so my name is christopher meika. i'm an s.r.o. tenant and a resident of district nine, supervisor ronan's district, near 16th and mission. i'm here today to apply for seat one on the city's s.r.o. taskforce. i'm proudly running as part of a queer s.r.o. housing slate with courtney brown. i moved to the commission 23 years ago. i came to live in an s.r.o. via homelessness. a few years ago, i suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fall, and as an eventual result of my injury and subsequent inability to function, i became unhoused. being newly permanently disabled and becoming -- and being homeless was a nightmare. a significant part of that

nightmareishness was a struggle to try to access homelessness and housing services, and to understand anything coherent about the serviceservice's landscape. in the end, after being rejected, my case was picked up and i was placed in an s.r.o. last july. i first became interested in s.r.o. residents and quality of life issues last year during the campfire, when i lobbied my landlord to help the residents of our building, which is primarily composed of poor people who have chronic health issues. i wanted them to help -- i wanted our residents to receive particulate masks so they could breathe safely. my s.r.o. building manager more or less laughed in my face. however, i was,

fortunately, able to procure 100 masks via a donation from a local organization. and i distributed them myself doo door to door to every person in my building. to me, this moment begs the question: how is this supportive housing? obviously, s.r.o. organizations, who have multi-million contracts with the city, can and must do better when it comes to caring for their residents. you know, and i'd like to enable that. my other active experience over the last nine months includes volunteering with the "q" foundation, related fighting for civil rights of our city's homeless. i believe all lgbtq people, especially the transgender community, deserve to feel safe, and that's why i'm glad that

supervisor ronan has passed legislation making bathrooms safer for transgenders. is my time up? >> chairwoman: yes. but if you want to conclude your thought, that is fine. >> i would be honored if you chose me for s.r.o. taskforce. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. any questions? no? thank you so much. next is, if we could hear from randall sloan? good morning. how are you? >> my name is randall sloan. i won't take much of your time this morning. but i'd be honored to serve on the s.r.o. taskforce. i've lived in an s.r.o. for six years in soma. and i've also, for the last four years, have been associated with central city s.r.o. collaborative, and that's an organization that advocates for s.r.o.

tenants in the tenderloin and in soma. we go in and build relationships with tenants and with landlords, and we help tenants have more -- have more quality of life by dealing with issues of habitability and relationships with landlords and that sort of thing. so i've learned to be a real strong advocate for s.r.o. tenants, again, intentar loin and in soma, in tenderloin and in so manya. i think it makes me uniquely qualified to serve on the seat in the s.r.o. taskforce. that's all i have to say today. i really would be honored to serve as a member of this taskforce. thank you so much. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. any questions? no? thank you so much. i appreciate you being

here. >> thank you so much. >> chairwoman: next, if we can hear from sarash patel? not here. shanita gardener. hi. good morning. >> hello. my name is shanita gardner, and i am a residence coordinator for the housing development. i work with single occupancy residents. i have been doing this for four years, but before i started doing this, i was a desk clerical with he herita's management. i feel i should be on the board because this is what i do: i help single residents try to get their lives together. they've been on the streets for 10 to 15 years, and they need someone who is going to be able to help them get

themselves together so they can move on to something better. it has been my passion to help the single occupant residents. it is something i love to do. we have created great programs for them. we make sure they don't go hungry. and so i just think that -- i'm sorry. i'm nervous, but i think that i would be a good candidate to serve on the board for single occupancy residents, if you'll have me. think that's it. >> chairwoman: thank you. thank you so much. you did great. next, if we'll here from dion roberts. >> good morning, chair ronan and supervisors walton and mar. my name is dion roberts. i'm the executive director of mary elizabeth inn. i stand here today with my

colleagues, staff, and our property management team. there are individuals here today seeking appointment to seat for people who work for very large influential non-profits, who have several s.r.o.s, and affordable housing projects throughout san francisco, well-established voices in the community, who have had representation on an s.r.o. taskforce for years. i encourage the rules committee to consider a new voice in mary elizabeth. the s.r.o.is the only housing option for homeless individuals with low income and special needs. this housing resource needs to remain accessible, clean, and safe, and code and ordinance-compliant. mary elizabeth inn has been housing the single adult woman seeking safe and affordable housing

sings 1914. and since 1996, the single adult homeless women from the streets and shelters, including domestic violence shelters. in 2009, when the care not cash program was implemented, i consider it a win/win/win situation. more guest hotels transitioned into s.r.o.s for the city's homeless population, and non-profit organizations, like m.e.i., could master lease the buildings, administer housing programs, and basically fulfill our mission. 10 years later -- 10 years later, it's the city and residents who are losing. you've heard at least one example from a tenant representative earlier. non-profits are losing, but the property owners are winning. i have a few ideas to bring to the taskforce.

and effort to work with private tenants -- excuse me -- private property owners, the tenants, and other city agencies so that the taskforce is truly fulfilling its mission of improving the quality of life for residents. i ask that you appoint me to seat number four on the s.r.o. taskforce. and i thank you for your time. i'd like to know if you have any questions. >> chairwoman: supervisor walton? >> just a quick question because i believe ms. roberts said seat number four, but i'm seeing seat number three here. >> i believe there was an advised agenda. >> thank you. perfect. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next, can we hear from courtney brown?

>> good morning, supervisors. i'm really honored to be here today, and honored to be part of the s.r.o. housing justice slate, along with ms. davis and mr. meika. we're an entirely queer slate, providing a space to better advocate for our lgbt members of the community. when i moved to san francisco 10 years ago, i had no idea what an s.r.o. was. i found out by repeatedly joining the community in volunteer efforts. i volunteered with the san francisco suicide hot line before i became the hotline director a few years ago. i volunteered at the aids foundation with the harm reduction center. i volunteered treating hospice patients, and i found out almost all of the services are used primarily by s.r.o. tenants. i think something we really need to improve in this community is opportunity to hear from

the members, the tenants of these organizations of s.r.o.s. i think that there hasn't been enough opportunity to listen to them, and that's something that i'm very good at doing. since i've been working at tenderloin housing clinics since july, i've found so many different issues that seem to be facing tenants. i'm noticing that there is not enough harm reduction space for them. there aren't enough harm reduction services accessible to them, leading to a rise in overdoses. i, in fact, lost a client this morning to an overdose. i find there are not enough accessible mental health services, who are causing higher rates of evictions for people who are not receiving the services. i found that there is a lack of support for members of our community who are undocumented, and some of the only advocates that they have that they feel like they can trust in figuring out how to retain their housing in

san francisco and retain their residencies in the united states is their case managers. and i feel that one of my best assets is organizing groups of people, finding out what they need, and figuring out how to advocate for them, how to communicate their desires in an affective way. so if i were appointed to seat four, i know i would be able to bring together as many voices as possible from my organization, and find out what they need in order to stay well and secure in their housing. thank you. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. >> any questions? >> chairwoman: all right. thank you. next if we can call up alejandro garcia. >> good morning, supervisors, and this is very nerve-racking, i can tell you that. but, you know, it's an honor to stand before you. and i would have never imagined ever in my life

being in front of any supervisors in the city of san francisco. [laughter] >> but i would like the thank the rules committee for the opportunity to present myself as a candidate to the taskforce. and i would also like to thank the taskforce for allowing me to sit in and observe. i have been in the clab ficollaborative for over a year now, helping tenants communicate with building management, and working with landlords and building management about issues and/or repairs they have in their hotels, both private and non-profit s.r.o.s. in my past, i have worked with families and individuals in different states, primarily working in one of the first few southern states that expanded medicaid under the affordable care act, during the initial rollout, so that was a nightmare, but we were able to enroll about 10% above our threshold that

was required by c.m.s. i have also worked as a representative for farm workers in the north coast, including sanoma county and napa county, to enforce existing, long-standing labor contracts in those cities. i would appreciate being in the s.r.o. taskforce. i look forward to working with all tenants, from both private and non-profit s.r.o.s, as well as with building managers, so we can build a cohesive group and understand what we can do to better the living standards and situations. thank you. and i'm open to any questions or concerns. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. any questions? no? thank you for being here. >> thank you, again. >> chairwoman: next we'll hear from clifford gilmore.

hello. good morning. >> good morning to the chair, supervisor ronan, and the distinguished members of this body. my name is clifford gilmore, and i'm with the city collaborative, which is part of the housing clinic. and i recently had the privilege and honor of serving on this past taskforce term. and for our organization, the real scope and body of our work is really around tenant rights. but our philosophy has been, and continues to be, to try to build a partnership between tenants and operators and property owners so that in pursuit of actually improving, together, a partnership, the quality of life for owners as well as tenants. and so i feel as though bringing that perspective to the taskforce has allowed me to see a

broader perspective among the different participants who make up that body because we deliberate, but we deliberate based on facts and information that some of the agencies provide. and so when that happens, we're able to submit to you some sort of recommendation as an advisory body. so with that, i really decided i wanted to offer my service again, in hopes of just moving the taskforce forward in a positive way, with the understanding that there some, obviously, people who came before me, and the standard that they set i think is important, and i just want to be part of a body that continues that legacy. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. >> thank you. >> chairwoman: is angela chu here to speak next? i don't see her.

okay. raul fernandez barrio saba? not so bad? >> very good. thank you. good morning, supervisors, always good seeing you. i appreciate being here. one promise i have, i'm not going to use the three minutes. three minutes sounds like three weeks to me. i don't like to talk about myself a lot. but i'm an immigrant from mexico. i came here in the early '90s, with $80 in my pocket. i ended up homeless in downtown l.a., in skid row, so i have that first experience with homelessness, and i know what it feels like to be out there in the streets, unable to take a shower, and smell una ri urine on other, and not knowing where your next meal is coming from. i obviously followed the path that many immigrants did, for four years or so,

i was coating asbestos without any protections in the bay view or whatnot. so i'm always hopeful that nothing wrong develops down the road. and then in the mid-'90s i did my transition to the non-profit field. so i work for the city of south san francisco, teaching third, fourth, and fifth graders, and i work with the city of san francisco serving severely emotional, disturbed youth. i was working in community services, doing probably the first housing site on thomas street. i also worked for the mental health issues as the director of the institute on compulsive hoarding and cluttering. and for the last four years, i've been the coordinator of the s.r.o.'s collaborative, in four neighborhoods in the city: chinatown, mission, south of market,

and the tenderloin, where we're, like, doing a lot of advocacy policy and education to work with over 700 families living in s.r.o.s, in sub-standard conditions, eight-by-eight rooms, no kitchen, no bathroom. and some of them are paying as much as $2,000 a month. so, unfortunately, what we're observing is many of these families are stuck without any real access to affordable housing. and sadly, we're seeing -- we know that the children living in s.r.o.s are not meeting their developmental milestones. and we're seeing this intergeneric racial phenomenas. so i would just like to submit my name out there for your consideration, and as a form of endorsement, i would like

to recommend juan garcia, chris and courtney brown, with whom i've had the pleasure to work in the past. thank you so much. >> chairwoman: you didn't talk about yourself, but you almost used your three minutes. [laughter] >> chairwoman: it goes fast, doesn't it? thank you so much. [laughter] >> chairwoman: and last, but certainly not least, jordan davis. >> okay. so i want to start off with a quote by alexandria cortez, "you don't have to be perfect, but you do have to be 100% committed." ni namnimy name is jordan davis. i'm one of very few transgender people seeking seats on boards and commissions, and i'm a self-advocate for disabled folks. i'm a fellow in the 2018

class of the boards and commissions leadership institute. in addition to my service on the taskforce, i'm part of the home coalition, the voluntary services coalition, the labor lgbtq organization, and the homelessness working group. and i'm involved in the s.r.o. work group, which is currently dormant right now. over the past few years, i have advocated for the rights of s.r.o. tenants, such as hotels conversion 2.0, and first of its kind legislation that would require single occupancy toilet seats being gender neutral. thank you, hillary, for working on that with me. even some people voted against it, which broke my heart. weeks ago on the taskforce hasn't always been easy, and i have thought of quitting, due to trans phobic transgressions, but

they deserve dignity and not being rent-burdened. on the taskforce, i helped to bring populations to specific resources to a tenant resource directory, and brought housing justice issues, and there may be therapy puppies coming into my building soon. in terms of the future, i would like the non-profit hotels and do it without compromising budgets. i would like to see discussions about what happens in s.r.o.s. i would like to see ways we can further protect s.r.o. tenants from mice entering the building. and lastly, i want to say that i would like to pay it forward and help recruit christopher meika for seat one and courtney brown for seat four, because i

believe in a city where the housing crisis seems to be getting worse, we need to respond with the best and with a can-do attitude. we are the s.r.o. justice housing slate, and we also support shanita gardner for seat three. we are pro-equity, and we hope to have your support. by the way, supervisor matt haney just texted me last night, and he is supporting the slate. [applause] >> chairwoman: thank you so much. now i'd like to open up this item to public comment. if there is any member of the public who would like to speak on this item, if you could line up to my left, your right. and whoever wants to kick us off, go ride ahead. thank you so much. >> hi, good morning, supervisors. my name is harvey williams, d-4 resident. i'm here to voice my support for the housing

justice slate of canada's, including courtney brown, and christopher meika, and jordan davis. all of them are passionate about improving the quality of life for s.r.o. residents. through christopher's experience with the "q" foundation, jordan's work as a current member of the s.r.o. taskforce, and courtney's experience working for a non-profit housing provider, they have knowledge about the stakeholders involved, and have shown themselves well-qualified for the taskforce positions. i've worked closely with christopher and jordan on issues related to homelessness and housing. they bring an empassioned opinion. i strongly urge you to support christopher, jordan, and courtney for these positions. thank you. >> christopher: thank you s>> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker. >> good morning,

supervisors. i'd like to speak on behalf of randall for seat one. i've worked with him for four years. i'm a private tenant organizer with the s.r.o. collaborative, central city, and i would think he would be a very good choice for this seat because he is carrying. he understands people. i lived in the s.r.o. for 11 years, and was a tenant organizer. so it takes a lot to be a person that lives in the s.r.o. to be concerned about people living in s.r.o.s. thank you. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. hi. good morning. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is gail secras, and i work with the s.r.o. collaborative, and i'm here on randall's behalf. i have worked with him, just as brenda has, for four years. i believe he is wonderful. he is so good with the tenants. i've gone out many times

on the out reach with them, and he has a demeanor that is just owe relaxing, and they respond well with him. i think he would be a great asset if you appointed him to seat one. thank you. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is lindsay mullkahe. when i started at the collaborative almost two years ago, i was tasked with running our private hotel outreach program. randall, also known as r.j., is a person who really showed me the ropes. he has been with their program for four years now. where he conducts door-knocking, advising tenants on their rights, and he works closely with individual tenants to resolve habitability issues. i want to note that two-thirds of the s.r.o.

units in san francisco are privately operated. while they don't have the same visibility as the non-profits, they are a majority in the city, and they often are underlooked and don't have access to the resources and the support that non-profits do. so we believe r.j.'s experience in our program, combined with his position as a hotel desk clears, and his personal experience living in an s.r.o. makes him an expert on non-profit and private s.r.o.s. i also want to note his inner personal skills. r.j. has shown me how to listen to tenants, how to gain trust, ho t how to be patient when you're dealing with what seems like a never-ending bedbug case -- we've had many -- and how to collaborate. he is connected to the lgbtq, disabled communities, as well as has a really strong

regional and economic class lens that he brings to not only understand individual tenants, but the larger political and economic situation of housing and displacement in san francisco. i would also love to submit my recommendations for courtney brown for seat four, and juan garcia for seat five. i've worked with them both. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. hi, good morning. >> thank you, supervisors, for what is a daunting task that you have to to provide here. my name is cathy black, and i'm executive director at san francisco's oldest and largest provider of shelter and support to victims and survivors of domestic and intimate partner violence. we have collaborated with many programs in this city, but really in a very intense and comprehensive way with the mary

elizabeth inn, and the hotel ver ow verona. for about 20 years we've been in partnership, and it is a really wonderful part of what we do. we provide support services at both locations. and i think if you're looking for a bold, outspoken, new, innovative, inclusive voice, i hope you'll consider dion roberts. thank you very much. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker. >> good morning. my name is sanqia, and i'm a property manager for mary eel let elizabeth inn. and i worked under ms. roberts for the last seven years. i have not met such a dedicated person as she is. she is always looking for new ways to implement new program that brings positive changes. so any time there is any new programs or anything

going on, she is always like, come here. and sometimes i'm, like, oh, man, here she goes, but that shows how dedicated and compassionate she is about over all community. i don't think there is a better person, so please consider her. thank you. >> hello, supervisors. i'm here in support of the s.r.o. housing justice slate of courtney brown for seat four, christopher meika for seat one, and jordan davis for seat nine. i have so many great things to say about christopher and jordan. i really respect these individuals so much, and have seen them do so much work on the d.s. a. housing and homelessness committees. but i want to focus most of my time talking on courtney brown, who is a former co-worker of mine at the tenderloin housing

clinic, and someone who helps connect me to the san francisco suicide prevention hotline that i now work on. courtney has soft-pedalled some of her accomplishments. she really, like, wrote the training manual that we use at the suicide prevention hotline. she was a tremendously important advocate for folks on the margins of society who are experiencing suicidal ideation. oftentimes these feelings are related to, you know, their housing and things that feel outside of people's control. i don't think that there is maybe anyone in the city who is better positioned to really hear and understand the really intense problems that people in the marginal society are experiencing. working with her at

t.h.c., i saw her rise immediately to a position of great leadership in the organization, where she has been sort of looking after over 2,000 tenants as a supportive housing manager and deputy director of support housing. >> chairwoman: thank you very much. >> my name is clifford gilmore. i am here in support of who we affectionately called r.j. for district one. it is said you know a tree by the fruit it bears. and r.j. has been in our

program for about four years. and he is really the foundational and pillar of our private organizing efforts. that effort, as mentioned, is working with private property owners and privately-run hotels. the structure is not there that is there in supportive housing. but as r.j. emphasizes, it is about building relationships with tenants and management to work together to solve issues together. and so he has this quiet leadership skill about him. he is not necessarily a vocal leader, but he is a very detailed person who wants to sit down and find solutions. and so his track record is proven for our program, and i think he would unquestionably be a great representative on a body that needs to understand that none of us get everything that we want, but sometimes we have to be willing to see the big picture and also work

together and compromise. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. is there any other member of the public who would like to speak? seeing none, public comment is closed. i just wanted to start out by saying thank you, again, so much. we have amazing, qualified applicants. and i guess wil there are two seats that we have to make a choice. i wanted to see if either of my colleagues wanted to say anything. i'm happy to hear -- >> again, once again, we are brought, of course, with a hard decision to make. i want to thank everyone for coming out today. this also is important work. seeing you here, i'm encouraged to see that so many people want to fight for our tenants and our s.r.o.s, and make sure there is collaborative work so they get the support and services they need.

we appreciate each and every one of you. we have less seats available than we do than the folks nominated, but i want you to stand encouraged and continue to do the work because there are more seats and more task forces to serve on in the future. >> chairwoman: supervisor mar? >> i would just add my thanks to all of you, not just for your willingness to serve on the s.r.o. taskforce, but for awful the work that you do to protect and improve our s.r.o. housing stock, which is such an important part of our housing stock for low income residents here in the city. and i did want to say that maybe focused on one of the contested seats, where we have a difficult choice to make, on seat four. i very much appreciateed

and was impressed by courtney brown's tremendous work at the enter loitenderloin housing clic and as an activist on these important issues. i would move that we recommend an appointment of dion roberts to seat number four for the s.r.o. taskforce because i think it is very important to have the important sort of perspective that she would bring to the table with the depth of her experience working with formerly homeless women with special needs, who are very low income, and many of whom are survivors of domestic violence. i think that's an incredibly important perspective that we want to have represented on the s.r.o. taskforce. >> chairwoman: yes, again. you have to understand the impossible situation that we're in up here because we get too many qualified people for the seats.

and so what we're looking for is balancing out the different types of expertise and communities represented on one body, knowing that, you know, all these meetings are public, and the input of everyone is always appreciated, and that we like to rotate as much as possible representation on the taskforce. so i want to say i very much you know, deeply appreciate the work of court mcourtney brown, who is an amazing, amazing individual, but i would tend to agree with my colleague, supervisor mar, that having representation from the mary elizabeth inn, who hasn't had as strong of a voice on this commission is something new that we can gain. i think that's important. and that's not meant, in

any way, to disrespect the slate or to disrespect ms. brown, who is extraordinary. i would tend to agree there. this one -- the other one is also very hard because here we have christopher meika and randall sloan, both residents of s.r.o.s, one who is my constituent, and i just so deeply respect both of your expertise. the work that you do to advocate for your communities is absolutely extraordinary. and i could not commend you enough. and i wish that i could put you both on this body. and, you know, i would just say that i'm going to put a motion forward to move forward randall sloan to the position. again, because of just the community who came out to speak today and spoke of the impacts that you're

having, mr. sloan, on your community and your building. that really impacted me. which is not to say mr. meika, that you're impact is any less extraordinary. it's just, how do you resolve an impossible situation? i don't know. so, again, just like we said with the immigrant rights commission before us, where i could have appointed any member, i feel the same way here. so i would encourage you to apply to open seats in the future, and to continue to invest and be involved in this important body in our city. so with that, i just want to put forward the full motion and see if that works for my colleagues. so i will make a motion for the appointment of -- sorry, let me make sure i'm getting this right.

where is my papers here? i want to get all of this right. so i would put forward randall sloan for seat one. surash patel for seat two. shanita gardner, seat three. and for seat three, with a residency waiver. dion roberts for seat four. juan alejandro gar garcia for seat five with a residency waiver. clifford gilmore for seat six. angela chu for seat seven, and raul fernandez for seat eight, and jordan davis for seat nine.

is that okay? can i take that without objection? without objection, that motion passes. thank you so much to everyone. is there any other items on the agenda? >> that completes the agenda for today. >> chairwoman: that completes the agenda. then the meeting is adjourned. thank you so much.

as latinos we are unified in some ways and incredibly diverse in others and this exhibit really is an exploration of nuance in how we present those ideas. ♪ our debts are not for sale. >> a piece about sanctuary and how his whole family served in the army and it's a long family tradition and these people that look at us as foreigners, we have been here and we are part of america, you know, and we had to reinforce that. i have been cure rating here for

about 18 year. we started with a table top, candle, flower es, and a picture and people reacted to that like it was the monna lisa. >> the most important tradition as it relates to the show is idea of making offering. in traditional mexican alters, you see food, candy, drinks, cigarettes, the things that the person that the offerings where being made to can take with them into the next word, the next life. >> keeps u.s us connects to the people who have passed and because family is so important to us, that community dynamic makes it stick and makes it visible and it humanizes it and makes it present again. ♪ >> when i first started doing it

back in '71, i wanted to do something with ritual, ceremony and history and you know i talked to my partner ross about the research and we opened and it hit a cord and people loved it. >> i think the line between engaging everyone with our culture and appropriating it. i think it goes back to asking people to bring their visions of what it means to honor the dead, and so for us it's not asking us to make mexican altars if they are not mexican, it's really to share and expand our vision of what it means to honor the dead. >> people are very respectful. i can show you this year alone of people who call tol ask is it

okay if we come, we are hawaii or asian or we are this. what should we wear? what do you recommend that we do? >> they say oh, you know, we want a four day of the dead and it's all hybrid in this country. what has happened are paper cuts, it's so hybrid. it has spread to mexico from the bay area. we have influence on a lot of people, and i'm proud of it. >> a lot of tim times they don't represent we represent a lot of cultures with a lot of different perspectives and beliefs. >> i can see the city changes and it's scary. >> when we first started a lot

of people freaked out thinking we were a cult and things like that, but we went out of our way to also make it educational through outreach and that is why we started doing the prosession in 1979. >> as someone who grew up attending the yearly processions and who has seen them change incrementally every year into kind of what they are now, i feel in many ways that the cat is out of the bag and there is no putting the genie back into the bottle in how the wider public accesses the day of the dead. >> i have been through three different generations of children who were brought to the procession when they were very young that are now bringing their children or grandchildren. >> in the '80s, the processions were just kind of electric.

families with their homemade visuals walking down the street in san francisco. service so much more intimate and personal and so much more rooted in kind of a family practice of a very strong cultural practice. it kind of is what it is now and it has gone off in many different directions but i will always love the early days in the '80s where it was so intimate and son sofa millial. >> our goal is to rescue a part of the culture that was a part that we could invite others to join in there there by where we invite the person to come help us rescue rescue it also.

that's what makes it unique. >> you have to know how to approach this changing situation, it's exhausting and i have seen how it has affected everybody. >> what's happening in mission and the relationship with the police, well it's relevant and it's relevant that people think about it that day of the dead is not just sugar skulls and paper flowers and candles, but it's become a nondenominational tradition that people celebrate. >> our culture is about color and family and if that is not present in your life, there is just no meaning to it you know? >> we have artists as black and brown people that are in direct danger of the direct policies of the trump a administration and i think how each of the artists has responsibilitie responded ss

interesting. the common >> my apartment burned down 1.5 years ago in noba. my name is leslie mccray, and i am in outside beauty sales. i have lived in this neighborhood since august of this year. after my fire in my apartment and losing everything, the red cross gave us a list of agencies in the city to reach out to and find out about various programs that could help us get back on our feet, and i signed up for the below market rate program, got my certificate, and started applying and won the housing lottery. this particular building was

brand-new, and really, this is the one that i wanted out of everything i applied for. and i came to the open house here, and there were literally hundreds of people looking at the building. and i -- in my mind, i was, like, how am i ever going to possibly win this? and i did. and when you get that notice that you want, it's surreal, and you don't really believe it, and then it sinks in, yeah, i can have it, and i'm finally good to go; i can stay. my favorite thing about my home, although i miss the charm about the old victorian is everything is brand-new. it's beautiful. my kitchen is amazing. i've really started to enjoy cooking. i really love that we have a gym on-site. i work out four days a week, and it's beautiful working outlooking out over the courtyard that i get to look

at. it was hard work to get to the other side, but it's well worth it. i'm super grateful to the mayor's office of housing for having this for us. [♪] >> i am the supervisor of district one. i am sandra lee fewer. [♪] >> i moved to the richmond district in 1950 mine. i was two years old. i moved from chinatown and we were one of the first asian families to move out here.

[♪] >> when my mother decided to buy that house, nobody knew where it was. it seems so far away. for a long time, we were the only chinese family there but we started to see the areas of growth to serve a larger chinese population. the stress was storage of the birthplace of that. my father would have to go to chinatown for dim sum and i remember one day he came home and said, there is one here now. it just started to grow very organically. it is the same thing with the russian population, which is another very large ethnic group in the richmond district. as russia started to move in, we saw more russian stores. so parts of the richmond is very concentrated with the russian community and immigrant russian community, and also a chinese immigrant community. [♪]

>> i think as living here in the richmond, we really appreciate the fact that we are surrounded three natural barriers. they are beautiful barriers. the presidio which gives us so many trails to walk through, ocean beach, for families to just go to the beach and be in the pacific ocean. we also also have a national park service. we boarded the golden gate national recreation area so there is a lot of activity to do in the summer time you see people with bonfires. but really families enjoying the beach and the pacific ocean during the rest of the time of year. [♪] >> and golden gate park where we have so many of our treasures here. we have the tea garden, the museum and the academy of sciences. not to mention the wonderful playgrounds that we have here in richmond. this is why i say the richmond

is a great place for families. the theatre is a treasure in our neighborhood. it has been around for a very long time. is one of our two neighborhood theatres that we have here. i moved here when i was 1959 when i was two years old. we would always go here. i love these neighborhood theatres. it is one of the places that has not only a landmark in the richmond district, but also in san francisco. small theatres showing one or two films. a unique -- they are unique also to the neighborhood and san francisco. >> where we are today is the heart of the richmond district. with what is unique is that it is also small businesses. there is a different retail here it is mom and pop opening up businesses. and providing for the

neighborhood. this is what we love about the streets. the cora door starts on clement street and goes all the way down to the end of clement where you will see small businesses even towards 32nd. at the core of it is right here between here and 20 -- tenth avenue. when we see this variety of stores offered here, it is very unique then of the -- any other part of san francisco. there is traditional irish music which you don't get hardly anywhere in san francisco. some places have this long legacy of serving ice cream and being a hangout for families to have a sunday afternoon ice cream. and then also, we see grocery stores. and also these restaurants that are just new here, but also thriving. [♪] >> we are seeing restaurants being switched over by hand, new

owners, but what we are seeing is a vibrancy of clement street still being recaptured within new businesses that are coming in. that is a really great thing to see. i don't know when i started to shop here, but it was probably a very, very long time ago. i like to cook a lot but i like to cook chinese food. the market is the place i like to come to once a year. once i like about the market as it is very affordable. it has fresh produce and fresh meat. also, seafood. but they also offer a large selection of condiments and sauces and noodles. a variety of rice that they have is tremendous. i don't thank you can find a variety like that anywhere else. >> hi. i am kevin wong. i am the manager. in 1989 we move from chinatown to richmond district. we have opened for a bit, over

29 years. we carry products from thailand, japan, indonesia, vietnam, singapore and india. we try to keep everything fresh daily. so a customer can get the best out a bit. >> normally during crab season in november, this is the first place i hit. because they have really just really fresh crab. this is something my family really likes for me to make. also, from my traditional chinese food, i love to make a kale soup. they cut it to the size they really want. i am probably here once a week. i'm very familiar with the aisles and they know everyone who is a cashier -- cashier here i know when people come into a market such as this, it looks like an asian supermarkets, which it is and sometimes it can be intimidating. we don't speak the language and many of the labels are in chinese, you may not know what to buy or if it is the proper

ingredients for the recipe are trying to make. i do see a lot of people here with a recipe card or sometimes with a magazine and they are looking for specific items. the staff here is very helpful. i speak very little chinese here myself. thinks that i'm not sure about, i asked the clerk his and i say is this what i need? is this what i should be making? and they actually really helped me. they will bring me to the aisle and say this is battery. they are very knowledgeable. very friendly. i think they are here to serve not only the asian community but to serve all communities in the richmond district and in san francisco. [♪] >> what is wonderful about living here is that even though our july is a very foggy and overcast, best neighborhood, the sleepy part outside on the west side is so rich with history, but also with all the amenities that are offered.

[♪]. >> my name is jan an wong a regional paralyzing in the bureau i did not see might have as at management in the beginning which my career i have a master in civil engineering i thought i'll follow a technical career path i scombrie being able to create a comprehensive plan implement and shape it into realty love the champs of working through cost quality schedule political and environmental structuring and finding the satisfaction of seeing the project come into

fruition i've also take advantage of the sfpuc training program yunt my certification i see the flow from the pipeline into the tunnel one by one and i also had several opportunities to attend and make presentations at conferences also as a tape recording san francisco resident authenticity rewarding to know the work i do contribute to the quality of life my life and those around me