that doesn't relate to gus's. >> commissioner ransom-scott: t. >> chair mondejar: that's good to know you don't have to pay for parking. as long as you don't stay all day or more than three hours. thank you so much for responding. do i have a motion to approve? >> i move. >> chair mondejar: motioned by commissioner rosales and seconded by commissioner singh and scott. please take the roll call. [roll call] the vote is 4 ayes and 1 absent. >> chair mondejar: motion carries. thank you for being hero and responding to our questions.

thank you gus's for coming to our area. madam secretary please call the next item. >> the next order of business is 5b, approving the california public employees retirement system calpers, resolution authorizing an amendment to the contract between the successor agency and calpers to employee contribution to retirement benefits. discussion and action resolution number 43-2018. >> this item is routine. it's come before the commission for approval so we can see an election t. this is just presentation reporting out to the results of the election and then an approval. i'll turn it over to april ward to present on this item.

>> thank you director. good afternoon chair mondejar and commissioners. i'm april ward senior personnel analyst. i come to seek approval for the contract amendment for the california public reemployees retirement season has calpers ocii we provide retirement benefits to our employees with calpers. in 2015, ocii management team along with the units from local 21 and local 2021 entered negotiations to match the shared provision in comparable with the city and county of san francisco labor agreements. this in addition to the policy offsets the employer shared contributions by employees required to contribute a portion of their salary to the retirement program. the memorandum of agreement

negotiated that employees contribution should be on pretax basis effective date the new calpers contract. in 2015, the successor agency commission previously approved salary increases to the memorandum of agreement with both local 21 and local 1021 along with the employees cost sharing negotiated. all contributions be taken on a pretax basis, as of today the agency treated all contributions on pretax basis. the implementation dates on the contribution are as follow. one percent taken effective the first day of a full pay period february 2015, 1.25 was effect in october of 2015 and 1.25 was on the first full pay period of july in 2016. the current contract that we have with calpers only

incorporates the 1% and 1.25. the 1.25 that was taken in july 2016 is not currently incorporated. the commission item was brought june 2018 for ocii to seek your approval to hold an election for staff. the election was mandated pi by calpers to approve the contribution to the proposed contract that was taken in july 2016. the election was held in september of 2015 and results were 33 employees approved, zero employees disapproved. the vote was tallied by our commission secretary. that is required by calpers that the commission secretary tallies the vote.

today, we request your approval of this resolution toc authorize the agency to amend the calpers contract to include the third employee contribution of 1.25%. also with this approval, this will also resolve the current way the contribution are taxed on a pretax basis and will allow separated employees to receive their full refund or their contributions. this concludes my presentation. i'm available for any questions and answers. thank you. >> chair mondejar: before we do that, do we have any public comment? no speaker quiet afternoon. ly closi -- i will close public comment. any comments or questions? none? okay. no questions. i need a motion.

moved by commissioner singh and seconded by commissioner scott. please take the roll call. [roll call] the vote is 4 ayes 1 absent. >> chair mondejar: motion carries. thank you. madam secretary, please call the next item. >> item six public comment on nonagenda items. we have no speaker cards. next or the of business is item seven report of the chair. madam chair. >> i don't have a report. >> next order of business is item eight, report of the executive director. 8a informational memorandum on marketing outcomes project report, 2500 arelious walker

drive for 122-unit hope sf affordable housing including 93 public housing replacement units, 28 affordable housing rental unit and one manager's unit. 8b, informational memorandum on marketing outcome project report 255 fremont street known as natalie gubb commons for 120-unit affordable rental development which includes one manager's unit and redevelopment project area discussion. >> thank you. it's nice to be in position where we're completing these projects. they are getting leased up. today we have 240 units. all are affordable.

>> good afternoon commissioners. i am pam sims. i'm a senior development specialist if the housing division. the first project, there were 28 affordable lottery units. the balance of the other units are the 94 other units were public housing replacement units for those of you who attended. those people living there now in the 94 units are relocatees from the old one to the if you. there were a total of 12c.o.p. holders who applied to live there. two c.o.p. holders were

successful. demographics of the 28 householdses are 43% are black, 7% asian and and 25% are latino. this is interesting. there are 61% of the households living there, 61% are returnees. it's one of our special project that has a special preference for households that were living there. they -- they moved before the new unit was developed. they have the first preference to relocate pack at alice griffith. who's really excite -- what's really exciting many households are taking advantage of that. 32% were rent burden and 7% the

people now are c.o.p. holders. 12 of the households originated from district 10. i thought that was interesting too. total of 21 households were from san francisco originally. for transbay 7, it's different. primarily because they done have the alice griffith preference. maybe also because they're in transbay. this project is much larger, 120 units, 95 were lottery units. they were affordable at 40% and 50%. 24 units were subsidized with project-based vouchers and 23 of those households relocatees from

sunnydale. this is the first site hope sf project. it was extremely successful and you'll be happy to know those residents in those households from sunnydale are thriving. we had 10c.o. holders, one holder was living there. they're living there through the lottery process. another c.o.p. holder is living there. the other holder was the second preference after the sunnydale households. the c.o.p.o. holders have the second preference for this property. we got another c.o.p. holder in that way. we had 6580 applications. there are now 320 residents now living at transbay block 7.

the demographics are different again from alice griffith, 11.5% black, 34.7% saying ago and 21%e latino. 75% of the residents living there are have the preference of residents and workers. that's very different. which is kind of exciting. this is our first project where all the districts are represented. there's households from all over san francisco. that's kind of exciting too. that's my report. >> chair mondejar: thank you, i can feel your excitement. do we+ have -- we don't need speaker card on this right? speaker cards? >> no speaker cards.

we'll close public comment. questions and answers from commissioners? commissioner rosales. >> commissioner rosales: this is one of the more fun segment of our calendar. thank you for the report. i guess, one question. i wrote it down. alice griffith, 61% returned? >> yes. >> commissioner rosales: why wasn't it 1 un%? >> that's a great question. there's public housing replacement units. that was the 94 other units that weren't in the lottery. these are alice griffith households returning who was not

living on the site of the gem information notice. they lost their standing to have a public housing replacement unit. that said, we really wanted to embrace the community to come back to alice griffith. those households moved away, went other places. we have provided a first preference for those households to come back. >> commissioner rosales: , wow. that's a different way looking at it. we had a meeting in the bayview early on as a commission. i think this was the project where folks were worried about moving out of their units. they didn't trust that they will be able to come back. do you remember that?

maybe not. >> i heard about it. i remember you mentioning that in that talk. >> commissioner rosales: i think this one of those projects where people were just worried that if they moved on, they wouldn't be able to come back. we assured them, yes, they could come back. >> what's interesting is in phases one and two, as you know, alice griffith is a multiphase project, we had just a handful of alice griffith people who applied. this time we this 36 applied to return. which was such a nice representation and showing.

it's successful. >> commissioner rosales: it's nice. we promise things, i do remember if we delivered so thank you. the other question is always, c.o.p. holders, how is it that we have 12 applicants but only two get in? why -- it seems we're always having that story. >> for these two properties in particular, it really depends when we're leasing out. of the households that under income, there were a few under income, but not the majority of households that didn't get in. the subsidies that are usually available like through the foundation, unfortunately, while this lease was going on, they had run out of their subsidies for the year. that's number one. number two is people are funny and kno they change their mind.

we have a number of c.o.p. holders that did not return calls, return mail, they didn't return any type of outreach done to them. they requested to be put on the wait list. they're not ready yet. >> commissioner rosales: that says they have confidence they can let this opportunity pass and another one will come up. >> chair mondejar: if you're c.o.p. you're automatically approved. >> you're number one in the lottery. >> chair mondejar: they still have to qualify. we support them if they win and then we help them with that. you said we run out of money? >> iif they needed subsidy, we generally go to the - cue

foundation and work with them to help our c.o.p. holders receive a subsidy. they ran out of funds this year. >> chair mondejar: they can always come back? >> absolutely. >> chair mondejar: did you have further questions? i interrupted you. >> commissioner rosales: i would love to meet the cue foundation folks. they seem like they're always stepping up. >> they've been really wonderful partners. that's an excellent idea. i'll invite them next time. >> chair mondejar: commissioner scott? >> commissioner ransom-scott: oh some of the people with c.o.p. they were very excited but then

they were also making just a little too much to fit the qualification but not enough to live in san francisco anywhere else. that was so hard. they thought by moving out, they would have a place to come back to. they got another job. just a couple of dollars more. they can't get into the housing. that kind of just bewilders me. i don't know what to say. >> chair mondejar: isn't there an allowance or a percentage? my understanding is, if you are of the maximum limit, there's like a 5% allowance. i don't know how much more they

made. am i correct? okay, jeff would have the answer. >> good afternoon jeff white housing program manager. i wanted to give you an update. we've mentioned this to the commission couple of time this year. the tack credit regulations in 2018 have changed. it's kind of fancy phrase called income averaging, which is going to allow us to take some of our affordable units up to 80% median income instead what was previously 60. to the earlier comment, c.o.p. holders that are couple of dollars over what was 60% median income, then qualify maybe 60 to 65% or something even up to 80%. the evidence that we have on the c.o.p. holders that for our past

five or six lotteries, it's a pretty wide range and representative range that kind of every a.m.i. level. we definitely missed some of the folks at the 60 to 80% level. with our next project that you'll see, mission bay south, we're planning on using that approach. the last time we were talking about transbay block 4 where there's that wide range and a.m.i. is much higher an transbay block 4. >> chair mondejar: i hope we're communitying this to everyone on the list. there are changes a there will be other opportunities. especially when it relates to income. once you get turned down, you're informed that overqualified because you make two dollars

more than the max numb. it's important for them to understand there is. maybe a briefing, changes in this regulation. just so we're communicating to our demographics, especially c.o.p. holders. >> that's a fantastic idea. we don't have any of those units coming on for couple years. >> chair mondejar: in the pipeline and planning. we owe it to them. these are the people we disadvantaged. thank you jeff. >> also just to piggy back on what jeff said, what we tried to do also when we -- when the developer or the leasing agent has deemed household under-over income, we let them know about the next opportunity coming up. what made it really much easier

holders to apply for every opportunity, which is great is -- it's an amazing thing how consistent people are applying for it. >> chair mondejar: it's really working? >> before i was daunting and paper and the application. now it's just automatic. >> chair mondejar: it's exciting to know lot our projects and all the things we discussed through the years is finally working and it's effective. i share your energy because i was with you in both of thiswjü openings that we had natalie gubb commons. it's a great feeling to see the residents and everybody who contributed to the project. it's just amazing.

beautiful day too, which was a bonus. the same thing with alice griffith. the natalie commons, are they one bedroom studios? >> they are one, two and three bedrooms. >> chair mondejar: okay. that's great. i saw some of the pictures. alice griffith have five bedrooms? >> not in the lottery. the lottery was one, two and threes. >> chair mondejar: they are larger units >> they do have fours and one or two fives. those are for the public housing replacement units. >> chair mondejar: that's exciting. thanksgiving is coming up. there's no action here. this is more of discussion and sharing of great news.

the next madam secretary, can we please call the next item. >> next order of business is item nine commissioner's questions and matters. >> chair mondejar: commissioners , do you have any questions? >> commissioner singh: next meeting on the 18th. >> before thanksgiving, no. it's the holiday week. we didn't think we'll get a quorum. >> commissioner singh: so prepare for the home day holida.

>> and december? >> we had one item. and it didn't seem fair to have the commission meet. we're going to have a busy christmas week. any other questions? >> chair mondejar: iwould you like to submit a card? okay, can we do that? this is a commissioner's questions and matters. we can call for a public

comment? okay, we will open the public comment for you sir. >> my name is mr. gregory williams. does this housing development, what we trying to do is adequately calculate the information in regards to the funding process, which i have that. we want to make sure that the funding was appropriate to the proposals that were addressed to the panel. my question is, are we following under the h.f.a. authority. united states california code?

anyone familiar with that? what that is, it is the housing -- i can't think of it. it deals with housing. i didn't bring the paper here. it's in regards to the acorn versus kentucky somewhere. it falls under the graystone. are you familiar with it. federal housing authority? the f.h.a.? the reason why i'm discussing this, i've been trying to acquire for 11 or 12 years. my indication is that the reason why i'm here is to provide a better stability and to utilize

the financial means in appropriate establishment where the proposals are legit and provide the in-depth to the funding towards it. so that we don't utilize it for self-gain or selfish reasons but yet to develop the proposal. on the indication we trying to deter the homeless situation. i understand the process is. i want the proposal to be more adequate and in-depth and the city and state. that include -- i don't know if 25,000 was presented to all the

treasure island community event. it was supposed to be for transportation and other developments. we fleed to -- we need to stop doing that. what we need to start doing is submitting our intelligence of governorship to the where the establishments require and the governor called for the united states and protocol. >> chair mondejar: thank you. >> no mr. speaker card. >> chair mondejar: thank you sir. please call the next item. >> next order of business is item 10, closed session. there are no closed session." items. the next order of business is item 11, adjournment. >> chair mondejar: i need a motion to adjourn. >> i move that the meeting be adjourned >> chair mondejar: this meeting

is ended at 2:01 p.m. thank you. >> are you guys ready? five, four, three, two, one. [cheers and applause] >> e.a.

all right. e.a. >> thank you so much for joining us today. today with mayor breed, we are honored to celebrate our community's -- community's brazilians as we continue to advocate for equality and human rights. -- community's equality as is to continue to advocate for equality and human rights. thank you. [applause] from the cafeteria riot to the nation's first trans- city department to, we have, so far. thanks to many of you and the community leaders and allies who have paved the way before us.

today, you are part of making history. as the trump administration continues to attack our communities in san francisco, we stand up against these attacks and celebrate each other. here in san francisco, we don't erase people. we understand that our differences are what makes us special. i'm so proud to work for a city that stands firm that we will not allow discrimination of any kind unchecked. san francisco continues to protect all of our communities and be a sanctuary city regardless of the federal administration. regardless of how they want to redefine gender, ban us from military service or strip away our rights -- rights for medically necessary care. at the office of transgender initiatives, we are working every day to advance policies, program and equity for trends and nonconforming gender communities. earlier this month, we partnered

with mayor breed to release a directive requiring all city departments to broaden gender identity options across all city forms. [applause] >> furthermore, we are providing trans- inclusion training across all city employees because everyone should feel safe when reaching our city services. also, last week, our advisory committee had the opportunity to meet with mayor breed and discuss several community priorities that we identified through a series of community stakeholder meetings. i'm looking forward to working with the mayor and the board of supervisors and other city departments to move these important priorities for words. i am excited to share that we are launching two exciting pilots this year to better serve our diverse communities including our trans- and lgbt emigrant fellowship program, as well as a civic bridge program to increase navigation services

so trans folks can access the wide range of services we have in the city. as i started in this role in december, i have had many opportunities to engage but our community has been under attack more now than ever before. we work to create name policies across the city and we track anti- lgbt legislation and we will make sure that any state that tries to discriminate against us gets added to the travel ban, and contracting ban because we will not do business with states that think discrimination is okay. [applause] >> furthermore, we are advancing our workforce program to provide direct trends services to the tenderloin and the soma areas. we are also creating antiviolence programs to make sure that housing programs and providers are inclusive of trans

people. we all deserve a home in san francisco. [applause] >> in conclusion, as the chump administration tries to strip away our rights, it's important we all remember that we will continue to be protected in san francisco through our leadership , through our office, and the work that each of you are doing every day. together we can remember our trans resilience and that we are never alone. i hope you will join us for this important work because we cannot do it alone. volunteer with local programs, get involved, volunteer and give because we all need a fierce cheerleader. so together, let's make sure that no one gets left behind. everyone deserves a safe place to sleep, wellness and a community that celebrates them. now it is my great honor to welcome our wonderful mayor, lyndon breed.

[applause] -- london breed. [applause] >> thank you. aren't we lucky to have such incredible leadership for our office of transgender initiatives here. we really appreciate you. thank you. thank you all for joining us here today. we are here to celebrate our transgender and gender nonconforming communities in san francisco and across the country i would also like to thank the supervisors who have joined us here today, including supervisor raffaella mandelman, supervisor vallie brown and president president of the board of supervisors, melia cohen. thank you for being here. [applause] today, we are recognizing this important week by lighting up city hall in the trans- flag colours. blue, white and pink and if you are lucky to get one of these

pens, may be asked anthony, i think he has a few extra. as well as raising the transgendered flag, which we just did, outside of the front of city hall. these are symbols that recognize our commitment to protecting the rights of all san franciscans. in these challenging times, i am so proud to be a mayor of a city that celebrates our diversity and our rich history with our trans- community. from our roots as a first city in the country to honor transgendered date, a remembrance to today, where we have the first office of transgender initiative. and a great leader in claire. as i look around, i think about the challenges facing us as a nation and as a safety. i am reminded, constantly, of the resilience of the trans community. we have a federal administration

that attacks our most vulnerable communities, time and time again here in san francisco, we won't stand for it. we will fight against it each and every time by standing together. that's why, earlier this month, i sent an executive directive to all city departments requiring the expansion of gender identity options across all city forms and mandating trans- inclusion training for all city employees working with the public. [applause] >> this is just one way we can make sure that our trends community is respected and supported, and in san francisco, no one is erased. i am proud of how far we have come as a city and being inclusive and welcoming, but i know, i know there is still a lot of work to do. just as you have remained resilient in the face of

adversity, i will remain committed to addressing the needs and priorities of the trans and lgbtq communities in san francisco. last week, i had an opportunity to meet with the transgender advisory committee to discuss many of the priorities that we all share. we talked about things like the crisis that has unfortunately impacted disproportionately our lgbtq community. thanks to their work and our office of transgender initiatives, we are focused on expanding employment, healthcare , and educational opportunities for our lgbtq community. we are committed to preventing any discrimination or violence or any assaults against all of our residents, as well as bringing justice for those who have experienced these tragedies we will not rest until there is equity and ensure a basic human

rights for all of our communities. but i know i can't do this work alone and i want to thank all of you for joining us here today. not only for what we have all ready achieved but for what we will continue to achieve by working together. and that is why i wanted to do something really special to commemorate this time and -- here it is. [laughter] >> i am not only committed to making sure that we celebrate our transgender community, but we honor it by doing something that has not been done anywhere else in our country. today, i am happy to recognize the entire month of november as transgender month in the city and county of san francisco. [applause]

>> i would also like to recognize and appreciate the work of our transgender advisory committee because they are spending countless hours working to push forward the right policies, the right investments, the right things here in the city that we need to do in order to address many of the challenges we face. here, i would like to present commissioner melanie with this award, as well as honey mahogany , two of the leaders of the transgender advisory committee here and we will do everything we can to continue to work together in order to move the great initiatives forward based on the work that we know you are both committed to doing. thank you both for being here today. [applause] now i give you an opportunity to speak.

>> good afternoon, everybody. some of us are bay area locals. some of us have been born and raised in san francisco. some of us relocate here for a better tomorrow. san francisco is the first city in the nation to have a trans alleged government office. this city is committed to the advancement of the transgender community. i am a proud member of the transgender advisory committee and i am honored to work alongside some of the fiercest community leaders in san francisco. if you are part of the t.a.c. team, please stand up. we would like to acknowledge you [cheers and applause] >> thank you for being leaders in our community. at the t.a.c., we help

prioritize community needs and give recommendations that advise the office of transgender initiatives and the mayor's office. i am also a human rights commission or. i was appointed by our late mayor ed lee, may he rest in peace. i would not be here today without the guidance of some amazing people like teresa sparks, cecelia chung, nikki, jason chan, and francis sang. thank you all. i mentioned this because i want to stress the importance of leadership. this recent midterm election, we had a rainbow wave, everybody. record breaking numbers of lgbtq , women, people of color elected into office. that is amazing. [applause] >> i would love to see even more leadership programs like s.f. team, transgender empowerment advocacy membership program at the san francisco community

health centre and more of encouraging civic engagement, leadership and pathways to appoint more trans and gender nonconforming folks to city boards and commissions. it is crucial to normalize trends people as leader -- transgender people as leaders. they need to see more representation that they identify with. youth need to see and believe that they can be leaders too. i love san francisco and i truly believe it is, and will continue to be the best city for my competing -- for my community to live and survive in. happy transgender awareness week , now month. thank you. [laughter] [applause] >> thank you, melanie. good day, everyone. happy day today. as someone who was born and raised in this city, which is steeped in so much history, i am proud that san francisco continues to be a leader in the

fight for justice and equality, especially as it pertains to the transgender community. while our community has been under attack, not just by the current federal administration, but by many who preceded them, we continue to exist despite their best efforts to stymie us, shut us out or eliminate us. we have history in this city. we can directly trace the lgbt civil rights movement back to the corner of turk and taylor where in 1966, the riots was the first documented collective uprising of lgbt individuals in the country. [applause] >> the riots recently inspired the founding of the transgendered cultural district. the first officially recognized transgendered district in this country. [applause] >> it's important that we remember this history. and that we consider how it impacts us today.

the tenderloin is still has the highest concentration of trends -- transgender folks in san francisco. this is changing with the tide of new development. the transgendered cultural district was created not just as a way of preserving the importance of the legacy of the tenderloin, but also as a mechanism to push back against the displacement of the transgendered community. it was created to be an advocate to serve as a resource and a safe space. it is has been -- it has been my honor to present the district thus far along with cofounders. it has also been a great pleasure to work with claire farley and others in the salespersons from the office of sales -- of transgender initiative.

oti has been a tremendous resource and support for the community being a strong advocate for inclusion and frequently prioritizing the voices of underrepresented members of the community including people of color, formerly incarcerated individuals, and the undocumented. through working with o.t.i. and serving on the trans- advisory council, we have been able to make key recommendations on how to best support the needs of the community in san francisco. these recommendations are improving access to safe housing for transgendered and lgbtq communities by providing targeted housing programs and services that prioritize vulnerable populations such as transgendered, homeless individuals, recovering from gender affirming procedures, and lgbtq older adults. improving mental health of communities by developing and implementing specific mental health services programs and peer support initiative and expanding funding such as

dedicating resources to support trans- arts and community events increasing economic development program designed for various trans- communities living in poverty are at risk of living in poverty. increasing access to education and employment opportunities by instituting gender systems, increasing access to legal immigration services and legal services for people with criminal records, increasing civic engagement of communities by developing and implementing leadership development programming, increasing care, planning and care coordination by developing and implementing navigation strategies, and reducing rates of incarceration, were recidivism, and economic disparities by increasing funding for prevention for programs focused on trans communities. we hope to be able to continue to work with the mayor process -- the mayor's office and the city and county of san francisco to make sure these recommendations are implemented so that the contributions of the

transgendered community to our city's history, strength, and culture, are not just honored, but carried forward into the future. thank you. [applause] >> we could not do this work alone without our fabulous members of the board. one particular board member new to district eight is the only out gay supervisor on the board and we could not do the work without him. please welcome supervisor mandelman. [applause] >> thank you, claire. i believe we've been joined by my colleague, asha safai. thank you.

at a time when the lgbtq community and trans people in particular are under siege from a hostile and toxic presidential administration, it is clear -- it is crucial for san francisco to stand with and support the community. i want to thank mayor breed for her strong and immediate repudiation of the president's attempt to erase transgendered people by undermining them. as a supervisor for district eight and the only supervisor, i feel a special responsibility to represent our entire queer community and to be very gay doing it. and until we have a transit supervisor, and i suspect there may be one or more of those out in the audience or behind me, it is my honor to advocate for the trans community and to be here today. in san francisco, i think we all know the transgender community continues to face disproportionate and unacceptably high rates of violence, homelessness and

unemployment. despite the advances we've made as a city, it is clear we need to invest in additional support services and resources to address these disparities. since taking office in july, i worked closely with claire and the staff at the office of transgender initiatives to start inclusive proper -- policies and programs for the folks in san francisco. the mayor did her proclamation. we have our strategic -- strategy of honor from the board of supervisors. i'm honored to share this commendation from the board with a transgendered advisory committee. this is the first of its kind. it works to address important issues impacting trends and gender nonconforming communities committee members wrote represent diverse sectors and leverage their experience to help inform local policies, priorities and grams. where is our t.a.c. leadership? come on up.

here we have this. then we will do the photograph and folks will get it. it is good. [applause] >> all right. thank you. in these challenging times, it is important we remember our history and the elders who came before us. at the same time, we must also support our trends and lgbtq youth who are the leadership of tomorrow. today i'm honored to introduce two important community leaders. donna persona is a legendary community advocate and cocreator of the compton cafeteria hit play and performer at aunt charlie got shot lounge in san francisco. or story has been featured around the world including in the out magazine article, tenderloin is the night and in the short film beautiful by night. jojo tie is the youth commissioner representing district eight and a health worker. jojo is a clear, trans and filipino born and raised in san francisco and based in the

castro. from their own life experiences of navigating personal and institutional challenges, they are committing to supporting lg deep -- lgbtq youth through luth -- youth empowerment and leadership. please welcome donna and jojo. [applause] >> good afternoon. i'm donna persona and i would like to talk a little bit about the honor i've had in cowriting the play. when i was on the fence, coming from san jose, i wanted to find people that i felt were more like me. so i don't know how i came to this decision that san francisco would be the place to come, but

i got on a greyhound bus and i came to san francisco. i couldn't get into bars, i didn't know where they were anyway. i landed on a place, compton's cafeteria. an all-night diner. i would say that is where i first -- i saw these beautiful women and i later learned that they were born as male. but i became friends with them and i learned about their lives. they had decided to match there outside with their insides. they had what i call a courageous nests. by deciding to live the way that they know that they are, they

were started by being abandoned by their families. they had no family, and they came to san francisco, and their lives became completely criminalized. they couldn't get jobs. they couldn't go to school. they couldn't get any kind of healthcare. so this play will tell the story of their lives. when you see this play and hear these stories and learn about them, you will understand what informs their choices in life. i will say that these women were sex workers and they ended up in prison, sometimes. in one case, in many cases, they found themselves in prison because they were impersonating

a woman. they were wearing women's clothes. they went to jail for that, served time, and you come out of jail, and you can't go to college, you can't get a job. so it spirals down from that. so they did what they had to do. but i knew them, and i'm saying that they were wonderful human beings, and they created a family together, themselves. so this story and this play will let people know why they made the choices they made and the bravery. their bravery. this happened 52 years ago. i would like to say that i think they put in place the foundation

of liberation. [applause] through their personal needs, this comes with a foundation. they sought out healthcare and transitions. by transitioning those days, they had what they called hormone parties. there was nothing illegal. there was no place safe to do any of this. so i hope you can imagine how traumatic that is. it is hearsay. you come to this place and you can get injections for this or that. today, i know one woman who is suffering from the procedure she had back then. imagine this. when somebody -- when one of

them ran into trouble with one of their procedures, who do they go to? i can imagine somebody saying, you didn't like what you got, go to the police. that is impossible. by laying down the things that they need, housing, education, healthcare, and just being permitted to feel normal, that's all they wanted was to feel normal. today, we are benefiting from what they laid down. the needs that transgendered people need. and with this play, this is something i say from time to time. these ladies that i knew, they were born, they lived a while,

and then they died. most of them died. they couldn't survive. so they didn't get anyone saying to them, everything you are doing and who you are is wonderful and right. they did not get to hear that. we get to hear that now and we get support. they did not get that. so what is most meaningful for me is to know that their lives are engendering good things now. so their life is not in vain. it wasn't in vain. and i want to believe -- i am honouring them and i hope you will honor them. and somehow their life was not a waste. i wasn't brave enough to do that and do what they did. but they came before us and