>> all right. madam chair, directors, the sfmta board of directors met in closed session to discuss in two cases. the board voted unanimously to approve the anderson and huang cases. the next item would be to make a motion to disclose or not disclose. >> vote to disclose. all in favor? aye? all opposed? okay. we vote not to disclose. >> and madam chair, that concludes the items today.

>> okay. thank you very much for spending your afternoon with us. i'm the ed of swords, the bay area vet service agency, i want to welcome everybody to the official ground breaking of this

really exciting new housing development. you can tell, it's going to be great, right? it will provide housing for 62 formerly homeless veterans and 60 low-income families. a unique project. so thanks for coming out in the rain, and of course, the folks who will be living here will be out of the rain, right? this will be their home. beautiful. key neighborhood. lot of jobs, lots of energy. wonderful. where else could this happen but san francisco, right? i mean, san francisco really recognizes that everybody is together, we suffer together, we triumph together. the people to fight our wars, men and women working and who fight and die. and their families. boys, men, women. and their family. and this is the kind of project

that they should have. they deserve this. and san francisco has made it possible. i really want to celebrate the san francisco inclusive spirit to allow something like this to happen in this spot at this time. it's significant. having leaders like mayor ed lee who really dedicated this property and made sure -- [applause] -- i really believe it wasn't just words or speeches. mayor lee truly believed we needed to do something and spoke to us, if we have homeless veterans on the streets of the country. he proved that not just by words, but making this property available for the project. we're honored to have mayor mark farrell here today, another leader in the city, who also understands the sacrifices the veterans make, his father was an air force pilot.

we have presidio, where there is a number of veterans who are formerly homeless, who has made the presideio a living memorial. i want to introduce the mayor. >> thank you, michael and everyone for being here today. this is what san francisco is all about. when we have struggling individuals and we're here to pick them up and build a 100% affordable housing development in the city. i think as michael alluded to, we have veterans here in the san francisco that need our help as a city, we stand up for them. veterans housing is something that is personal to me. michael mentioned my father being an air force veteran and seeing a number of his colleagues as well from the armed forces, we cannot do

enough to support our veterans. i'm so proud to partner with source shares and everyone that is here today. i want to pay a huge tribute to mayor lee and his wife anita who was here today and his chief of staff. [applause] mayor lee made housing a central platform but it wasn't just talk, it was action. and he committed to build 30,000 new units by 2020, we're on track here in san francisco. but he was committed to people of all incomes here in san francisco. and affordable housing will be his biggest legacy here in san francisco and something we can all be proud of. and also when you think about veterans housing, this was something he prioritized and he knew the sacrifices that our men and women in the armed forces made and continue to make on behalf of our country. and what an incredible champion

of this project and others in san francisco. proud to formally announce we're formally dedicating this affordable housing site to our mayor edwin m lee and when the buildings are completed, they will bear his name on them here in san francisco. [applause] it is one of many tributes that will happen. obviously mayor lee. they're all fitting. but i think today, especially anita, having you here is fitting. so thank you all for being here. i have a laundry list of thanks. so for chinatown cdc, thank you for your hard work. michael, plow shares, incredible organization representing veterans here in san francisco. hamilton families, oci, commissioner and staff. a round of applause for nadia.

she is transforming our city. housing and development. thank you for all your hard work. our department of homelessness and supportive housing and jeff and his entire team. and a special thanks to our funding partners here at sf city, mark and ron. and so many others who played a role. sean and the golden state woreiers. these are organizations and individuals that stepped in when we needed them to. i want to say special recognition not only to the chief of staff and jason, but also steve who is here today for all of his years of hard work. thank you, everybody for being here today, appreciate it. >> i'd like to introduce supervisor jane kim. jane kim of district 6 has been

a fighter as we know, for all of the citizens in the supervisor district 6. her integrity is up the charts. she represents some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in the city, treasure island. in the tenderloin, et cetera. and we're just really happy and pleased and we feel honored to have her. so without further ado, supervisor jane kim. >> thank you for that super kind introduction, michael. i live across the street from the source office, he has to be kind because i might give him a hard time when i walk to work to city hall. it is a pleasure to be here today. ground breaking are a time that we can really celebrate our achievement as a city and being

able to win funding for 100% affordable housing, which everyone here under this tent knows how difficult it is to accomplish. i am proud to represent this district which includes mission bay. i'm proud of the fact that this city has fought to ensure before my time in office, that this redevelopment area plan would be 30% affordable. ranging from households that are formerly homeless to middle income housing. this is the type of model neighborhoods we want to continue to build here in san francisco. and it will be home to so many of our families who are either formerly on the streets, or struggling to live in san francisco in the working class job, and it will also be the home to the new warriors team and continues to be the home for the giants team as well. there is so much to be proud of. i'm excited because this is a partnership between the city, chinatown and plow share, three

entities which i'm close to. norman fong hired me as a committee organizer. i know he's smacking his head right now. no, no, i continue to serve you. these three entities and both chinatown development center and source of plow share are amazing organizations and i was able to cut the ribbon with you and mayor lee. i can't think of a more fitting site of many, because there will be more to come, that with ill be commemorating mayor lee. mayor ed lee was many things to the city, but the one thing he was very clear about was that he wanted to reduce the number of veterans sleeping on the streets to zero. he was emphatic about that. and actually he has been achieving and working very quickly to achieve that goal. we in the city have a lot of work to do around the

homelessness crisis, but one akorean the mayor was -- arena the mayor was successful in is providing a permanent home to our citizens, our residents that serve our country, our men and women who serve our country. on top of that, to ensure that families, who are the fastest growing demographic are part of the project, speaks to the tremendous victory on the site today. so mayor mark farrell acknowledged many of the people that made this happen. it takes so many people to build a 100% affordable project, so thank you all to everyone. thank you. >> thank you. so you know, this is a project of the public and the common. and really, nothing represents that more than the community investment and infrastructure that makes housing development

possible in this area. now more than ever we need to bring more affordable housing. so to increase programs like this, where you have supportive housing, it's affordable, it reaches everyone, every level of income, especially low-income people, it's crucial. i want to welcome nadia. >> hello, m.p. i am honored today to be here to celebrate this project and ground breaking for incredible new homes for the low-income san francisco families and homeless veterans who need it the most. this project will add 118 units to the 1048 affordable units within the mission bay project area.

when i think of how this project came to be, i am reminded by my friend and colleague, mayor lee, his response to obama's plan to end veteran homelessness and his own 10-year plan to abolish homelessness. i cannot think of a better way to remember him than by naming this building after him. i would like to thank mayor farrell and thank mrs. lee for your presence here today and messing this occasion. i'm very excited that 62 units will be set aside for veterans homelessness and these individuals who have served our country should not have to worry about a place to sleep at night. in addition, the remaining 56 units will be available for low-income families. this project will be our fourth project in the mission bay south

area. and it would follow the ten 1180 fort street project and the soon to be completed 626 mission bay boulevard north just a few blocks away from here. i would like to commend my staff who continue to work on this project daily. we have jeff white here and the rest of the housing team. i want to thank our partners the community development, and more importantly, i want to thank my commission. who has encouraged us to build smart well designed functioning housing. i want to commend our partners, plow shares and chinatown community development center whose staff has been amazing to work with on this project. i want to acknowledge construction partners. lastly, i want to thank sf city,

more specifically the conway family, sean parker and drew, alfred and rebecca and golden state warriors for providing this generous donation that got this project up and running and the funds were able to provide precious dollars for upcoming affordable housing projects. with that, i want to thank you all and commend you all for the great work to come. [applause] thank you. so, just briefly i want to say that now we're going to start talking about the people really doing the work here, making this possible. i want to say that obviously a project of this scope is not possible without people that really know their stuff. we were so happy to partner with chinatown cdc, who are pros, not that their great people, but

they're super competent. building housing development, nonprofit, that's as complicated and difficult as anything wall street does. and yet the rewards are minimal, but great from the standpoint of making a difference in people's lives. that includes our own staff. i have to acknowledge leon winston. leon is the chief operating officer and it's his passion and dedication that go deep. he's also a pro. he knows his stuff. but is committed to the mission as much as anyone i met and work with. thank you so much. i want to say our other partners, again, we appreciate

all the private support, but this is -- don't get mixed up, this is a public project made possible by the public and the common good and it's led by the v.a. that made housing vouchers available to us. they run the social work department, we have of course all of the partners with the california state vet people who are here. i want to say this project would not be possible without the california taxpayers, the people of san francisco, right, who backed the bills. the v.a., hud, the veterans housing program, the local initiative support corporation, san francisco city, san francisco investment and

infrastructure, all these acronyms, who are these people? well, they're the people who make it possible. they're the people who give the private sector so much backing they can't help but invest in in. like the california debt limit allocation committee, the california department of housing, et cetera, et cetera, that's what it takes. so just briefly, other construction partners, the brothers, contractors, initiativy brothers. these are all topnotch people. architects, the design partners. are you here? design studios, castro. so, let me also i want to introduce teresa gunn, she's are the cal vet program and really

understands the financing of what makes this possible. she helped us develop and support our $10 million grant that was a piece of this project. it's our friends and partners of the cal vet home loan that make this possible. teresa, could you say a few words, please? [applause] >> good morning, everyone. i usually like to start because i'm with cal vet, i like to recognize our veterans and the families, if you're a veteran or a member of the family, could you please stand, thank you all for your service. [applause] as a military brat, the families often are forgotten. thank you all for your service. i want to thank absolutely every single person an entity that michael just thanked, because without everyone else this wonderful project wouldn't be occurring today.

i'd like to extend a special thanks to the chinatown community development center and the sword to plow shares, our cosponsor. california has the honor of being the state with the largest veteran population at nearly 1.7 million. with this honor is the challenge of having the most veterans experiencing chronic homelessness. according to hud, 29% of veterans experiencing homelessness in america are here in california. san francisco has homeless and underserved population close to 700 veterans. in california, the vets aren't the only problem. there are more than 100,000 veteran households that are low-income, that means less than 30% median income and 74% are

burdened, meaning half of their income is spent on housing. in addition, there is approximately another 100,000 veteran households are ho are very low income, under 50%. and 42% of them are severely burdened. so with these truths come the question, how do we assist our at risk veterans and those experiencing homelessness? in response to that question and in show of support from the governor brown, our legislature and california voters, the veterans housing and homelessness program was created and cal vet, our sister agency were entrusted to be the custodians of this program. not quite four years ago as california voters directed $600 million for the sole purpose of helping fund projects like this mission bay, cal vet and our partners set in motion the

process for competing for and being awarded the funds to make projects like this come to fruition. mission bay is a shining star in the vhp program, for a couple of reasons. one, this is the first vhp project in san francisco. move in out of the rain. squeeze in. i'll be short. we have a couple projects in the surrounding area, but this is the first one that is really going be impactful for the veterans in san francisco. and as supervisor kim said, the previous mayor's drive was to take veteran homelessness to zero. is this project will take almost 10% of those homeless veterans and give them a permanent home. it's absolutely amazing. secondly, this project shows how projects should be done. how they should come together

and move forward. mission bay is a recipient of the third round of vhp funding. it was awarded its funds barely nine months ago and here we stand with the ground broken and this building going to be erected quickly here. that is amazing. many of other projects get stuck in predevelopment even though they have the funding and take several years more. it's a fantastic job, everyone involved. vhhp is a beacon for at risk veterans facing potential homelessness and those who are homeless. today, that line shines here in san francisco. mission bay will be a safe place for 62 veterans and their families. maya angelou said it best, the ache for home lives in all of us, the safe place we can go as we are, and not be questioned. vulnerable members of our community are ensured to receive not only a place to call home,

but the services and support they need to stabilize their lives. they can find a place to thrive. cal vet is here, a trusted partner, working to support, build, nurture local, regional and statewide collaborations. local, regional and statewide, everybody is involved in the project and will make it a success. i acknowledge the hard work as i've already said before from our partner swords and chinatown and the community leaders joining us today. thank you for your support. we're all working together to improve the quality of life of our california veterans experiencing chronic homelessness. congratulations on today's ground break and i thank you all for everything you do to support our veterans and their families. [applause]

>> so this is the second project of swords and chinatown. 150 street, which houses 75 homeless veterans, has been around since 2012 and that was funded by the wells fargo folks and we're pleased to renew that partnership. i would like to welcome jeff bennett, the vice president for wells fargo community lending and investment. >> thank you so much. this is a great pleasure for us to be involved in this wonderful project. we have been working with chinaton for a long time, since the early 90s. we've done great things with them. this is our second veterans project with swords and chinatown.

we closed this project before christmas last year, it was a little bit harrowing because the congress almost took away the taxes and bonds program we were using. thankfully it was preserved at the last minute and we didn't have to go to plan "b" which would have been more difficult. i want to concongratulate the development team and thank the folks who worked on financing. they did a terrific job of getting this thing done. we're providing most of the private financing on this, we're doing a construction loan. we're going to be in the deal for 15 years at least, so we're a long-term partner. i want to acknowledge those in the audience providing the permanent mortgage which ace critical part of the financing as well. and i just want to say that wells fargo has been committed

to affordable housing for a long time. we continue to be. it's a huge need in san francisco and the bay area. we're very open for business, for affordable housing and hope to see a lot more of these opportunities in the future. thank you very much. can't wait for the grand opening. [applause] >> so again, we're thrilled to work with chinatown and i want to bring their experience as we know, they develop over 4,000 units of housing, affordable housing. and the reverend norman fong has fought for our communities since 1990. so without further ado, reverend fong, please. [applause] >> you know, mayor ed lee always says he wanted us to get together under a big tent. this is it! this is it, right!

i'll be really fast this time. i need your help. you're going to help me bless this. we want all the good vibes on earth. i want to say that michael, swords, raise your hands, thank you! it adds so much meaning in life when we know that our job is to get all the vets off the streets. and they can do it. they delivered it heart and soul. we can do a little housing and community services for the families, but i just want to super thank plow share, you've added diversity and meaning to our work. in chinatown. that's what san francisco is supposed to be about, right? embracing diversity. so today, you all should be super smiling in the rain, ok, ok. we're here under this big tent,

ed lee's tent, to wish all these good blessings on this site. i need you to kind of yell after me. may the spirit of peace -- >> peace! >> joy -- >> joy >> hope and love -- >> hope and love >> embrace this new ed lee veterans and family whatever. you know what i mean! this place. and turn to the burn to your left and right and go peace, brother, peace sister, that's it we're done. hey, do we get to do the shovels now? michael, you're in charge. are we doing the shovel stuff now? five, four, three, two, one! dig!

can you dig it! all right! >> hi today we have a special edition of building san francisco, stay safe, what we are going to be talking about san francisco's earth quakes, what you can do before an earthquake in your home, to be ready and after an earthquake to make sure that you are comfortable staying at home, while the city recovers. ♪ >> the next episode of stay safe, we have alicia johnson from san francisco's department

of emergency management. hi, alicia thanks to coming >> it is a pleasure to be here with you. >> i wonder if you could tell us what you think people can do to get ready for what we know is a coming earthquake in san francisco. >> well, one of the most things that people can do is to make sure that you have a plan to communicate with people who live both in and out of state. having an out of state contact, to call, text or post on your social network is really important and being able to know how you are going to communicate with your friends, and family who live near you, where you might meet them if your home is uninhab hitable. >> how long do you think that it will be before things are restored to normal in san francisco. >> it depends on the severity of the earthquake, we say to provide for 72 hours tha, is three days, and it helps to know that you might be without services for up to a week or more, depending on how heavy the shaking is and how many

after shocks we have. >> what kind of neighborhood and community involvement might you want to have before an earthquake to make sure that you are going to able to have the support that you need. >> it is important to have a good relationship with your neighbors and your community. go to those community events, shop at local businesses, have a reciprocal relationship with them so that you know how to take care of yourself and who you can rely on and who can take care of you. it is important to have a battery-operated radio in your home so that you can keep track of what is happening in the community around and how you can communicate with other people. >> one of the things that seems important is to have access to your important documents. >> yes, it is important to have copies of those and also stored them remotely. so a title to a home, a passport, a driver's license, any type of medical records that you need need, back those up or put them on a remote drive or store them on the

cloud, the same is true with any vital information on your computer. back that up and have that on a cloud in case your hard drive does not work any more. >> in your home you should be prepared as well. >> absolutely. >> let's take a look at the kinds of things that you might want to have in your home. >> we have no water, what are we going to do about water? >> it is important for have extra water in your house, you want to have bottled water or a five gallon container of water able to use on a regular basis, both for bathing and cooking as well as for drinking. >> we have this big container and also in people's homes they have a hot water heater. >> absolutely, if you clean your hot water heater out regularly you can use that for showering, drinking and bathing as well >> what other things do people need to have aren't their home. >> it is important to have extra every day items buy a couple extra cans of can food that you can eat without any preparation.

>> here is a giant can of green giant canned corn. and this, a manual can opener, your electric can opener will not be working not only to have one but to know where to find it in your kitchen. >> yes. >> so in addition to canned goods, we are going to have fresh food and you have to preserve that and i know that we have an ice chest. >> having an ice chest on hand is really important because your refrigerator will not be working right away. it is important to have somebody else that can store cold foods so something that you might be able to take with you if you have to leave your home. >> and here, this is my very own personal emergency supply box for my house. >> i hope that you have an alternative one at home. >> oh, i forgot. >> and in this is really important, you should have flashlights that have batteries, fresh batteries or hand crank flashlight. >> i have them right here. >> good.

excellent. that is great. additionally, you are going to want to have candles a whistle, possibly a compass as well. markers if you want to label things if you need to, to people that you are safe in your home or that you have left your home. >> i am okay and i will meet you at... >> exactly. exactly. water proof matches are a great thing to have as well. >> we have matches here. and my spare glasses. >> and your spare glasses. >> if you have medication, you should keep it with you or have access to it. if it needs to be refrigerated make sure that it is in your ice box. >> inside, just to point out for you, we have spare batteries. >> very important. >> we have a little first aid kit. >> and lots of different kinds of batteries. and another spare flashlight. >> so, alicia what else can we do to prepare our homes for an earthquake so we don't have damage? >> one of the most important things that you can do is to

secure your valuable and breakable items. make sure that your tv is strapped down to your entertainment cabinet or wall so it does not move. also important is to make sure that your book case is secure to the wall so that it does not fall over and your valuable and breakables do not break on the ground. becoming prepared is not that difficult. taking care of your home, making sure that you have a few extra every-day items on hand helps to make the difference. >> that contributes dramatically to the way that the city as a whole can recover. >> absolutely. >> if you are able to control your own environment and house and recovery and your neighbors are doing the same the city as a whole will be a more resilient city. >> we are all proud of living in san francisco and being prepared helps us stay here. >> so, thank you so much for joining us today, alicia, i appreciate it. >> absolutely, it is my pleasure. >> and thank you for joining us on another edition of building

testimony. good morning. we're going to begin our program. and as always, remember that we're in the presence of god. first of all, my name is sister mary kiefer, i'm the vice president for mission integration for st. mary's medical center and the bay area center of dignity health. i'd like to welcome all of you today. in my world i would say this is the day the lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad because it took a lot of work to get to this point. and great blessings to the partnerships with the city and county of san francisco and ucsf.

as is our practice, we step back from the busyness of the day and tap into our spiritual side. it's my pleasure to offer this dedication to you. as we bless that ground, we stand at the sacred intersection meet grace and humanity. as we bless that ground, we set it apart for the special purpose of healing body, mind and spirit. may the architect of our lives bless those whose vision has brought us to this moment. bless those who gave form to the dream, who honed plans and laid a firm foundation. bless this ground that gives of itself to support the center of healing. may this building live lightly on this earth, using resources sparingly and respectfully. bless those who have constructed

this space. may they know that they are healers. may the jobs created by this project sustain families who call this city their home. bless future generations who will come here to work that all might experience meaning and purpose in their labor. cement the past and future with the present that we may be of one accord in our partnership. and bless these rooms, that they may be strong enough to hold a client's pain and pourous enough to allow our own humanity to seep through our sterile processes. may it pulsate with our good deeds and flow with justice and compassion for all who seek healing within its walls. amen. now, it's my pleasure to ask

mayor mark farrell to continue on. thank you. [applause] thank you, sister. thank you. it is an honor to be here this morning to celebrate the opening of our healing center here at st. mary's. mental illness is one of the biggest issues facing the city of san francisco right now. it is evident on the streets and reflected in the homeless population, but it is also happening behind closed doors. today, represents a huge step in the right direction with the what the city is doing to work and solve those issues. mental illness encompasses so many things, conservativeship is not the only solution. we do so much here in the san francisco. those with challenges need our help as a city. we have worked over the years and partnership with mayor lee and his team, first we passed laura's law a number of years

ago here in the san francisco with the help of barbara garcia. we have a place where they can go and receive the help they need. but conservatorship is a huge part of the solution and today's celebration is a huge step forward for the san francisco. we are doing things like opening up new beds and places for people to go when they need to come off the streets. we're partnering with other groups and people in sacramento like senator weiner. also, the integrated agency team where we focus as a city, multiple different departments under the 40 most people on our streets, those are the frequent flyers through our health system, our ambulances and police and fire departments,

through our hospitals. and other services. the to make sure they get the care they need, but also that we work together as a city so we can conserve those that need our help. let's not lose focus. this is about getting the people on the streets the help they need. so they can get on their own two feet and onto better lives. i'm honored to be here today. this is a celebration and it takes so many people to come together and there are so many people to thank here today. first of all, i do want to thank our late mayor ed lee. it was his vision and his pushing last year to put the $5 million into the city budget and it was his really vision to make today happen. and we celebrate today in his honor. i believe that in honoring that commitment, we will continue to fund this in our city budget moving forward for the next few years as well. i do want to thank barbara garcia and the department of public health, there are so many

things that under her leadership have done to get today ready and to make it happen. least of all, not least of all, is the fact that within eight months this center is open. and anybody here who is familiar with government regulations, that this center was opened within eight months is a miracle. [cheering] [applause] so a huge credit to our department of public health under barbara's leadership for making that happen. i want to thank our two partners. lloyd dean from dignity. thank you for your partnership. this is a dignity hospital, we're very proud to be here today to celebrate. mark lair from ucsf, your support. president breed, a leader on the issue as well on the board of supervisors. this has been a collaborative effort. we would not be here today without everybody standing behind me, but we would not be

here without the vision of ed lee. i'm honored to be here today. let's make no mistake. this is one step in the right direction in solving mental illness here in san francisco and work canning hard to get people off the streets, but let me introduce the woman had made it happen, barbara garcia. [applause] good morning, everyone. barbara garcia, but behind me is the incredible staff. behind me are people who did the heavy lifting. this is such an incredible part of over 115 beds that the department has opened up in the last year. so this is a really important program because it does have the highest level of care next to an acute hospital. but it also has the opportunity to provide people with intensive care services to help them heal. that's why this is called the healing center. we do that also from a recovery model and from a peer-based

model. today, you will meet a lot of staff here. i got the honor to meet them. they went through 80-hour life training, actually, because they not only have lived experience, but have family members. anyone in here could probably raise their hand if i asked do you have a family member suffering from mental illness or addiction and many of us would say yes. this center is really a focal point for the department, but we also have other levels of care that are more voluntary. people can walk into this. this is a little different, people are mandated to be here, but they have the right every 30 days to determine whether or not to continue here. but let me tell you, if you walked in here, i think you would be welcome to know you will have an opportunity here to be loved and supported to your recovery of our chronic disease. that's one of the areas we're

trying to get people understand. mental illness and addiction is a chronic disease. i hope this reflects the love and support we want to give our community members. eight months is an incredible force. they say government happens in two times, lightning time and glacier time. i think it's so important we get services off the ground. we could not have done it without the partnership we have. $3 million of renovation in this building. we couldn't have done it ourselves. so dignity had the area that we are in today, so let's give them a round of applause. [applause] sometimes hospitals, we think of hospitals as acute services, but today we can think of hospitals as multiservice levels of care and that's the direction of hospitals as well. then you have the issue of

renovation and partnerships and they've been a great partner, 150 years affiliation, and then you have the fact that we want to share and be able -- there is a great need at the medical center as well, so we have a partnership. uc has allowed us a million dollars for renovation. we're appreciative of that as well. [applause] the department provides many services on its own. but to have a community-based organization with the kind of outstanding experience of crestwood behavioral health services is incredible and we're fortunate to have them. patty, who you'll meet, said we're going to do this and do it in this time period, i followed right behind her. i walked her walk. and i have to tell thaw it's been an incredible process. we had to take on the state department of health.

they wanted this to have cement floors here, because they thought this was a prison, so we taught the state as well for those who have mental illness. i don't want to underestimate the addiction, we see these as separate as well, this is a program not only going to deal with mental illness, but addiction needs as well. so with that, i just want to thank everyone for all of the work that all of us have done. i want to acknowledge a particular person on my staff who i follow very closely, she's about my height. you can guess, that is kelly. i want to give her a hand. [applause] she does incredible work every day, taking people from the hospital, taking people from the streets and putting them into the right level of care. and sometimes, folks, we don't have the right levels of care and we have to create those. this is one of those.

i'm sure you're going to enjoy the day today as you walk through this beautiful facility. thank you very much. >> good morning. this is a special day, special day for the city and county in a very -- and a very special day for all of us at dignity health. i want to thank all of you for joining us for this momentous occasion. just a quick story. i have a granddaughter that is 5. i try to call her in the mornings before she goes off to school, and she always asks me what is it that i'm going to do today? and she says, papa, what are you doing today? it was hard to explain our gathering here, so i said we're going to be dedicating a new place, a new home that will help serve and take care of people

with mental illness and mental challenges. and she said, well, are you going to be staying there? [laughter] and i'm thinking even at 5, she knows something that i don't know. but i would tell you, this is a beautiful, beautiful facility and truly together with all of the partners and certainly barbara and all of the support from the board of supervisors, from the mayor, and so many people that i can't take the time to list. this will change and begin to change san francisco. so i want to thank you for joining us, thank all of you for being here. it has truly been an honor for us to work with barbara, to work with the city, the county, and

to continue on our quest here at st. mary's to impact and change health care in this city in a way that allows us to serve the most needy and the most vulnerable. as has been said, all of you know, mental illness is one of the most vexing, complicated and critical challenges, not just facing us here, but facing our nation. but we, together, here are doing something about it. i will never forget the call, because i got so many of those calls, from the late mayor ed lee. and when he calls, you take his

call. and he said, lloyd, and i said yes and he said i need your help. when he says that, it's not just i want to have a consultation with you. but he explained what he wanted to do and he said, i need partners and you have been there before, and i need you to step up now. so this collaboration is a significant health capability that through partnerships we are together about to present to this city. and i just want to recognize and thank the incredible work of the hospital council and the city's emergency department physicians for helping us identify, not just the need, but the specifics of the issues and for pulling us

all together to stand here today to do something that i think history will show was one of the significant events in the journey of this great city. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, i'm mark laird, president and c.e.o. of ucsf health. sister mary, as you were speaking, all i could think of, i believe it was st. augustine who said, spread the gospel and if necessary, use words. >> st. francis? >> ok. i knew i shouldn't be wading into this territory at st. mary's [laughter]. >> one of those things. >> it was one of the saints, thank you. st. francis, medical center, it

all comes together. but i think the point of this is this is not just talking about doing something about mental health, this is doing it. and i am so proud of our affiliation at ucsf with the city, mayor lee, who was a special man, mayor farrell, potentially future mayor breed, all the people in the city who have really helped us move forward and make something important happen. but i do want to spend a moment talking about dignity health, what an amazing organization it is under lloyd's leadership, the team at dignity health is spectacular. always focused on doing what is best for the community. and at ucsf, we believe that's our calling, putting the needs of the community first and trying to address those in every possible way. as barbara garcia said, we've

enjoyed a fantastic 150 and we weren't there in the beginning -- >> no, we were not. >> close. 150 year membership that is the envy of the medical centers across this nation and we want to build on. i want to acknowledge one special person, so many special people, dr. jackson, who is our doctor for behavioral health services. when she came to ucsf she asked a lot of questions. what are we doing in the community? and the answers were not enough. with the partnership with dignity and crestwood and the city, we feel like we're really on the cusp of doing something important. i want to say thank you to everyone who worked on this. we will be there supporting all the way. thank you. [applause]

>> thank you. i'm patty blum, i'm not the c.e.o. just saying. i also -- [laughter] -- i have been with crestwood for 37 years. as a provider of health care services and psychologist i came to this field because my heart drew me here because i'm a family member. and i live each and every day looking to do what we do better and looking to serve more people. and looking to fully engage in every single way that we can to increase hope and love and gratitude. each one of us, each employee we have and each person we serve, each community member we run into. so we have a saying that we stole from the consumer movement, nothing about us without us. so i'm speaking up, i'm going to

grab our newest director of education. come on up, deanne. deanne robinson. [applause] we as an organization put the people who we serve first and foremost every single day as every good health provider does and we could not have found better partners in ucsf. and we've been partnering with san francisco since 1976, providing services for san franciscan s. and we're here today. this is a long hard-fought battle. without a doubt, barbara garcia, our late mayor, this would not have happened and with the tenaciousness of mauja, rita,

john alan, this is a partnership that took every person. as recently as saturday morning, 7:30 a.m., conference call with the c.e.o. of st. marys. i'm going to let deanne talk. >> hi, i'm deanne robinson, i want to say thank you everyone for being here today. this is really important and special to me because i am a person who has received services for substance abuse and mental health. i just want to tell crestwood thank you quickly recognize and

gratitude some of the leadership who have brought this forward for most of you, the eight months, literally, several of us, mauja and i, had not walked on the campus before march 10th of last year. and we moved mountains with an

incredible organization, who serves the state of california very well. with rigidity. >> nice to put it that way. [laughter]. >> so we have honored them as well and have plaques that are going to them. but i've asked our local administrator -- the first one is for mauja and each one of these is for your fearless commitment and compassion to the people of san francisco. [applause] >> support rita. this is for rita. [applause] for barbara garcia. [applause] for our mayor mark farrell.