. if they do not have food they will be a mess. we will be looking at turning co-ops into stores that will be accessible for people with disabilities. we have too many open spaces, places that are not being utilized. this is a good way tim utilize. -- a good way to utilize. before i leave, i would like to say thanks to su, who came and checked on one of our members. thank you.

>> good afternoon. thank you for allowing me to speak today. i feel this is an important situation going on. i would like to ask madame clerk to please put the overhead light on so i can put something that i would like to show about my landlord. i am a senior. i have lived in my building for 20 years before -- for 20 years. before i say that i would like to see and part of the action network. i am also part of the health organization. i'm very much a part of the community in san francisco. i have been at my place for 20 years and i pay my rent on time. i'm being threatened with an eviction from his landlord that i have on the overhead. he is being sued by the city and

county of san francisco for numerous situations, along with this one. i have another one overhead. he is swallowing gains in his buildings. there are drive-by shootings on leavenworth street, which is in the overhead here. i live at 428 post st. and its an apartment he paid $20 million cash for. he is a very ruthless man. i need help. i need this city to protect my rights as a senior citizen and a disabled woman i thank you so much for your time. >> thank you for calling this

meeting. it is so much needed. i live in an apartment nearby the civic center neighborhood. i've been there since 1978. with the decrease in my effective in crime and -- my affected in callum and with the rising cost of everything else i have to purchase i have to have a roommate. she is on ssi and i'm on social security's/disability and old age. we are food insecure. i had to step out for a few minutes to go to the aging and disability resource center to have lunch. it was crowded. it was definitely not

overloaded. there was not a reservation list for us to sign up for tomorrow. it was all full already. i had a good meal, though. i do not know what i would do without that place. i cannot afford to go to trader joe's and purchase everything i need to eat anymore. i am also a client of the trans thrive division of the asian pacific wellness center. i can get lunch there three or four days a week. thank you for calling the meeting. >> good afternoon. i am disabled and i have quite a few in visible disabilities -- invisible disabilities and i'm

also a senior. i am concerned about city government and the services they give to rise as disabled and seniors. you need to retrain a lot of the programs, such as policing neighborhood -- neighborhood policing. and some of our partner programs need to be retrained so they understand what the new laws are concerning disabilities and concerning seniors. besides that, i am concerned about the greatest illness in our community. and the greatest illness in the senior community is depression. that depression is going to continue to exist as long as people are worried about how they're going to eat their next meal, how they are going to stay out of the rain, and how they will be able to get the medications they need. i would like to suggest that the board come up with some eight -- some way of managing not for profits who service seniors.

there's so much money wasted by duplicated programs and programs that are not doing what they are being paid to do. it is up to you to monitor that money, to make sure it is going where it is supposed to go, to the seniors will need it, and that those seniors are given the best that they can with the amount of money that the city has. thank you for your time. >> good evening. my name is charles douglas mclean and i'm from north market. i heard they're going to cut the program. i hope they do not because we need it. i need it, anyway, you guys do not need it. i wish you would come by and look at it and let everybody know. thank you very much.

>> fellow. my name is gail switzer and at a board member for next village, san francisco. it is a nonprofit community organization providing residents of san francisco's northeast corridor with the practical means to live safely and practically live in their communities as they age. we covered telegraph, russian hill, polka and the waterway. our first goal is to for fell 80% of requests for services with the work of our volunteer corps. according to the budget analyst report of 2011, 25% of residents surveyed in the zip code 94133, which is the heart of our neighborhood, were 60 years of

age or older with a medium annual income of 48,700 compared to $78,000 on average. an income below $40,000 does not allow for the additional expenses needed one needs to -- the additional expenses one needs to adapt their home. it is difficult to leave and find other neighborhoods that might be more suitable to a senior, such as not being on a hill, having no steps, accessible rooms, etc. we provide services to help this population. we provide transportation to doctors, dentists, writes for ahrens, a grocery shopping, etc. -- rides for errrands course

for shopping, etc.. i wanted to ask the supervisors that if we are targeting that made group -- that little group that anne in and spoke about -- >> thank you. i would like to ask that next time you be a part of the presentation. you should get to know a lot of the groups here today. i hope you start working with them together. you definitely address the needs of a particular group that needs attention here in san francisco. i want you to be part of the bigger discussion instead of an outsider, which i do not think you are. -- outlyer, which i do not think you are. i'm hoping you can get together

with the senior action network so that you can be included in in the discussion. gregg's we have been working in a lot of the neighborhoods. >> that is an integral part of it. >> thanks. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is marilyn, and i'm a social manager case worker with meals on wheels. i'm here to represent one of our clients, "c" we will call her. mrs. c cannot be here herself. she is homebound and blind and she currently resides in public housing. mrs. c approached me with a problem that suddenly manifest in recent years that seems to be an ongoing fight for our seniors

and disabled americans. she clearly needs in home support services to assist her with babying -- abating, grooming, the basic activities of daily living. however, because her income became $1,600 per month since the death of her husband, her new share is $1,050. this would only leave her $550 out of her income. her rent is $618 per month in public housing. this means that she would not be able to purchase food, pay pg&e, and other necessities. as a social worker, the opportunity to see and witness the plight of our seniors as they struggle to develop without

the help of support services is not only hard -- harmful, by -- but its could give them the opportunity to thrive and enjoyed their twilight years. cracks -- >> madam chair, i am a senior, and a senior mou has dedicated his life -- who has dedicated his life working on behalf of other seniors who are not as fortunate. many years ago i used to work -- i started working with the senior action network. i started working to advocate for affordable housing and

seniors. however, we were not that fortunate. i am here today to tell you that if you are thinking about the money for the social program for seniors, please do all you can to put more money than what is given already. i attend a senior center. and in my humble opinion, it is the best senior center in this area.

the south is very considerate, and especially the director. she really turned that center around. >> thank you. is there additional public comment? >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is lovely to and i'm the director of senior services of the san francisco. right now, we need an increase in doing business in this city. for the last five years we have not had one. you have heard that the seniors and disabled population is fast increasing in number, and without an increase in doing business with the city cannot

imagine we -- what could happen. -- with the city, imagine what could happen. we are here to work with you to find solutions in this city. thank you. >> thank you. >> good afternoon. i actually had not planned to testify today. i just came to support the services, but i feel moved to speak on behalf of the homebound seniors who cannot be here today. i am the director of social work for meals on wheels. i have been there for more than 15 years and i did home visits with the seniors for the first nine and a half years, so i've seen many homebound seniors. we currently have over 1800 that just rely on the services that

they are provided, a home delivered meals, the senior sites for the more mobile seniors. i wanted to plead with you on behalf of the homebound seniors who cannot get out to speak for their needs how important the services are for them. thank you for listening to all of us. [applause] >> may i have the overhead, please? >> my name is james and i'm a case manage mayor -- case manager at cannon case seniors and their. -- seniors center. we need to turn to creative ways of problem-solving that to not

require higher costs. i submit the following. there are seniors who are disabled and frail who travel as much as eight byatt's -- 8 mi. to access shelters in the city, sometimes standing 17 hours a day and carry their earthly possessions with them. ysabel cost-effective way of solving this would be to provide -- a simple, cost- effective way of solving this would be to provide bus tokens provided by the resource centers when all of their beds reserved at that center have been committed and retry -- and require seniors to travel to the next center. often, seniors are required to get -- to carry their luggage and a have more -- and they have

more than allowed in the emergency shelters, resulting in them at the mine them entrance. why not use the vacant places in the city to provide additional storage to get seniors a bad. seniors are often evicted without any transitional plan. why not restore for five senior beds? lastly, i encourage you to think creatively and as humanitarian spirit thank you. >> -- humanitarians.

thank you. >> thank you. >> i have a long list of things i would like to talk about, but two minutes is never enough. i want to thank you for holding this hearing and making it is -- a suggestion. agencies are always willing to come to the board of supervisors any time, but seniors, it is more difficult in terms of their health and their transportation and their lunch schedule. i think we would have heard from more seniors and not so much from agencies. but i want to encourage you to invite the agency's back. you have some unusual things going on that you might not know about. there is only one nonprofit choice for an alzheimer's residential program.

the citizenship was provided by a supervisor, mabel tang, when clinton cut assistance to immigrants, mabel tang designated money for the elderly to become citizens. and it worked. these are things that would be helpful for supervisors to know more about. there used to be senior shelters, and that makes a lot of sense. there are no senior shelters now. seniors who are homeless do not get the kind of service they need. and also, the issue of people not having enough and they have not gotten a cost-of-living increase, what that does is they will have to reduce service.

unless you are calling to shut them down or get federal funds for those meals, then you've got to. you cannot serve as many people. some of the questions that we raised could be looked at. >> thank you. is there any additional public comment? seeing none -- seeing none, public comment is closed. i want to thank everyone for staying out and testifying. i would like to ask that we continue this item to the call of the chair and have a second conversation that focuses more on some solutions. i think there has been plenty prevented that identifies some of the issues and some of the problems. we've had senior sro hearings, hearings on the lgbt community spirit i am becoming more familiar with the issues --