started geared towards providers of mental health and taught by mentors and family members to give the alternative perspective of living with mental illness. similar will solve, we have a public speaking bureau called in our own voice, which is idell is a speaker and gillian is also one of our speakers, where we go to businesses and schools, and tell our own stories in an effort to fight stigma and educate the public about mental illness. we have a similar program geared towards high school students, called "ending the silence." and parents and teachers are allies where we go into high schools and colleges and middle schools, and try to put a face and a personal story to mental illness as a way to destigmatize and help people seek treatment, maybe earlier. there is considerable evidence

to show that the sooner -- the earlier the intervention, the better the outcomes. so that is our high school speaking program. i am going to hand it over to idell who is a much better public speaker than i to tell the in our own voice presentation. >> thank you very much, council and staff and everybody behind me. i would like to thank nami, oh, my god, that is such a wonderful program. and if you ever would like to publicly speak or get the experience in public speaking, that is one of the speaking bureaus. and again, we have solve here, too, which is another speaking bureau and san francisco, all of these wonderful resources in san francisco. while i am idell wilson and i was born and raised right here

in san francisco. i was born in san francisco general hospital, the one that they are going to put down and the new one is going up. and it is so ironic born there, i went back and work there had as a teenager, too, up on the 7th floor, in the psychiatric ward. and then went back as a patient a decade later, and now a decade later, i am back as a presenter. a speaker. a person who has been in recovery. in in our own voice has five components that we speak about. one is dark days, two is acceptance, three is treatment, four is coping skills and five is success, hopes and dreams. dark days came a little bit for

me as a patient -- as a consumer, excuse me. as a consumer, go back to that language. thank you guys very much. language, language, see, we're still stuck in the language. dark days came from not knowing what was going on with me all of my life, should i say from childhood, teenagehood and adulthood. i knew there was something different, but i didn't know quite what it was. so i had numerous of dark days. they began to open up though as i got a diagnosis, but then again, i got misdiagnosed and i'm trying to figure that one out now. but again, those dark days came from me of not knowing. but now i have more bright days because i know much more than i did then about mental illness and about my own as a

consumer. accepting it is something that it doesn't come easy for people to accept that you are different, to accept that when you come out of the closet and even let people know that you are dealing with a challenge in your life, accepting that you are going to have to go through all kind of different changes, all kind of different moods. not only your mood, but their moods too. how do you know if you are going to be able to? everyone doesn't accept it, but guess what? i did. i accepted it. i accepted it my own, because it was dealing personally with me and i knew i had to go on through life. so accepting this diagnosis and dealing with it was something that i had to do. next comes treatment. now how was i either going to seek treatment, get treatment or what kind of treatment was i

going to do? i did not know. i did get medical treatment, which some people don't, and that is good. because everyone is different. treatment comes differently for everyone. whether it's a medical model or whether it's a non-medical model. everyone those figure out what type of treatment would be best for them? because again, as i say, we're all individuals, and we're all different. so the illness -- i don't care if it's schizophrenic, bipolar, it all hits us different. it doesn't hit us the same. then you have to learn the coping skills. how am i going to be able to cope with this? and then the others, the world? i mean just the whole bunch of different things. coping skills. you guys, san francisco, again, i have to say is the most

resourceful city in the world. if you can find the resources, and here it's just finding them. you have to take your time and you have to research and then you have to open doors, close doors, but it's here, somewhere in san francisco. and finding the coping skills, we gave you a couple of tools today of different organizations that are here in san francisco and that are working and maybe you can get some coping skills from contacting them or asking some questions from those different organizations. what resources do you guys do for coping skills? and going back to that, too, everybody's coping skills are different. for one of my coping skills, i do a tv show, which is called "black media." i go out into the public and dip into my life

and the people's lives in san francisco here. i just tell the truth and i inform and i educate and i let people know what is going on with mental illness and other illnesss, all disabilities, and others? it's a very, very good show and it's one of my coping skills that i use because it bettered my life and how i deal with what i am going through in life. successes, my success is facing stigma in the face. and i face it in the face every day that i walk out my door. no one knows how i have to prepare to walk out the door. so facing stigma for me is like oh, that is the biggest thing you can do and stigma as we

know is pre-judgment and stereotyping and people reading the book by the cover before the cover is even open, you know? saying oh, my goodness, what is she doing up there? you know what i am saying? the stigma we go through, well, i get up and i face it everyday and i say to myself every morning, no matter what hits me in the face, i am going to get up, even if i don't know how to read, write or maybe even get myself dressed, as well as i can, i'm still going to get up and i'm going to face whatever i'm going to face. this is only personal, you guys. everyone might not be able to do that. i don't know. but this is personal. i get up and i accept it anyway and that is one of my successes. the other success is that i am a very good community leader. i am a mother of four. and a grandmother of four. another success, as i told you, today is the fourth year that i

have done a tv show, which is "black diva media" television on public access television and i made it from a council member, a council member, to co-chair. those are not easy things and i am a nami, peer-to-peer trainer, mentor and speaker. and from the mental health association, i am a soft-speaker, and you guys, i can keep on going on, but i don't have the time for it and i know y'all don't have the time to go through all of that. what it is is recovery, wellness or whatever you want to call it. we're a tool here today. and i want to thank everyone for coming and listening. we're a tool to help you in san francisco. this council, to get through life, hopefully, or get through san francisco. [ laughter ] you know, san francisco, my hopes, you guys are that we can

all work together. come together. and work as one on what is going on in our communities? mental health, physical health, whatever it is, we can work together and teach each other and that is how we can make a better world. my dreams, permanent employment for people with disabilities. have to keep dreaming that that is going to come. a dream one day that you know, we can walk into an office and get a job without a struggle, or without disappointment, or without something that is going to hit us in our face. and again, as i say, teamwork. because teamwork makes the dream work. teamwork. and then you guys, to let us be

an example as a council for all over the world. let people come and say we want to go down there, because carla got the baddest council you know? joanna is the baddest girl in the mayor's office on disability. that is teamwork. we all teamwork together with the mhs, with nami, all of us together so we can have dreams that come true. my hopes is that we all again -- i'm not saying this redundantly, but work together to make this a better world. in our own voice is a speaking bureau, with nami, and it's about when you want to call it "recovery" whichever you want to call it, it's a tool here in san francisco. that is available for you to use.

thank you. >> thank you very much, idell. are there any comments or questions? no? staff, are there any comments? >> thank you, through the chair. >> yes. >> it was more of an observation of today's meeting. i think the council has done a good job of trying to pull the theme of mental health of mental health disabilities from so many perspectives, from the veterans community and the

mental health board and we heard about the medical model and about the recovery model and i'm often reminded of how similar our language is within the context of the larger disability movement and how folks with mental health disabilities have always been a part of that movement, but not necessarily been included in the forefront as leaders in the same way that you know that the disability movement is always viewed and perceived and it's a new generation that creates connections throughout much different disability populations. so i hope that the council would consider looking at that, and put something thought into a resolution that would advocate for better connections and better funding to do that type of work. >> thank you. >> thank you, joanna.

is there any comment or questions from the public? yes, can you step up to the mic? >> good afternoon again, council. my name is jackie bison and in our own voices and in my particular voice i took a different tact, because i am very eclectic. i first opposed the incarnation or whatever we want to call it of the mayor's disability council when i first got here in 1998. i went to the human rights commission in 1998, because i was required to give up an accessible cubicle as a disabled person because somebody came in with a dog and the dog had a higher priority to that accessible cubicle than i did.

i thought oh, and i went to the board of supervisors and spoke on that october 13 of 1998, which i believe was mark leno's birthday. well, they knew talent when they saw it, so on april 6, 1999, i got a certificate of honor from the board of supervisors. tada. 1999 guys and it's now 2013 and it's gotten worse. back in 1999 when we were all hopeful, the board of supervisors of the city and county of san francisco hereby issues an authorizes the execution of this certificate of honor in appreciative public recognition of distinction and merit for outstanding service to a significant portion of the people of the city and county of san francisco. jackie bison, now they had to give me two of them, because the first time my name was

misspelled. so i made them redo it. it's jakkee. whereas jakkee bison has labored tireless on san francisco's less fortunate and disabled and her mentality agility and acute is greatly appreciated -- yeah, right -- at her weekly appearances during the board of supervisors public comment, whereas jakkee bison's feisty brand of advocacy is vital to the spirit of san francisco, be it resolved that the city and county of san francisco and the board of supervisors hereby bestows its highest honor upon jakkee bison, signed april 6, 1999 and i was still walking under my own power at that

time. there was no cane. there was no walker. i didn't even have robotics. so yes, i have been using all of these venues as you can see by checking through the minutes and various things, but we still have a long way to go. we do. >> thank you very much. is there anybody on the bridge line? thank you. come on up, please. >> hi. david elliot lewis, mental health board and i wanted to respond to the idea about the use of the word "recovery," in mental health and i think there was a comment that was earlier -- that was provided earlier from a member of the public about being concerned about the use of that word. and i can see how in different

disability communities that word could be trouble some and a crucial word and not just a word, but crucial concept for those in mental health recovery and noticed i did use the word because it gives us hope and i believe that many people who suffer the severest mental illness that at one time thought people could not recover from. i believe people can recover from schizophrenia and bipolar and psychosis and all the dsm-labeled categories. not everyone recovers, but many do and many go on to live very happy and successful lives. and even if you don't recover to what other people's standards are what they think "recovery" is, you can get to a point within your own life, you

can achieve a lot of happiness. so i advocate recovery and i advocate hope, hope for a better tomorrow for ourselves, our community and our world. thank you. >> thank you very much. and i thank everyone for coming out to do your presentations. it is very much an eye-opener and thank you again. we can go on to item no. 8. information report on the golden guardian exercise on may 15, 2013, the disability perspective. presented by council members chip and denise. >> thank you, roland. there has been a miswording on agenda. this is more of an update than a report.

the disaster -- disability disaster preparedness committee is meeting july 5th and we're in the process of accumulating data from the experiences of people with disabilities who participated as shelter residents at the golden guardian exercise. we have yet to have a committee meeting since the exercise and we have not been able to compile the data or prepare a report. the record will be given next month at the mdc meeting in july. thank you. >> thank you very much. >> the next item is "public comment." items not on today's agenda, but within the jurisdiction of the mdc. each member is limited to three minutes. yes? >> hi, i wanted to check. we didn't do a question part

after our presentation on the hoarding, the peer response and i wanted to check if anyone had questions about that. >> sure. are there any questions or comments from the council regarding the resource and support services for hoarding and cluttering challenges? i don't see any from the council. idell, yes? >> thank you. i didn't hear if you guys, the days of your hoarding and support group meetings, what days you have or do you have a meeting or support group for that? >> yes, it's a drop-in weekly drop-in support, alternates wednesdays and months, every other week. i don't know the times on that off the top of my head.

but the schedules can be picked up at the office or calling the mha office and it's also on our website. >> do you have the number with you for mha? >> i'm the only one left here. sure. i will grab my papers. >> and if you could give us the website and let us know. and david, we didn't hear when your mental health meetings were. >> mental health board meets -- >> you need to come to the mic. >> sorry, the mental health board meets the second wednesday of each month, city hall, 6:30 p.m., room 278. 278, 6:30, the second wednesday of every month and the members of public are encouraged. it's disabled-accessible, and

it's a comfortable environment and we have three or four opportunities throughout the evening for public comment. and you can speak several times, three minutes each time during public comment. >> thank you. >> mha's contact for the hoarding and cluttering is john franklin and the website is mentalhealthsf.org. >> could you repeat that? >> the website is mentalhealthsf.org.

>> the phone number is 415-421-2926 and hoarding and cluttering team contact is john franklin at extension 314. >> okay. are there any members of the public who would like to comment or ask questions regarding this topic? >> is it hoarding or cluttering or anything? >> anything. >> david elliot lewis, mental health board and i want to express my gratitude for these

presentations. i hope the public was watching on sfgovtv and i think it was a really helpful session today. so thank you. >> thank you very much. >> roland? >> i'm sorry, oh, okay. >> my name is tony robles with senior and disability action and very moved by the comments that were made. you know, really about stigma and the fact that there are inroads that are being made in the media, because the media perpetrates so much of that stigma and knowing that i think it was united press or one of the news services has made a move to remove some of that stigma by changing some of the

language. we know that language creates reality and language is very powerful. so it's incumbent upon us to shape that language and to form that language so that we can have a voice and say and to the reality that is made about us and the messages that are disseminated about our community. i am also very concerned about mental health and the stigma of mental health conditions insofar as the relationship with law enforcement, because there have been many deaths, deaths that could have been prevented had there been more of a dialogue or more knowledge of the community. parents have lost children that they should not have lost, and you know, the fact that this

council is here to insert their voice in that and i would say keep doing that. our organization is there to help in any way that we can. i think david elliot lewis said something very poignant, volunteering is a pathway towards healing. i think the fact that we have so many folks here that are living testaments to struggle and overcoming, i think what david was talking about, going from the darkness to the light. that involves a lot of things, but you know, having that firsthand experience with that can help other people, because a face is put to that struggle and the difference successes and living productive lives. is there there is a face to it and a story and we have black diva media, that the fact that you have access to media and you are using it in a positive

way and that speaks volumes. before i stop, i wanted to touch on how housing is affected by this. i don't have all the answers and i do housing issues with sta and i understand that the mayor's office of housing, there has been a proposal from advocates to put in some anti-eviction legislation that would cut -- that would try to curtail before things lead up to evictions and perhaps some mental health component could be inserted into that conversation to keep people out of houselessness. thank you. >> thank you very much. next item on the agenda is there any correspondence?

[ inaudible ] >> apparently you had one more public comment. >> i'm sorry, i didn't see. yes, please come up to the mic. >> good afternoon, jakkee bison and i am speaking about how we still have a ways to go. and that my t-shirt says, "now you see me." like the movie that is out. so i thought it was appropriate to wear it today and now they are going to see me. if it were up to me, the meetings, which with policy making, would all be televised, so there would be transparency and there won't be the business of a said xy and z, you get the

minutes and didn't even spell my name right, let alone what i said. if i did do public comments on agendized items, there is no public comment at all, and i am talking about -- [speaker not understood] i had submitted a complaint to the mayor's office on disability about the access for 48-wide. i keep doing that, 48" wide clear path of travel mandated for the sidewalks. and about the port-a-potties being on the sidewalks and us not being able to get down the sidewalks because of everything, but people walking on the side of the road that is why it's called a "sidewalk." all of these things. went through the mayor's office on disability, and carla and joanna, and heather, you tried. you tried. i am looking