stories. i hope you will continue our work in working with these youth, developing their career path in their future. we are a community center. annually, we children, youth, and families, and within one square block we have over nearly 2,000 students in one square block. there are about 1,200 students in balboa. and we have san miguel next door. so the needs in our community are huge. what we want to ask for today is we really support our community members who have already come up in district 11. conan is about to speak in a minute. we really need development in district 11, according to data that's been collected by

supervisor john avalos's office, there's zero dollars for us and i'm going to have youth come up and have their voices be heard. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. first of all, i want to thank you guys for being here. i know it's been a long day. also, i want to thank the youth that was here since 10:00 just to come and tell them about your testimony. my name is will corp us. i work for the services ymca. i'm here to speak about zero funding that district 11 gets for work development. districts 11 is one of the biggest communities in the city that needs funding to help support the youth and young adults with developing their employment and vocational skills. with the support it gives them confidence they never had before to go and look for employment. the impact without the program, the youth will have nowhere to

go for employment development services in their community and will go back to the old ways of living that's going back to hustling on the streets to make their money. i know for one this program helped a lot of youth in my district 11 and i have a couple of youth they brought today to give their testimonies about not having nothing, from going to violence and now giving back to society through the transitional youth program that we have at the beacon program. at this time i'd like to invite some of the youth to tell their "tmz," thank you. >> i'm 16 years old and at this point youth leader of the program that we run with the ell and he will -- ell sellsor and youth center. if it wornt for programs like that that we offer, then we

wouldn't be where her today. we'd probably be in the streets or maybe in universal or maybe even, god forbid, in the grave. so these programs help us become better people, become more department and experienced for the future because these programs help our youth, including myself. i am able to give back to my community by being there and supporting them and helping other people who have been in my situation with gang violence or the loss of friends at a young age. these programs really just help us become more mature and develop ourselves mentally and physically and for the future that lies ahead of us. i'm asking if you guys can please keep funding us because this program is very important, not only to me but for everybody you see before you.

thank you. >> hello. my name is richie. i work with the olie. they will helped me get a job and ever since then i've been working with them. and yeah, -- >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is jerome reyes and i represent the omi excelsor beacon. located in district 11. so far i've donated to help out the youth within district 11 and within the past five years i've volunteered to help them as well as guide them in the right direction and get them to where they want to be and for a good future. we're asking you to do the exact thing for my age and my generation. right now we are 16, 17, through 224-year-olds and we

are the youth becoming adults and that transition right there is very, very hard. finding a job is not impossible but it's very difficult for my age because we're competing with people who have been in the work force and in the work area and have been more trained than we have. me personally, i hope one day that i'll be in the exact seats that you guys are sitting in right now. that's my dream and i'm asking you guys to help us out so that i can be in that area and all the friends here, the children and the youth in my community can be wherever they want to go. so please help support the work force and the work to being in our community today. so thank you very much for your time. >> my name is chris. i was a -- you know, i'm one of the stories, one of the people that this program has helped. thanks to this program that i was able to start working.

you know, able to get off the -- you know, stop doing the old things that i was doing. i'm now working in the career of construction. i'm in the union. i'm an honor worker all thanks to this program and thanks for their support and the opportunities and the resources that they gave me. i also cleaned up my record and i was able to do a lot of things with myself. really go from negative to positive. and it's all thanks to this program. it's an important program, especially for the younger kids too. there are still a lot of people that need to be helped, you know. >> my name is isaiah. i'm 23 years old and the program really helped me stay out of trouble. as a young kid i've been in this program for like -- i'm 23 now. i was about 17 when i met will. he helped me since i was yuth and he's still helping me

today. so yeah, it's helping me -- i'm not robbing people no more or selling drugs. i'm on a positive route now. so it's really helping me. thanks. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is samie. i am currently a leadership student. we're here today to ask you to continue funding, if you cannot stand the -- expand the funds for the funding. with the help of tailor made, myself and a few of the people standing behind me, has changed their life around, not 100% yet because we're not through with your -- our lives but we're now in a more positive situation than we were four years ago so we're just asking to you please, if not raise, but continue your funding. >> supervisors, my name is sebastian. i'm the transition case manager

at the beacon center. i'm here today to advocate for more work force training programs and paid jobs for our youth in district 11. run of my biggest obstacles is finding programs and training and job opportunities that are actually within the district. i have to send a lot of my referrals outside of the district and a lot of times it's unsafe for them to travel to their neighborhoods. we want to advocate for work force development and job training and paid jobs and internships within district 11 so the students don't have to travel far from their home and through dangerous territories just to get some kind of services. right now district 11 has zero money allocated for work force development and training and we really want to see more funds allocated for that. it's really important for us to invest in your future. the lives of the students, as

you can see. this program does help and we would help a lot more people if we were able to have more job training and paid internships and job opportunities for the youth. like they said, it's very difficult for them to compete against laidoff workers who have had lifetime experience. they're competing for the same jobs. that's why we're advocating for more programs in the community. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you. any other speakers? thank you very much. go ahead. >> hi, supervisors. my name is terry anders of anders and anders fun to days. i wanted to come to give support to supervisor cohen's position of staffing someone in planning. there's a large development out there in visitacion valley. and it's been proposed and

under.comed and delayed. so if there could be someone that could be put in staff to develop planning, this would really help that community. that area needs a lot of financial support so if we could just get one person in planning that would be their full time to support that position of developing that particular site, which universal paragon has, and which has been a blight in that area for many, many years, that would be of great support. so again, i'm here to support supervisor cohen's position to put someone in planning that could really deal with that particular project. again, thank you. supervisor chu: thank you very much. next speaker? >> good afternoon, supervisors.

my name is christina and i'm with advocates for children and yupt. i'd like to thank and commend all of the supervisors for withstanding the last six hours of public comment. i'm sure you're just as light headed and your eyes might be glaced over like the rest of us. i'd like to thank the parents that came in since 7:30 this morning. they called in back-ups a few hours ago for someone to pick up their kids at summer camp because they wanted to stay here and let their voice be heard. that shows their passion and tenacity. we are here to ask for increased funding for the office of economic and work force development in districts 10 and 11, which is where we see the highest unemployment rates in the city. we're also standing with the progressive workers alliance and asking for increased funding for a compliance

officer in the officer -- office of labor standards enforcement, as well as to the organizations that implement multiracial and multilidge yull workers outreach. now i'm going to turn it over to our members so they can have a chance to be heard today also. thank you. >> she's going to read it in spanish first and i will translate after. >> [speaking in spanish]

>> my name is katherine. i'll be translating for natalia. my name is natalia cruz, mother of 3 and i'm here to advocate that unallocated money be put into districts 10 and 11. it is important that we have a jobs readiness program because

there are many who cannot look for a job or even apply because they don't have the proper training to create a resume or lack of even basic computer skills. that is why we're asking you today to support us, the people and families of districts 10 and 11 with a jobs readiness program that will not only prepare us but can also help our people in our own language. thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is -- i live in district 10. me and many families. i know too many programs in san francisco, i love san francisco, but -- in our community. please, we need the money for our programs. i live there nor seven years. we, the low income families need preparation. we need to prepare to be better

parents for our children and to enjoy a better -- [unintelligible]. thank you so much. we're waiting for your support. thank you. >> hi, my name is jessica. i go to june jordan school for equity and i'm an upcoming senior and a coleman leader. i go to school in district 11 and i'm close to people who live in district 11. we need help so we can feel confident in getting a job and a future career. youth need jobs to support families and get basic necessities that will help them continue to live in san francisco. district 10 and 11 is one of the lowest funded districts and it's the city's job to make sure we get funding we need and deserve. as the board of supervisors, it's your job to meet the needs of the backbone of san

francisco, people of color. so i hope that you do your job and that you do it well. >> hello, all. i'm a youth organization for children and youth. i work with a lot of families and youth in district 10 and 11, a lot of working class families of color. one of the most important issues is what jessica just said, getting a job in district 10 or 11, it's very hard to get a job and very hard to keep a job in those districts. 'em not just going to ask the board to invest in job opportunities but to invest in programs that prepare us to enter the work force and help them stay in the work force. i'm sure like everyone in this room we want all our youth and families to be able to do well in the city, to be able to work in the city, to live and be successful in the city, so

we're going to ask to you fund $450,000 to oewd to fund new or existing programs that help fill the needs of their communities in southeast san francisco, especially district 10 and 11. thank you very much. [applause] supervisor chu: thank you very much. are there other members of the public? please come forward. >> hello, supervisors. my name is happy. i'm the vice chair of the san francisco youth commission. i just graduated from high school, going to harvard in the fall. i'm here to support the youth commission for the priorities we presented to you guys in may. i think the most important piece of our budget part that is relevant to your budget this

year is opening up the yard for juvenile youth. you know, i want to speak on behalf of the youth commission as well as on behalf of my colleagues, renee and angel, who both have experience in the system, so i was experiencing justice so i hope more juvenile youth can have access to the yard and more recognizeuation area. i want to -- recreation area. i want to support more training for the district 11 residents. i feel there's a lack of resources in my district and i hope the board can include more funding for us. thank you. >> good afternoon. thank you guys for all your time and listening to the public comments.

i'm with the san francisco youth commission. the recreation to youth and juvenile hall has been a big issue and has a direct impact on this year's budget and i want to thank you guys so much for bringing up questions yesterday when they were here presenting the budget to you guys. i'm speaking on behalf of myself as a third-year youth commissioner who's been working with the staff on the youth commission so long is unfreezing the third staff position at the youth commission. i know the work of my commission can be greatly increased if we had a third staff person working on community outreach until the commission will be able to do that and have that connection and represent young people here through that medium. i urge you guys to support on both areas for rec and juvenile hall and for a third staff position and i thank you so much for your tomb. supervisor chu: thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors.

i am the director of the organizing mission to empower youth. and i am here in support oaf my own program. we had a funding reduction of almost 57% and part of it is due to government funding we gave all the supervisors packets of information so you could read about our program and the success of our program. i just want to say that this is the third year in a row that homi has been here trying to get funding restored to our program. i believe we're a vital program here in our city. we've been doing a tremendous amount of wosh. we've had a 300% increase in number of participants with half the staff. i'm down to 1.5 staff people at our program and we are trying to do the best job we can with city dollars. we are rubbing pennies at our

organization and i really, really urge your support to restore funding to our program. i just have one story to tell. there's this young man that i knew and he was part of our program and he -- we found him in 2 -hour lockdown at juvenile hall and the only time he would get out was from visits from us. we actually got him into school. he completed school early, he got a job and i think that -- i mean, there's tons of stories like that about the work that we've done and i just want to say that i really urge your support. we really need it. we're a vital program and i hope that this year you find it in your heart to help us out. thank you very much. supervisor chu: thank you. we've got two more speakers. if our other -- if there are other members of the public who

would like to speak, or three, please come forward. >> i'm bob bennett from family service agency. i want to thank you for all the add vocath cazzie you did already. i'm here to ask ask that you extend it to a three% which, takes us back to where we were at the start of the year. i understand that there's been a proposal suggesting that you would tie the contract cola to a mandatory 3. raise for staff. like a lot of agencies, we've given staff raises in the last five years. we did it by finding additional funding to blend in with city programs, by cutting administration, and mostly by

cutting our operation costs to the bone. we're springing leaks everywhere, just like everyone else is and because we blended other funding with your funding, actually, if we had to give all our staff a 3% cost of living increase, that would be more than the funding we're getting from you. which would mean we'd be in a worse place after having receiveed that funding than we are now. we all are trying to do everything we can for our clients and our staff. and please trust us to do that. secondly, i'd just like to ask your support for the back fill of the early childhood funding. the way the state is -- has structured the budget, they keep all the requirements on us while giving us less money. that means to accomplish a 5% increase, we have to close between 10% and 15% of our classrooms and you know how important early childhood

education is for all the low income working families in the city. but thank you. supervisor chu: thank you very much. >> good afternoon, supervisors and thank you again for going the distance. i'm ken with fiscal community services and i want to add my voice to those of my colleagues, clients, workers who are members of o.p.u., local three and urging you first to grant your nonprofit partners a 3% cost of doing business increase and second, to recognize the pressures that shelter providers particularly are faced and to grant us the requested shelter supplemental allocation. rarg the cost of doing business, from our perspective, i can add that since 2007 when he last saw an increase, we've maintained full occupancy in

housing and our utilization in shelter has soared to 99%, 9 %. while the city service has actually declined during that five-year period. skins 2007, our organization has seen a 76% increase in health insurance people yups. we've seen more than -- premiums. we've seen more than 100% increase in workers comp premiums and a significant increase in the cost of janitorial supplies and virtually every other suspense category. regrettably, in the face of rising cost and diminishing resources was to effect a 10% reduction in the work force so we're unreasonably lean given the challenges of the work. so consideration again with the cost of doing business and to

the shelter allocation. thank you very much. supervisor chu: thank you. next speaker? >> good afternoon. i'm nan. i'm known as 500 beds nan. we need more shelter beds. ditto to everything you've heard. i wasn't here this morning because i was volunteering. friday is free soup day and we start with a little prayer circle at noon. some said let's exclude politicians and i want you to know i spoke up and said publics and lawyers especially need -- politicians and lawers especially need prayers right now. if only chevron would really pay its fair share is what i've heard from other people that claim to be progressive. i know the city isn't set up to tax at that level, but you

probably know people who might be able to get that going. then the state wouldn't have such a problem and you wouldn't have to suck it up so much here. just a thought. other tax opportunities. this is a political campaign year. there are going do be tons of money spent on the the media. the city could have a tax on the windfall profit. that might help bridge some of these problem areas and there are probably endless ways to get tourists to cough up more but maybe it would be nice just to be a fun destination without making the tourists may -- pay so very much. then again, do we want all of us in the streets selling street sheets to them? something to think about. supervisor chu: thank you. next speaker? >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is ann jones. i'm a recession-induelsed

homeless. i am a grateful client of e.c.s.'s sanctuary shelter and they save lives. the staff there does incredible work under incredibly difficult circumstances. they could employ a team of psychiatrists it wouldn't be enough, the challenges they face. and my concern is just that staff does not get the salary that they can make a decent living on so i came to ask could you please consider giving more than 1%, giving 3% so that there might be leeway to get staff the salaries they need. up to five years they haven't had any increases. and e.c.s. saves lives. to me, it's been my chance to survive and to me they're heroes. so would you please consider giving staff a chance to adapt

their salaries that they can make a living on? many have to work two jobs to make ends meet, come to work on four hours of sleep. of course, that affects everything. please consider giving a 3% increase to shelters. thank you. supervisor chu: thank you very much. are there other members of the public who wish to speak? if not, this will be the final speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. debbie learnman from the san francisco human services network. this year feels very different. there's a lot more optimism in the room after five years of an assault of budget cuts and flat funding. it has been such a relief it has been a relief that the budget of the mayor could address the direct cuts.