et cetera. in addition, seat 5 must be a historic preservation professional or a professional in a field such as law, land use, community planning or urban design, with a specialized training or demonstrable experience in historic preservation or historic preservation planning. that's seat 5. seat 2, in addition to the general criteria about interests and knowledge and experience, must be a licensed architect and must meet the secretary of the interior's professional qualification standards for historic architecture. i think that's the issue that some members of the public have discussed today. i'll tell you what those criteria are in the secretary of interior standard. the minimum professional qualifications under that

standard, for historic architecture, are professional degree in architecture or a state license to practice architecture. and one of -- one of the following two categories. either at least one-year of graduate study in architectural preservation, american architectural history, preservation planning or closely related field. or the second criteria, at least one year of full-time professional experience on historic preservation projects. and that experience or graduate study must include detailed investigations of historic structures, preparation of historic structures research reports and preparation of plans and specifications for preservation projects. ms. sow spoke about her experience on historic preservation projects. ultimately based on her

experience and the speakers who spoke about their knowledge of her background and experience, it is a decision for the board to determine whether in your judgment she meets these qualifications. and, of course, a policy decision for the board whether you choose to approve either candidate. >> thank you. yeah. that's very helpful. you know, just to have that explained. and also publicly, too. >> supervisor ronen: i wanted to suggest something. it is -- there is no doubt that these two candidates are highly qualified, accomplished individuals, who have deep connections to the community. and have, you know, already given so much to the city and our city to get more. that's not an issue at all. and, you know, i can see why the mayor chose to nominate these

two candidates. unfortunately the timing of this whole thing was that we got the nomination letter in the middle of our legislative break. and we have been struggling to get back and get caught up from being gone. so i personally haven't had a chance to sit down with either candidate. it does concern me that s.f. heritage, that is an organization that i have great respect for, who works, you know, daily on these issues, has concerns about one of the candidates. i think we take a couple of weeks to vet these and hear the concerns and make, you know, our opinions before we take a vote on this item. this is -- these are really important appointments. and they're highly technical. and not being an architect or a historic preservationist myself, i feel like i need -- i need to

do a little bit more studying on these nominations. so i would make a motion to continue this item two weeks to the september 23rd meeting. i did check with amy, at my office that will give us enough time on the c.r. -- to approve or take action on these items, in time for, you know, based on our legal requirements. so i would make that motion. does anyone want to speak or can i take that? go ahead, supervisor mar. >> yeah. well, i appreciate -- chair ronen, i appreciate your -- you know, your interest in allowing us, you know, more time to really, you know, vet these appointments. you know, i have to say, you know, after finding out about this, you know, to sort of have the hearing or consider these

appointments, just at the end of last week, you know, i did speak the weekend a little bit just trying to get more up speed on these very complex issues around historic preservation and the role the historic preservation commission, as well as, you know, reviewing the qualifications of the applicants. so and i think through this -- through the hearing this morning , and -- i mean, i guess coming into the hearing, i still had some questions about -- yeah. about this. hence even the question i posed to deputy city attorney givener. but i actually feel comfortable, you know, that both nominees are qualified for the positions. and so and i feel comfortable supporting, you know, the mayor's nomination for them. so i'm not going to support your motion to delay.

>> supervisor ronen: okay. >> it looks like it's on me. [laughter] yeah. i definitely take what s.f. heritage has to say very seriously about candidates when they come before us. but i have to say, during this hearing, i was very impressed with both candidates. and after listening to the city attorney givener, in terming what would make someone qualified, i was satisfied by what i heard from the candidates, the work that they have done, what they have demonstrated from their experience. and i do feel that it also matches with the intent of -- what the commission is for. so going out along with my colleague, supervisor mar, i

think we should move these candidates forward and make an amendment for items 4 and 5 to remove rejecting and replacing it with approving of candidates for the mayor's nomination of the appointment of chris foley and the appointment of lydia sow to the historic preservation commission. >> supervisor ronen: so i -- to make things easy, we'll withdraw my motion. i am going to vote "no" on your motion -- well, on your motion, supervisor walton, not because i necessarily don't support the candidates. but because i would have preferred to have more time. but i will do my best in the weeks to come to meet with you,

both directly and to meet with heritage and to catch up on what i think about this. so i'll be in touch with all three of but. and just want you to know that when i'm voting "no," it's not on the candidates. it's on i wish my colleagues had given me more time, because it's very busy at the moment. but i will do my best to meet with you all before tuesday. so with that can we take a roll call. >> yes. >> clerk: on the motion po attend to approve, to recommend. vice chair walton? >> yes. >> walton aye. >> member mar? >> aye. >> clerk: chair ronen? >> no. >> the motion passes. >> supervisor ronen: thank you very much. mr. clerk, is there any other items before us today? >> clerk: that completes the agenda for today. >> supervisor ronen: thank you

so much. with that, the meeting is adjourned. [gavel] >> manufacturing in cities creates this perfect platform for people to earn livelihoods and for people to create more economic prosperity. i'm kate sosa. i'm cofounder and ceo of sf made. sf made is

a public private partnership in the city of san francisco to help manufacturers start, grow, and stay right here in san francisco. sf made really provides wraparound resources for manufacturers that sets us apart from other small business support organizations who provide more generalized support. everything we do has really been developed over time by listening and thinking about what manufacturer needs grow. for example, it would be traditional things like helping them find capital, provide assistance loans, help to provide small business owners with education. we have had some great experience doing what you might call pop ups or temporary selling events, and maybe the most recent example was one that we did as part of sf made

week in partnership with the city seas partnership with small business, creating a 100 company selling day right here at city hall, in partnership with mayor lee and the board of supervisors, and it was just a wonderful opportunity for many of our smaller manufacturers who may be one or two-person shop, and who don't have the wherewithal to have their own dedicated retail store to show their products and it comes back to how do we help companies set more money into arthur businesses and develop more customers and their relationships, so that they can continue to grow and continue to stay here in san francisco. i'm amy kascel, and i'm the owner of amy kaschel san

francisco. we started our line with wedding gowns, and about a year ago, we launched a ready to wear collection. san francisco's a great place to do business in terms of clientele. we have wonderful brides from all walks of life and doing really interesting things: architects, doctors, lawyers, teachers, artists, other like minded entrepreneurs, so really fantastic women to work with. i think it's important for them to know where their clothes are made and how they're made. >> my name is jefferson mccarly, and i'm the general manager of the mission bicycle company. we sell bikes made here for people that ride here. essentially, we sell city bikes made for riding in urban environments. our core business really is to build bikes specifically for each individual. we care a lot

about craftsmanship, we care a lot about quality, we care about good design, and people like that. when people come in, we spend a lot of time going to the design wall, and we can talk about handle bars, we can see the riding position, and we take notes all over the wall. it's a pretty fun shopping experience. paragraph. >> for me as a designer, i love the control. i can see what's going on, talk to my cutter, my pattern maker, looking at the designs. going through the suing room, i'm looking at it, everyone on the team is kind of getting involved, is this what that drape look? is this what she's expecting, maybe if we've made a customization to a dress, which we can do because we're making everything here locally.

over the last few years, we've been more technical. it's a great place to be, but you know, you have to concentrate and focus on where things are going and what the right decisions are as a small business owner. >> sometimes it's appropriate to bring in an expert to offer suggestions and guidance in coaching and counseling, and other times, we just need to talk to each other. we need to talk to other manufacturers that are facing similar problems, other people that are in the trenches, just like us, so that i can share with them a solution that we came up with to manage our inventory, and they can share with me an idea that they had about how to overcome another problem. >> moving forward, where we see ourselves down the road, maybe five and ten years, is really looking at a business from a

little bit more of a ready to wear perspective and making things that are really thoughtful and mindful, mindful of the end user, how they're going to use it, whether it's the end piece or a he hwedding gown, are they going to use it again, and incorporating that into the end collection, and so that's the direction i hear at this point. >> the reason we are so enamored with the work we do is we really do see it as a platform for changing and making the city something that it has always been and making sure that we're sharing the opportunities that we've been blessed with economically and socially as possible, broadening that

>> growing up in san francisco has been way safer than growing up other places we we have that bubble, and it's still that bubble that it's okay to be whatever you want to. you can let your free flag fry he -- fly here. as an adult with autism, i'm here to challenge people's idea of what autism is. my journey is not everyone's journey because every autistic child is different, but there's hope. my background has heavy roots

in the bay area. i was born in san diego and adopted out to san francisco when i was about 17 years old. i bounced around a little bit here in high school, but i've always been here in the bay. we are an inclusive preschool, which means that we cater to emp. we don't turn anyone away. we take every child regardless of race, creed, religious or ability. the most common thing i hear in my adult life is oh, you don't seem like you have autism. you seem so normal. yeah. that's 26 years of really, really, really hard work and i think thises that i still do. i was one of the first open adoptions for an lgbt couple. they split up when i was about four. one of them is partnered, and one of them is not, and then my biological mother, who is also a lesbian.

very queer family. growing up in the 90's with a queer family was odd, i had the bubble to protect me, and here, i felt safe. i was bullied relatively infrequently. but i never really felt isolated or alone. i have known for virtually my entire life i was not suspended, but kindly asked to not ever bring it up again in first grade, my desire to have a sex change. the school that i went to really had no idea how to handle one. one of my parents is a little bit gender nonconforming, so they know what it's about, but my parents wanted my life to be safe. when i have all the neurological issues to manage, that was just one more to add to it. i was a weird kid. i had my core group of, like, very tight, like, three

friends. when we look at autism, we characterize it by, like, lack of eye contact, what i do now is when i'm looking away from the camera, it's for my own comfort. faces are confusing. it's a lack of mirror neurons in your brain working properly to allow you to experience empathy, to realize where somebody is coming from, or to realize that body language means that. at its core, autism is a social disorder, it's a neurological disorder that people are born with, and it's a big, big spectrum. it wasn't until i was a teenager that i heard autism in relation to myself, and i rejected it. i was very loud, i took up a lot of space, and it was because mostly taking up space let everybody else know where i existed in the world. i didn't like to talk to people

really, and then, when i did, i overshared. i was very difficult to be around. but the friends that i have are very close. i click with our atypical kiddos than other people do. in experience, i remember when i was five years old and not wanting people to touch me because it hurt. i remember throwing chairs because i could not regulate my own emotions, and it did not mean that i was a bad kid, it meant that i couldn't cope. i grew up in a family of behavioral psychologists, and i got development cal -- developmental psychology from all sides. i recognize that my experience is just a very small picture of that, and not everybody's in a position to have a family that's as supportive, but there's also a community that's incredible helpful and

wonderful and open and there for you in your moments of need. it was like two or three years of conversations before i was like you know what? i'm just going to do this, and i went out and got my prescription for hormones and started transitioning medically, even though i had already been living as a male. i have a two-year-old. the person who i'm now married to is my husband for about two years, and then started gaining weight and wasn't sure, so i we went and talked with the doctor at my clinic, and he said well, testosterone is basically birth control, so there's no way you can be pregnant. i found out i was pregnant at 6.5 months. my whole mission is to kind of normalize adults like me. i think i've finally found my calling in early intervention, which is here, kind of what we do. i think the access to

irrelevant care for parents is intentionally confusing. when i did the procespective search for autism for my own child, it was confusing. we have a place where children can be children, but it's very confusing. i always out myself as an adult with autism. i think it's helpful when you know where can your child go. how i'm choosing to help is to give children that would normally not be allowed to have children in the same respect, kids that have three times as much work to do as their peers or kids who do odd things, like, beach therapy. how do -- speech therapy. how do you explain that to the rest of their class? i want that to be a normal experience. i was working on a certificate and kind of getting think early

childhood credits brefore i started working here, and we did a section on transgender inclusion, inclusion, which is a big issue here in san francisco because we attract lots of queer families, and the teacher approached me and said i don't really feel comfortable or qualified to talk about this from, like, a cisgendered straight person's perspective, would you mind talking a little bit with your own experience, and i'm like absolutely. so i'm now one of the guest speakers in that particular class at city college. i love growing up here. i love what san francisco represents. the idea of leaving has never occurred to me. but it's a place that i need to fight for to bring it back to what it used to be, to allow all of those little kids that come from really unsafe environments to move somewhere safe. what i've done with my life is work to make all of those situations better, to bring a little bit of light to all

those kind of issues that we're still having, hoping to expand into a little bit more of a resource center, and this resource center would be more those new parents who have gotten that diagnosis, and we want to be this one centralized place that allows parents to breathe for a second. i would love to empower from the bottom up, from the kid level, and from the top down, from the teacher level. so many things that i would love to do that are all about changing people's minds about certain chunts, like the transgender community or the autistic community. i would like my daughter to know there's no wrong way to go through life. everybody experiences pain and grief and sadness, and that all of those things are temporary.

>> they are joining us today because we know this work is not easy. i'm joined here today by the director of mental health reform, grant colfax who is our director of the department of public health as well as yolanda who has been a client here for some time and she will be speaking to you later today. thank you for being here and all the folks who are doing the hard work. we know that mental health -- there is a mental health crisis here in san francisco and i know that we often times hear that we're being thrown around loosely. but the fact is that as someone who grew up in san francisco and know that we have had challenges in this city,

including issues around homelessness, what i see is something that i've never seen in my lifetime of growing up in the city and that is people who are in serious, serious crisis. serious need. and the fact is, in san francisco, the frustration is that we have a lot of resources. we have a lot

we have a lot of dedicated revenues to help spousht -- support people, but we have discovered that the coordination has to be better and more efficient to really help people that we know are struggling. so we have people who have, as we unfortunately know, they're homeless. they have challenges with addiction. they have a number of other ailments, including mental illness, and unfortunately have nowhere to go but the streets. we need to make sure we're prepared to meet people where they are. we know that people are cycling in and out of our emergency rooms and only to be released, to be back right on the streets where they came from. our jails and they're having trouble staying stable in our shelter systems and trouble

maintaining housing. when i was on the board of supervisors, i had a number of clients that i was specifically dedicated to, to have a better understanding of how the system was working and whether or not it could help to reach them and, sadly, those three clients who i'm still connected with, are still struggle on our streets. we have to end the cycle. we have to do more and we have to be prepared to make the hardest decisions that we've ever made before. residents like yolanda are amazing success stories and she has been a client here since 2009 and has really turned her life around and i'm really happy to have her here today. the good news is that, you know, when the city focuses and works together to address these issues, we can actually accomplish great things. back in march, i announced that we were hiring a director of mental health reform because that is exactly what we need to do with this system. dr. anton will be speaking a little bit later about what he's been doing suns he has taken over this role back in march to get us on track. today, we are launching an initiative to help those who are the most in need.

at those cross sections of homelessness, mental illness and substance use disorder. and our plan is to better coordinate the care. now i know you've all heard about the numbers. but the fact is the data with the numbers and the information wasn't necessarily clear. and that is a big part of what we want to talk about today. what is actually -- we see it. we know it is happening. we heard that there was data, but the fact is there wasn't really data in really clear, coordinated efforts. and so the ability to address this issue comes with understanding what is going on with the people and that includes the data. and analyzing the folks who are in and out of our system, understanding if they were offered services or why they refused services and where they're located after their refused services.

through this analysis done by the health department, through dr.s nagusaplan and the department of public health, we have been able to identify 4,000 people with the characteristics of the population who are really in need through these various diagnosis. and of the 4,000 individuals that we've identified who struggle with these particular challenges, 41% are in crisis, which is demonstrated by their high use of the emergency psychiatric services and 95% suffer from alcohol use disorder and the sad reality is what we're seeing is there is a real issue of equity because 35% are african american, despite the fact that we have a

population of not even 6% of african americans here in san francisco overall. this is just the beginning. the first step of this initiative that we are proposing today is understanding the data, analyzing the data, and also making direct impacts on the particular population and really digging deep into those particular issues with those particular individuals. and now as a result, what we plan to do about it, this is just the beginning of several initiatives that we planned to announce to ream get deep into the weeds of addressing mental health in san francisco. i want to be clear. there is not one thing that we will be able to do to address this issue. there are a number of things that we will put forward over the coming weeks to help the public better understand the issue, to help the public

better understand and appreciate the people who are working in this industry, the ones who are helping us deal with these issues every single day. to help people better understand that there are folks that we've been able to help and to support and that many of the programs that we have in place do work. but there is a need for reform. there is a need to increase capacity and to better examine, you know, new ways to address this issue. the first step in the initiative that we're proposing today is to expand individual care coordination for those we have identified. so of the 4,000 -- and doctor bland will go into a little bit more detail, but to just really center in on those who are most in need and that population and to really target them with individualized coordination. we also will definitely need to

get them stabilize and stream the housing and health care process. because we have to have a safe place for them to be, to recover, to go through whatever process they need to go through to get back on their feet. and we also need to understand that this challenge is not a 9:00 to 5:00 issue. we're going to expand the hours of our behavioral health access center so people can access these services on nights and weekends. let me be clear that the three elements of the initiative are just the beginning. and so we know we have more work to do to improve transparency and the efficiency of our system and to enhance our services and improve what we need to do for the most vulnerable of our city. we are committed and we are ready to roll up our sleeves and to do the work. because this is not a political issue.

this is about people's lives. and this is about understanding this population so we can get to the root causes and to help people. it comes with a number of various layers of things that we have to do. and i know some of you are familiar with what's happening with our conservatorship legislation and how it's gone through the board and how that is going to hopefully help individuals who are refusing treatment, but in desperate need of services. that is one approach. this is another approach. we've already opened a new -- 100 mental health stabilization beds and our goal is to open 100 more by the end of this year and focusing on specific things to target this population in a way that's going

going to help turn around what we know we see on our streets every day is something that is so important. i'm sure you have this same example. you may see this same person on the corner every day, screaming and yelling. and i have a particular individual who removes his clothing and when i see him, i can't help but think this could be my father. this could be my grandfather. this could be my uncle. this could be my family member. and i want to help him. i want to make sure he gets the support he needs. it is not humane to continue to allow this to occur on our streets and that is why we have to move forward with a number of initiatives to help address this. now what we're proposing will not n many ways, be able to solve the issues that we know everyone is facing. we're not going to be able to force everyone into treatment. we know that locally the laws make it difficult to do something of that nature. but we do need to try.

we do need to kaord nate our services and we do need to make sure that we are better prepared to meet people where they are. we can't assume that when they walk into the doors of a place like this that they know what to do. we need people who are going to be able to help them understand -- people who are going to understand what the challenge is and be able to address the challenge and that doesn't include, here, fill out this paperwork and take care of this and bring your i.d.. that is not the way we are approaching this particular issue. it's about getting the kind of results where you can see and feel a difference on our streets every single day. so we have work to do in here to talk a little bit more about what we're proposing and what he's discovered since he's taken on this role as of march of this year is dr. nagusa-bland. [applause]

>> thank you, mayor breed, for your support as we embark on this multiyear effort to transform mental health and substance use care for people experiencing homelessness in san francisco. thank you, dr. colfax, for embracing the scale of the change we need in order to make a difference for this population and for the entire city. thank you also jessica for your partnership in this important work as we endeavor to trace safety and civility for our neighbors. i also want to acknowledge the community-based providers and philanthropists, clinicians and researchers, advocates and clients who dead indicate themselves to improving and saving lives in san francisco. we will need everyone working together if we're going to make the kind of impact that this population in san francisco needs. here's what we found out about our population.

we looked very closely at who used san francisco's health care and social services in the most recent fiscal year. and as the mayor pointed out, out of nearly 18,000 people experiencing homelessness, we found that close to 4,000 of them also have both a history of serious mental illness and of substance abuse disorder. we found racial inequity in the population. 35% are black or african american. when just 5% of san francisco's population is. 41% of these individuals are high users of urgent and emergent psychiatric services and 95% suffer with an alcohol use problem. now we have seen other large cities analyzed our high use of emergency services usually from a cost perspective. but as far as we know, san francisco is the first to

[inaudible] health diagnoses of people experiencing homelessness to identifying a population and tailing solutions to that population's needs. this is how we solve problems in medicine. when a patient comes to us with a complex set of issues, we are not haphazard in our approach. we test. we collect information from collateral sources. we diagnose and we treat. we use data to precisely target our problems. we inknow vaitz and, most important of all, we persist. we are here to solve problems for the entire population and confront a crisis for our city. these are the people who need help the most. helping them will make the biggest difference for them, for our health system, and for the entire community. when we talk about behavioral health, we mean mental health and substance use. we know that when someone is

suffering from a mental illness or addiction, it is a lot like a chronic health condition such as diabetes or even hypertension. when people are in treatment, they do better. when they have a setback, we don't give up. and when 4,000 san franciscans find themselves in the intersection of mental illness and substance use disorder, business as usual does not work for them. we have to find ways to use the system to bend in their direction. i'm happy to say that this work has begun. as we rolled out the first in what will be a series of recommendations we can say we are entering a new era of collaboration with the department of homelessness and supportive housing. jointly identifying the people in greatest need and relentless about getting them on a path to civility and wellness. with other city partners, we will be able to keep track of

these individuals and wherever they touch our system a care coordinator will respond. when we say we're increasing access to behavioral health care and we can promise, we promise that we're going to focus on these 200 most vulnerable people in this group right now. and work together to get them connected to housing, treatment and care. we will be meeting weekly to discuss each of these individuals and tracking their progress. we will outreach to them wherever they are. we will problem solve and remove barriers to accessing care and the lessons that we learn will ultimately help us improve the system of care for more people. going forward, the recommendations i will continue to deliver to mayor breed will be driven by clinical expertise, by data, by evidence and by the most innovative and best practices we can find or imagine. they will promote equity and transparency in our system of

care, that -- they will advance harm reduction and lower barriers. they will build on the legacy of addressing problems that might seem intractable and of making stability, wellness and recovery possible. the clients and staff here at the south of the health clinic show us that perseverance every day. with that, i'd like to introduce yolanda morris et. [applause] >> about 15 years ago, i came to san francisco because i was being abused and i fled that relationship. i didn't know anyone in san francisco, i left my clothes and i didn't look back. i was also an au addict and i was an alcoholic and i was homeless. i came here and slept in the alley. i've been every street out here that you can name and through

the years i did want to get help. i didn't know how. and so after more abusive relationships, i finally got a good guy and it was his choice for us to get clean. he said we gotta get clean in order to make it here in san francisco. i'm going to stop doing what i can do so that you can get your act together. and so i decided -- because i've been in all the shelters out here. i know how the shelters work. i decided to stay next door. i stayed there for a year. and i behaved. from there, i went into an s.r.o. they placed me in a single-room occupancy is what it is called. a room with a bathroom and i stayed there for five years and prior to me -- when i first moved into the s.r.o., my mother was dying of cancer and she didn't tell me because she knew it would take me out. i had a year of clean on me and

i didn't look back and thought that's not what my mother would want. i'm going to stay clean and i'm going to fight. soy went out and found everything that i could find. this is one of first places that i came to because i had a lot of stuff going on mentally and physically. they were able to help me get on medication. they were able to help me get therapy, to get to the root of the problem, what was going on because i had a lot of stuff going on and after doing that, i had a lot of anger issues, depression, suicidal thoughts. i had to do anger management here twice and i finally got it right and i started doing other programs. glide was out there. sage was out there. it is not out there anymore. i went to the women's re-entry center. i didn't feel comfortable at first because they walk you over there. i've also been incars rated out here in san francisco for drug possession and other things of that nature due to my drug use. and so i just slowly said i'm

going to build myself up and started doing things for women against rape and violence. i got an award from the d.a. i like the write. i started writing here. i found out that i'm a pretty good poet and i do -- i do poems here every year for the black history month. they embrace me here. i've been coming here since 2012 getting support and getting help. and i graduated from a lot of programs out there and i started doing peer mentorship through san francisco state. i've graduated from ram, i've graduated from nami. i expunged my record. i got my driver's license back. five years into my s.r.o. there was a program called brilliant corners. they came and gave out vouchers to people who are willing and ready to move out of the tenderloin and i had two weeks left and i fought hard and found me a one-bedroom and i got out of the tenderloin.

but i still come to the tenderloin because this is an ish yaoufm i know a lot of people here. i always want to do anything that i can to disclose support and help the people in the community. so i continued. i'm still with my guy. we're getting married this year. and -- [applause] thank you. and also i want to say that i was able to get a really good job through help rights 360th called maps and it's mentor and peer support. they give you a job and they give you schooling for that. so i was able to do that. and now i teach groups in jail. i teach groups to the men in san bruno on domestic violence. i teach groups to the deputies about crisis intervention training. i go out and volunteer. i do anything and everything that i can to support anyone. we work in all the collaborative court. now i was an addict nine years

ago and this is what i'm doing now. through all the help that started here at south end market. you know? they really helped me out an awful lot. they were very patient. i went through several therapists and psychologists. but finally got it right and i'll be flying away and graduating from here soon because i am moving on to other things. i have a nice full-time job now. so, yeah. that's about it. [laughter] [applause] >> well, thank you, yolanda, for sharing your story. it's amazing. it is an inspiration to us all. and we wish you the very best as you get your certification in drug and alcohol counseling. amazing work.

also, by the way, we're hiring. [laughter] just putting that out there. we're looking for right people. i'm the director of health for the city and county of san francisco. i would like to thank the mayor and thank you, dr. bland, and thank you to our host today, natalie henry berry and the hard-working staff here. this is one of the places in the city's system of care where people can get their medical care, dental and behavioral health care needs met under one roof. i've seen what the staff here, with persistent compassion have been able to do by partnering with their clients on journey to stability and wellness. they are psychiatrists, pharmacists, behavioral health clinicians, nurses and support workers who go out into the

community and meet people where they are. many clients are experiencing homelessness when they enroll in services here and most are diagnosed with both mental illness and substance abuse disorders. but the work makes a difference. and on my last visit here, i went out with the team. and this is a client, who's now housed, but was ton street for many years. wheelchair-bound, had chronic controlism, refused treatment for many years. but the team continued to engage him, continued to bailed relationship. helped him when he was ready to get healthy. helped him when he was ready to get treatment for his alcoholism. and this client, living in the tenderloin, is a valuable member of the community. is actually continuing to move that forward just like yolanda. he's now volunteering at the san francisco aids clinic

providing harm reduction materials for people who need them. he is moving the work forward and this is the kind of model of peers helping peers in a system that meets people where they are and does whatever it takes to help get them off the street w. this new data and focus on the 200, we can make a difference. i think when people are ready for treatment and volunteer for treatment, that is key. i also think we need to recognize that one of our challenges on the streets that some people will refuse treatment. some people in the most dire needs of treatment will refuse treatment. so we need to be there when people are ready to go into the services and meet them. when they're ready. but we also need laws like the conservatorship law to provide people with the support for short-time conservatorship to help them save their lives. these are life-saving interventions. and that persistent compassion is what we have seen here and what we've come to expect from

our director of mental health reform in. a few short months, he's transformed the way many of us think about caring for people experiencing the intersection of homelessness, serious mental illness and substance abuse disorders. this is a population, as you've heard of 4,000 people who require specialized solutions. kit take a while. it can take time for them to achieve their goals. but we know that wellness and recovery is possible, as you've heard today. and with our partners at the department of homeless systems and supportive housing, thank you, jeff, for being here today and the human services agency. we have agreed for the first tomb on ways to identify, treat and house the most vulnerable population in our city. and mayor london breed to spark the champion of harm reduction, someone who understands the inequities that lead to core health outcomes and that we must continually push harder to overcome. under her leadership, san

francisco continues to invest in health care and housing that our city needs. thank you, mayor breed. and thank you all for being here today. thank you to the team and let's move forward together. [applause] >> thank you. again, thank you so much, yolanda, for sharing your story. and stories like yolanda's is why we do the work. it is what we care about the most because the fact is, you know, people go through challenges. people go through struggles. and nine years being clean and sober takes a lot of work. it takes a lot of courage and to get up here and tell your story will have such a tremendous impact on so many other people's lives and hopefully encourage them to get the help and the support that they need. and i think that is important to remember in having the conversation about the struggles and the success stories. because we are not going to

give up. and i know that people in san francisco are frustrated by what they see on our streets. i'm frustrated. but i'm not going to give up. i think it is important that we have ways to help people. that with our additional $53 million in investment and behavioral health program that our additional $100 million in investment, the homeless supportive services indicates that we're willing to make investments. now it is time to put those investments to good use. and to understand that every dollar we spend on this issue is a dollar that can change someone's life. and so we have to be deliberate in our approach to really focus on this and make sure it is not a political issue. this is a long-term plan of action that will deliver the kind of results that will help people, like yolanda, get really a second chance at

living a healthy, productive and thriving life. so thank you for all of you for being here today. and again, i want to express my appreciation to the team and the folks who are working with so many of the clients that i know things can be challenging, but the fact that you're here, i know that you've not given up. this work is rewarding, especially when you're able to get the kinds of results that show that supporting people like yolanda do yield and so it really means a lot to have so many incredible, dedicated people doing this work every single day because it is not easy. and i'll tell you that, you know, because you all know that i spend a lot of time walking the streets and having the conversations and going out there with some of our teams and having the conversation.

within two hours of walking just four blocks, i was mentally exhausted with the conversations that i had and also trying to get people the help and the support that they needed and just work that -- the energy and the emotion that goes into trying to help people every single day is something that's admirable and i want us to really appreciate the folks who are part of, you know, our mental teams and our nonprofit organizations and our homeless out reach workers and even law enforcement and the work that we're out there doing to help change and save people's lives. this is the first of many steps that we plan to take and, again, this is, i know, a very complex issue. it's not wraped in the usual political package that the press, i know, wants to see it wrapped in. but this is actually what we need to do. get into the nuts and bolts, make the right decisions and get out there and make the

changes that will help impact the people that we are here to serve. so thank you all so much for being here today. and dr. colfax and dr.s blanlz -- dr. bland will be here to answer any further questions that you might have. thank you. [applause] [♪] >> i just wanted to say a few words. one is to the parents and to all of the kids. thank you for supporting this

program and for trusting us to create a soccer program in the bayview. >> soccer is the world's game, and everybody plays, but in the united states, this is a sport that struggles with access for certain communities. >> i coached basketball in a coached football for years, it is the same thing. it is about motivating kids and keeping them together, and giving them new opportunities. >> when the kids came out, they had no idea really what the game was. only one or two of them had played soccer before. we gave the kids very simple lessons every day and made sure that they had fun while they were doing it, and you really could see them evolve into a team over the course of the season. >> i think this is a great opportunity to be part of the community and be part of programs like this. >> i get to run around with my other teammates and pass the ball. >> this is new to me. i've always played basketball or football. i am adjusting to be a soccer mom. >> the bayview is like my

favorite team. even though we lose it is still fine. >> right on. >> i have lots of favorite memories, but i think one of them is just watching the kids enjoy themselves. >> my favorite memory was just having fun and playing. >> bayview united will be in soccer camp all summer long. they are going to be at civic centre for two different weeklong sessions with america scores, then they will will have their own soccer camp later in the summer right here, and then they will be back on the pitch next fall. >> now we know a little bit more about soccer, we are learning more, and the kids are really enjoying the program. >> we want to be united in the bayview. that is why this was appropriate >> this guy is the limit. the kids are already athletic, you know, they just need to learn the game. we have some potential college-bound kids, definitely. >> today was the last practice of the season, and the sweetest moment was coming out here while , you know, we were setting

up the barbecue and folding their uniforms, and looking out onto the field, and seven or eight of the kids were playing. >> this year we have first and second grade. we are going to expand to third, forth, and fifth grade next year bring them out and if you have middle school kids, we are starting a team for middle school. >> you know why? >> why? because we are? >> bayview united. >> that's right.

>> this is the regular meeting of the board of education for the san francisco unified school district. it is september 10, 2019. [roll call]