adults with disabilities throughout the bay area. we provide vocation and community living services. we are a member of the community alliance of disability advocates known as cada. what is not working? housing is not working. we need more accessible affordable housing for the folks that we serve and frankly for our staff. we also need affordable/accessible housing for community-based organizations like tool works. so the price of staying in the city is getting too difficult. and we need to be able to, as an organization to be able to stay here, so we can maintain the social safety net for people with disabilities. what is working? supportive living services are

really working for individuals who are eligible for regional center funding. so these are services that allow people to live independently in the communities of their choice, with supports. and and primarily for people with developmental disabilities. so that is great, but what is not working are the same services, those community living services for people who are not eligible for that funding. there is a lack of coordination between agencies and organizations. it's particularly around people who are transitioning from institutions, hospitals, people who want to live in the community who can't live in the community without the proper supports. so that is all i have got to say. >> thank you.

next is shelly davis. >> hi. okay. my name is shelly davis. sorry. is this good? >> yes. >> hi. my name is shelly davis. i am a 20-year-old college student. i am particularly commenting on the lack of programs for younger people with disabilities, particularly for getting help with programs such as ssi and housing assistance. the reason is that you often get shuffled around. there is no definitive counseling that tells you to do any one particular thing. so

counseling options for younger people would be great. and for getting ssi, i think there should be a local financial assistance while you are waiting for your ssi, because there are financial hardships. and that is really concerning. and basically, in conclusion, i think that the programs right now, they don't facilitate independence as mentioned earlier. the programs, they don't facilitate good transition. so i think that if there are better connections and more programs specifically for youth with disabilities, that we can become more productive members of society. thank you. >> thank you very much.

next i have donna willmett. hi donna. > >> good afternoon council members. my name is donna willmet and i'm from senior and disability action, where i am a staff member, who works as a consumer advocate. and i just want to begin my remarks with the acknowledgment that san francisco largely because of the leadership of the department of aging and adult services provides. we are a resource-rich city in many ways. so i'm not going to take up all my time talking about the things that are working, but i will try to address a couple of things that i think we could turn our attention to. the first is medical share of cost; which i think is a huge

issue for many people, people who are not eligible for medicare, but are trying to access medical to help pay for things like ihss and other medical needs. and if you are caught in the upper poor strata, for instance, the way the shared cost works and probably many of you know this already. say you make $11 only $1100 a month, which is not very much in the cost. the medical whatever your medical expenses are you have to pay the difference between $1100 and $600.

this is really prohibitive and we need to figure out as a city how to address the share of cost issue. because it has a huge impact on the quality of life for a lot of people. the other thing that i would like to speak to for just a minute -- this originates in sacramento, but the fact that the medical budget cuts meant that people no longer get dental care, incontinence supplies is not paid for. this is creating a horrible situation for a lot of people that cannot afford dental care. there is very few avenue to get anything done besides getting a tooth pulled on an emergency basis. so those are quality of life issues. the last thing i would like to speak to is just asking us to

address the question of who gets left out of the information loop? i was struck by some of the recent community meetings that were sponsored around the changes that were talked about megan elliot. at both senior sites we had probably 300 people who came to hear about that. and then i'm thinking well who got left out of that and who maybe didn't hear about that? because there is an existing network of senior centers and senior housing where a lot of information gets communicates, but i think sometimes we tend to keep connecting to the same people who already have a connection. and that i think we have to think about who gets left out. that is not to denigrate at all the work of the mayor's office on disability and this council. anyway, thank you very much for your work. i think we have some things to attend to. thank you. >> thank you. next is jerry grace.

>> good afternoon everybody. my name is jerry grace and i i alive across the bay in cc county, city of san pablo. the bottom line a lot of people live here in the city and most of the people really don't know who needs to get a case worker. ggrc, that means golden gate resource center that helps

people who have no way to get in touch with anyone. and golden gate will give you help. they will come out and see you four times a year. in golden gate the case worker will see you. the supervisor will see you first. golden gate is very good people and they will always be around. they have off of stevenson and golden gate. and and golden gate will help other people get a case worker.

i know one person on the board is jim. and i come to the meetings in san francisco. a lot of people i know have a case worker at golden gate. that is why i came up here to tell you a little bit about the golden gate. the golden gate is a very big place. you need to check it out. 375 stevenson, right off of

market street between market and mission. come by there. the golden gate is very good people and will always, always help other people who need help. thank you very much. >> thank you, sir. are there any further comments from those present? >> michael nulty. i am the program director of tenants association coalition of san francisco; which has been operating in san francisco for 15 years. we deal with people that are in supportive housing units. low-income buildings in san francisco. we have over 1,000 -- we have over 100 developments as part of our coalition. i wanted to speak to mail

deliveries for those that are on special diets. i wanted to also mention that the accessibility of information that daas needs to update their resource guide. when i saw that, it's a very heavy thing. i don't want to take it home with me. how can you get it online? i went and saw it. bring back the senior disability discount opportunities like the senior gold card. way back when i think it was called the senior gold card, where people go to businesses and get a discount. let's recognize that our seniors and disabled people don't have a lot of income and we should be getting breaks when we go it restaurants and stuff. residents get stuck in the sro buildings and don't have an opportunity to get on the

waiting list for new housing that are being built that would probably be more accessible for seniors and disabled. if someone is already in an sro, they should maybe have first choice to get into the new housing. because people should be cycling out of these housing opportunities, into better housing opportunities. and not have people that probably just moved into san francisco get those housing units. you know, let's deal with the people who are currently here that may need better housing. then i also want to point out that transportation access, there is still a lot of improvement that needs to happen. taxi cab drivers still having a problem accepting those cards. it's great that they changed over from the taxi strip to something new, but if they don't want to scan the card, and pay for it, you know, i mean, then you are stuck with a

problem. and and it's embarrassing, because i have had taxi cab drivers basically say to me, wait for another taxi. or, you know, they are more interested in larger fares. they want to go to the airport and get a higher tourist in into their taxi. >> also, the problem there is not enough taxis. you could wait a long time after you have gone grocery shopping and you can't get a taxi to come pick you up. i learned that the trick is to say i'm a senior and i need a taxi. that is about the only way to get it quicker. a name doesn't do it. you have to have the person calling for you, hey, there is a senior waiting and maybe it gets there a little bit quicker. maybe that is for other people listening at home, too. and you know, again, going back

to the bus shelters. we don't need the see seating at bus shelters being removed. it's also safety problem. when you start removing shelters it becomes unsafe for people to wait for the buses. finally i want to point out that i'm glad we're having this hearing. there is always need for improvement and there is just a lot of things, when you lose money on these programs, then seniors and disabled people are losing hope. thank you. >> thank you. yes? >> just wanted to clarify one thing and ask a follow-up question, please. so you mentioned the resource directory and the resource directory is currently being updated. we're also putting it online. so it should be -- that should launch hopefully within

the next month or two. because agreed, it is very heavy. so a lot of people like the paper one, but we also know that we're trying to move into the present times and have it online as well. i did have a follow-up question. you said something about mail delivery for special diets and i wasn't sure exactly what the issue was with that. if you could clarify for me, it would be really helpful. thanks. >> sure. actually i'm talking about myself. when i have tried to get -- when i went to the various -- asking the various providers, they said oh, low sodium of certain kinds, but i had a special diet and couldn't seem to make themselves available. so there was obviously what providers can and can't do. and they

and do the basis ones, but sometimes people have special needs and are they being met? we also have to those. i have lost 20 points in the last year. thank you. >> thank you. donna. >> good afternoon, my name is donna kalain and i would like to here i'm here with cada. i like saying cada. i'm executive director. on february 16th will have been executive director of the ihss public authority for 16 years. so i am here representing them also. i think everybody in this room is really aware that the bay

area is the birthplace and home of the independent living movement, and we're really fortunate to have that here. i see mike boyd in the room and he always likes to remind people that ed roberts day is coming up next week on wednesday. and there are always a variety of ways to raise consciousness around disability, human and civil rights and elevating days that have been set aside by state legislature to honor folks that have brought forward disability rights as one way to do that. so i will remind folks of that and there may be ways that you can participate and show support. we are very fortunate in san francisco that i think we have city leaders who really understand a lot of disability issues and try to put them forward. we have seen examples of that with the department of aging and adult services coming forward. but we still need to always

emphasize the kind of unique issues that people with disabilities raise, and bring forward. often as you all know, sometimes when needs for people with disabilitis are met, the needs of other communities that we didn't know were there. san francisco really is a leader as far as counties in state. i can speak that i think this county is far and away, i think people don't realize how head and shoulders above we are here with daas and ihss and i want to say that we feel fortunate, even though there are definitely improvements to be made, always. there have been several mentions of housing and i wanted to highlight that the long-term care coordinating council is putting together a policy agenda for what it would focus on, as far as policy

recommendations that they might put forward to the mayor. and housing really seems to be an issue that is coming up in every arena. there are a lot of reasons why it's crucial in san francisco. our hills, our stairs, the expense. see its a huge and complicated area, but some of us are really hoping that the long-term care coordinating council and if you all participated or we began to find links with one another, to really focus on how do we get more accessible, adaptable, affordable housing and really affordable? not just for middle and upper income and above, but low-income people. you know, "affordable" is san francisco is not always poor people, rarely. and ken has always been a person i have looked forward to be a partner in these meetings,

so speak up for the rights of folks. and i have always looked to him as my buddy in raising these issues and he has brought the force of -- the kind of legal force from the mayor's office on disability and knowing what standards that they are talking about. i want to close with just a practical reminder to be sure that everybody is thinking of social security. ssi, veterans benefits and all of that. march 1st, those direct deposits, if people do not have bank accounts or direct deposits setup you are going to have a very complicated situation getting your benefits. so i want to encourage everybody really to step up. the san francisco treasurer's office has other ways to try to help people open accounts, if you are not familiar with that. but i just wanted to really encourage people to prepare for

that. thank you. >> thank you. donna. is there anyone on the bridge line? >> is there anyone on the bridge line? no? >> i would like to just ask if there is any further comment. >> let me double check. is there anybody on the bridge line? no. >> if there is no further comment from the gallery, i would like to give council member and opportunity to make comme >> >> i just wanted to explain on my emphasis for personal counseling for youth. i forget to mention my personal testimony.

i applied for ssi, but nobody was there to tell me to apply for ssi or ssdi. i was told to go to social security. i was told to go othe -- counseling would cure this problem. for housing assistance, i'm trying to become independent from my sister right now. and that is really hard, because my social security is pending. however, they tried to ask how much income you have and even if you live with another individual who is making income, that counts as your income also. so it's very difficult to establish myself from them without saying i am connected with their income. so basically, our system

doesn't promote independence for youth. that there is one more thing. so the educational system in college. i think there should be services for financial aid for individuals with disabilities. as you are abruptly thrown into the world with lots of action going on and it's a very hard transition. particularly if you are furthering your education, for folks with disabilities, particularly with financial aid. this is why most individuals don't go to college. that is all, thank you. >> thank you. are there any council members who have a comment or question? go ahead idell.

>> thank you. thank you everyone for coming out here today. i have to apologize, i have been sick, so i didn't even know that the meeting would have happened. i would have had a lot more people here. sorry about that, but the next time we do this, which i know this won't be last one, it will be go. what i wanted to say is having access -- she was talking about the internet -- having cable or something at a reasonable price. we have people with disabilities and seniors just siting this their house just looking at wall because they cannot afford cable or a telephone. those are two necessary things that we need in life, period. if you are disabled, you definitely need a phone in case there is an emergency and you have to call someone. and then i would say cable,

because you need to see the news, to see with a what is happening outside of your doors or outside your home. those are key things to me that just needs to be looked at. i don't know how it's going happen, but those are key. i wanted to say one more thing, but i will go with that. thank you. >> thank you, id ell. i would just like to thank everyone who came out today to participate. and i want to thank everyone who came from the different agencies and community projects and the public. we value all of your input very much. donna, did you have something that you would like to say? okay. >> i would have said this before, but i was waiting for a

confirmation from my office. the number that megan gave earlier about contacting the public authority to try to assist possibly with time sheets was incorrect. and so in case anyone relied on that and we'll let know megan know the phone number is 243-3 477. 243-ihss. >> i just wanted to thank everybody for their thoughtful comments and just to reiterate, we're going to take everybody's comments and try to figure out how to fit them into the plan. i think we heard some things today which we had no heard which was really helpful. so i appreciate everybody's input. we'll schedule a time after the plan is in draft form to come back and present it. thanks again. >> thank you; thank you tom for coming.

sarah? >> i'm sorry, i pushed it a little bit late. >> that is okay. >> i just wanted to reiterate some of the comments -- some public comment from amand steve about the need for better coordinatings of resources for people transitioning out of care facilities. also some since there were a couple of members from the long-term care coordinating council here to maybe suggest that someone from the regional center is there during talks about how things can be better streamlined or suggestions for our developmental disabled community. thanks. >> thank you. all right then i think it's time we take a 10-minute break. >> one more. >> i'm sorry, i didn't see you harriet. >> hi. thank you for coming out today. i just wanted to speak a little

bit on changes coming to the golden gate regional center. for the parents that have respite care for their child, they are going to have the time sheets go to a different place and i guess it would be, like, sort of a bookkeeping system. and they will figure out the payroll taxes and everything. but then the parent of child becomes the employer and they do the hiring and firing process . i think that if a person is a little bit educated, they can find answers on how to do this.