system for the behavioral health care nursing. the regulatory system for university mound, victorian manor and i ask that just because someone's mentally ill they cannot be yanked out in the middle of the month because of budgetary reasons. it defies social justice theory, the lack -- it's really lack of due process. thank you. hello, my name is dennis [speaker not understood] and i'm here on behalf of all these organizations that are nonprofit, specializing in providing services to the lgbt latino community. myself, i'm just going to give you a brief testimony of what aguiles has done for me. as a matter of fact, i'm working with them right now as a contractor.

just from years ago i was sleeping on the streets, and after that i was able to get into a shelter. and right after that from the shelter, i got to an s-r-o room, which i still have, which has been six years. but one of the things that i always felt is that i was lonely. my family kicked me out of the house when i was 15 years old for being gay. so, all these -- the families that we have in [speaker not understood] not just groups but socializing and all these people, all these guys i see here, they are like my family. eliminating or reducing all these services is going to create a great impact in the latino community. and i think it's better to prevent than curing somebody

that has -- might get hiv. thank you. that's all. >> next speaker. good evening, honorable board. my name is franco lopez, [speaker not understood], a member of the board of directors. i'm a client of theirs. i've been positive since 2007. since that point [speaker not understood] has helped me pick up the pieces and start over again. i'm permanently disabled, but through their help i have been able to work my way back up and be a little bit more productive and become a member of their board. i can stand here and recite all kinds of numbers that you've heard all day long and it won't make a lick of difference. talk is cheap. i want to talk about actions. with these cuts that are coming, you got the attention of the entire latino community. and i want you to pay very

special attention to that. we are a growing demographic and we will be the majority in california by 20 42. if you cut these services, where will the latino community go for help? that's for starters. let's talk about action. i stand before you as someone that has pretty much literally donated my body to science. i've already undergone 13 voluntary spinal taps and i've left various internal organs on the operating table, not because i needed to. it's all in the effort to find a cure for hiv/aids. 30 plus years later we still don't have a cure. and right now in america latinos and african americans, lgbtq and msm are the largest growing sector of hiv/aids. please keep that in mind and i respectfully and humbly ask you not to cut the funds available because if you do before 2013

is out, aguiles will shut its doors. thank you. good evening, everyone, [speaker not understood], i'm the executive director for [speaker not understood]. we have been involved in hiv prevention and health services for some 20 years now and i want to speak a little bit about the hiv continuum of care, how critical it is for the latino community. i first of all want to ask the board that all these cuts be restored, that we not have any dph cuts. i know there's a challenge. i sit on -- have sat in the mayor's cdo task force and i was very happy and relieved that a large portion of restoration occurred. i think this is the opportunity to make that a complete picture. dph budget is important to all

communities. you heard today from the clients who are in, you know, in settings where they need care 24 hours. you've heard from clients who are in other levels of care, substance abuse, mental health, a complete system of care and it has taken us 25, 30 years to evolve this system to where it's at. we're in the right direction. we're doing good care. we know that. on a national level san francisco is a model. not only for hiv; for health care period. so, it's really critical that we take these times that are challenging to all of us and to each of you individually as leaders, but to make sure that you preserve and protect these resources. i wanted to just say about hiv very quickly that for latinos as previous people have spoken to, we have -- we are a growing

population and also in hiv, we clearly have a lot of market work to do. the rate of infection among lgbt latinos, particularly men [inaudible]. >> thank you very much. thank you. next speaker. good evening, [speaker not understood], board of supervisors. my name is jorge [speaker not understood]. today i'm coming to you a the board of supervisors to consider not to make cuts to hiv prevention and hiv direct services. in san francisco we have a variety of services that integrate a system of care for people living with hiv and [speaker not understood]. once you cut one service, you are [speaker not understood].

so, you want to have a comprehensive service and continuum of care that is effective. we need to avoid cuts. now, in addition also i want to bring your attention to the latino community. i don't want to ask for [speaker not understood] cuts. i want to ask you to increase funding. the [speaker not understood] already have [speaker not understood] and they limit services for hiv services and care. and we see what [speaker not understood] says. latinos having hiv are more likely that incur the system of care in hiv through the emergency room. this is very expensive. so, if we want to reduce costs, we need to increase prevention and direct services and supportive services. and also, latino -- the latino community, we have a very specific cultural need. many of the services that are

available are invisible for us so we need more outreach and supportive services that are appropriate in culture and language. thank you. >> thanks. next speaker. i am brian [speaker not understood]. this is my second time here. i want to share i am a client from stone wall and it's very good, it's been very good. i go to meetings. i've been very -- [speaker not understood] has been good and everything. so, i am -- i don't have hiv, i beat the bullet, but i see now i'm still in the positive mind-set and i'm still strong and i just would ask you guys please not to cut any of the hiv foundation services and nonprofits like aguiles as well. i'm becoming a client now and a member.

i don't go through all the services, but i go to the groups and they're very well -- very warm and welcome and very, you know, i feel comfortable there. and i come from a family, i've been abused since i moved out 21. my family don't respect me and don't accept me at the time. i tend to build my own family here and i feel comfortable here. so, please don't cut them. thank you. >> next speaker. hi, my name is norma [speaker not understood]. i'm not only a client, but a volunteer at the san francisco aids foundation. i'm here to request that cuts be kept in place, economical ones. if you continue funding what's already in place, it's a lot cheaper than having to deal with somebody that's already

got -- that aids has already spread to and it's way more expensive to try to catch it before it happens. so, on economics alone, i urge you not to make those cuts, just for money sake. and just keep the money where it is, you know. it's already working. why ruin something that's already working? thank you. michael [speaker not understood]. i want to speak of gray panthers. i want to speak against the disastrous plan to reconfigure the health center by cutting yet another 23 beds out of it and by taking [speaker not understood] and basically converting it into housing. this is robbing -- this is not just robbing peter to pay paul. it's robbing both peter and paul.

what's described as residential is no substitute for supportive housing. we need more supportive housing without cutting into behavioral health beds. behavioral health beds have been cutback severely. this plan is also going to put another 34 people from the behavioral health center into laguna honda hospital. this is going to recreate this whole problem that we had a few years ago of assaults against patients and against staff. this whole plan of reconfiguring is disaster. there should not be any cuts in dph whatsoever. we are being told over and over again how we're in the midst of a recovery. we have all these tech firms moving in, getting huge tax

breaks. this is one of the richest cities in the world. and when we walk into city hall today, we saw the floor being converted into a fancy private property -- private party. this is all like a symbol of what's going on now. we cannot let this city become a playground for the rich. >> thank you. next speaker. good afternoon, supervisors. [speaker not understood]. the reason i'm here today is i'm a community member volunteer. me and my four kids go to [speaker not understood] and the city helping us. [speaker not understood], they had mentioned some of this funding was being cut. some of the funding was being

cut to some of the organizations. in the short term it means it's going to save the city money, but for the long term it's going to create more problems for the city. it means some of the people won't be able to seek treatment. if people are not able to seek treatment for the future, it means for the long term it will be more infection for the people in the city because some of the people will be [speaker not understood]. i just urge you please to not reduce some of the funding because some of the organizations servicing the people [speaker not understood]. i urge you please not reduce the funding. also at the same time you reduce the funding, some of the organizations where kids volunteer will be closed down. some of these services will close down. we we won't be able to volunteer no more. i urge you not to close it and leave the services open and the

services are one available for the people of the city. thank you. good afternoon, supervisors. my name is perry lang and i'm the executive director of the black coalition on aids rafiki wellness. first, i want to acknowledge the support and hard work of director garcia. but i also want to be clear, bca's hiv prevention dollars were cut sometime ago, and they were never backfilled. yet we have managed through grace and community support to continue providing hiv services to our population. those folks coming through our doors. but i am here now because at this juncture these cuts threaten to derail, if you would, our 11-bed transitional house called the brandy

morehouse in the western addition. they're only a few dollars when you compare them to others, but these are important dollars to an agency like ours that has been managing on very few dollars our transitional house in the western addition that is set aside for hiv positive, homeless, mentally challenged adults. we would love to keep this program alive and we need your help. there has been a steady erosion of funds and we need this board to do the socially just thing and to begin to stop this erosion. bca, rafiki wellness, it's one of the few organizations in the black community dedicated to fighting hiv/aids. we need your support to continue doing this work. thank you. >> thanks. next speaker. members of the board of supervisors, ray harte.

i think if there's one area san francisco can take extreme pride, throughout the hiv crisis it has been at the forefront of establishing treatment methods and just everything that needed to be done to take care of people. and i do not think we have anything ever to be ashamed of in that area. i know that cuts are hard to deal with, but i also know that each and every year i've seen cuts come out and then be backfilled and handled in some other way. and i trust that that will continue now. i want to talk about a group that has not spoken already and the folks who have fallen primarily in two categories. one are health care providers. and i can't imagine being someone who went into the health care profession and being in a situation where you have someone who you know needs the care and yet you have to say to them, i can't help you, and i don't know anybody else who can.

that has to be one of the most morally, you know, devastating things for anybody who goes into the health care field and fighting these cuts and replacing the money. it helps them as well as the patients they serve. and the second is all of the family members and friends of people who have hiv and/or aids. who don't have the skills, don't have the financial resources, can't put this person on their insurance, whatever it is, but this is someone they care for, someone they love, someone they see suffering and they want to help, but just can't do it. so, when these programs are cut, it isn't just the individual person whose health is impacted or anything else. it's all of their family members and friends who have to then deal with the unenviable position of being there and saying, you know, god, i wish there was something i could do, but this just isn't.

>> next speaker. hello. [speaker not understood] 250. it's quite an experience to be a part of this history. i'm an lgbt archivist from tokyo currently living in hawaii and here in san francisco. this is a stunning part of history. i think hiv finds us regardless of who we are. hiv doesn't discriminate us and neither does mental health. so, i think -- i find it astonishing that i'm here. one thing i want to bring in here i think a lot of agencies are heavily dependent on federal and state funding. i think this country has an art and discipline in philanthropy where we could go directly to private sectors and i don't see a lot of that happening. and i know that we have

[speaker not understood] from our round here in california, maybe jane wells from global philanthropy forum who could tip us here and there. they are beautiful match makers of philanthropy and i go to their seminars and conferences and i see it happening. so, a few million there, here and there, i think if the public sector is lacking that, i think there is a way to do even better instead of a budget cut. i am also watching how south africa is dealing with hiv and lgbt abuse and lack of support system in their country. they are bringing tourism in and the tourists are bringing the checks in. cecilia chung is probably on her way there very soon. i would think there are quite a few other ways than just be finger pointing at public figures and our taxpayers to fill in the gap. thank you.

>> thanks. next speaker. hello, supervisors, debby lerman from [speaker not understood]. this board has been a strong supporter of that in the past and we appreciate that and thank the mayor for doing part of the job and urge this board to redirect resources to do the rest. secondly, we haven't talked much about the department of public health rfp today. you'll see in this year's budget an $8.8 million cut in year two to health services and please be aware that is actually almost an $18 million cut once it is annualized. that is an unprecedented amount. and at this point largely undefined. and while we acknowledge the difficult challenges in the department of public health,

the cities will need to rely on these same nonprofits to ensure successful implementation of the affordable care act requirements. and this budget reduction comes at a time when the economy is rebounding. we've had millions of dollars more come in than in past years and we need to fully determine the needs and costs of the affordable care act before we can determine that we can afford these kinds of cuts. it is absolutely crucial that these kinds of policy considerations take precedence over budget reductions that might prove not only unnecessary, but extremely unwise. should this board elect not to restore the cuts, we hope that there will be a fully open, strong, public city-wide dialogue as the rfp is being developed. we hope you will remain engaged. i also want to note the invisible budget cut at the last [speaker not understood] cost of doing business increase, and we would like to

propose that this dph rfp reverse a city policy no particular reason why nonprofits are not allowed to put escalators into [speaker not understood] contracts. thank you. >> thank you. next speaker. hi, good afternoon, jennifer freed enback, director of the coalition on homelessness. i want to thank you for all of your listening and patiently hearing all the comments from the public. i think it's been really moving in a space where i think a lot of us is thinking the budget is not having that many cuts this year and we can see from the testimony that there is really dramatic reductions and that they would have very substantive impact on people's lives. i wanted to talk a little about the context with which these reductions are being made and for the department of public health. and we have a situation last year where it was reported the

five years previous that the department of public health, by the cfo at that time, that there had been over $90 million in reductions to the department of public health and of those over 70 million in five years were direct services. when we had broken down these reductions, we found that about half of them were in behavioral health. so, substance abuse treatment, mental health treatment, and as well as an hiv/aids. about half in primary care. i think all of us who are working in the community and working in impoverished community see what direct impact those reductions have had. we see increased a queuity levels in folks, we see much larger proportions of people who ~ are in severe crises for extended period of time. acuity. and all of this ends up circling back around to the department of public health and costing a lot of resources for the city. ~ i wanted to also weigh in on

the rfp which i think in terms of policy, in terms of doing budgeting, is really not a good way at all to make reductions because, of course, what will happen is all the contracts for mental health substance abuse, hiv/aids for the entire city will go out to bid, and -- but the amount, the pot will be eventually 17 million plus less. and we won't know what [inaudible]. >> thanks. next speaker. hello, my name is edmond larry and i want you to see this picture. i couldn't think of his name. rock hudson, but i know rock hudson was the first person to die of aids and then the first black person was arthur ashe when the usa forced him to come out about his status. and when i hear the reports here about what's all been affected here, it makes me feel

my living two or three years through this here surviving is not worth it, but i know it is worth it. and i know san francisco where i stay in the first aids hotel ambassador hotel, everything i have to fight, we fight in that hotel. we have been forgotten. and i know we like sour dough bread in san francisco, we found how to fight and win over hiv and aids. and it should be on our minds that this is where we should lead. this is our beacon light call. and i didn't think this what going to be -- i came to talk about me going to court. i'm fighting bullies in the hotel, you know, right now on tuesday. but just to hear -- you give our future and our lives, you're making me nothing because the last board that was here who voted for medical marijuana out of here, the last

board tom ammiano, they did the work. willie brown and the mayor did the work. he set up the bca when i was in rafiki house. i know what's not only should the money be put there, but we should make sure that hiv is wrapped around and works well in this country because we have russians, we have chinese, we have middle eastern, we have more than just black, white, asian pacific who has hiv in this country. and we know today sexual [speaker not understood] and rape [speaker not understood] no to me even if you're in the military. and i call upon you all to do the right thing for america. [inaudible]. >> thank you. next speaker. hi, supervisors. my name is collene, i work at st. anthony's. i want to start off by talking about how grateful we are that we're coming in to the board's part of the budget season with

some really great restorations to potential cuts to department of public health. and this is my eighth year doing this work and the shortest line i've ever seen at a bielenson hearing is a testament to the fact that we have started off on the right foot with the mayor's budget that, you know, that recognizes the need for substance abuse and mental health treatment services in this city and recognizes there is a public health need. at the same time, we've been reducing behavioral health services over the years and we've seen about a $70 million reduction to community-based mental health behavioral health services. and that has meant that we're starting with a playing field that has been sort of a big hole cut out of it. we're not starting with a level place. and, so, because we're starting in this -- with this sort of huge divot, it makes it even

more important for us to say we need to go all the way in terms of making sure that we're not adding to that hole, cutting deeper. but that we are able to start backfilling where the federal government and the state government has pulled out and that we're able to start rebuilding so that when people come into my workplace and need help with mental health treatment, we don't have to say, well, you know, it's maybe about a three-month wait for an appointment, or in the haight where i also work where we're not seeing the evidence of cuts on the street with people who are suffering and going through trauma and leaving that out on the street because the services aren't there for them. so, thank you. bye. good afternoon, supervisors, david elliott lewis, co-chair of the city's

mental health board. in addition to being co-chair of the board, i'm also a writer, photographer, and i sit on other boards. and community housing partnership, i do community organizing. i'm also a consumer. i'm also someone who has used the city's mental health services. in fact, if those services weren't there for me when i needed them, i wouldn't be here today to even be able to talk to you. i wouldn't have been able to get onto any boards or commissions. i wouldn't have been able to do the kind of community work i do. i would have been sitting in a deep, dark depression, homeless, not functioning, self-indulgent, no good to myself or anyone else. but some kind of spark of life came to me during those dark days and i walked into a community clinic and i asked for help, and i got help. and through a very long, slow

process of recovery, i was able to pull myself out of the darkness and get to the point where i could actually give back to the community. and as you have heard from so many of the speakers today, so many people have been helped by these community services. and i know they're threatened and i know that they're going to be threatened in the years to come with possible cutbacks. and i know you're under a lot of pressure with the budget, but still i hope you will hear the pain and suffering that is out there, the pain and suffering i have overcome years back, but the pain and suffering that's very real and for people who live day to day, hour to hour, even minute to minute, just trying to survive. i hope you will hear that and i hope you consider that and not cut programs or services at any level for mental health and for physical and medical health. thank you for your time. >> thank you. next speaker.