community, as well, especially seniors. i want to say thank you to kimberly hill-brown for her comments about the fact that candlestick park has had on residents and the community and how the draining of being left desolate without a teen that tet anchored the community and i want to thank five-points nadia nadia sessay, but that they had the 124 units to this plan and thank you to mr. rhodes and mr. mavry because it's near and dear to my heart. 20 years ago when they were just

starting their outreach to local businesses, to make sure that they were bayview and the remediation portion and the build-out and there would be bayview businesses, especially black businesses on every phase of this development and to see them here now 20 years later speaking and talking about how successful those programs have been not only to them as pro firproprietorship and owners ane want to see to continue to improve and expand. i believe this project gives us an opportunity as a community to move forward and to see some stability around that. and then, also, i wanted to say thank you again to oscar james, linda richardson and miss scott. and just knowing that we have a legacy of generations in san francisco and we do still have

that historic tie and knowledge still here present and seeing this project go forward with people being able to see that which has been kind of one of the biggest issues with the whole redevelopment agency, as well as cop program. the only comment i have is that i know currently small businesses were not included in the october 7, 2008 meeting and i was mainly done for residential, be bu but if thereg in to do moving forward to possibly add in something around cop businesses as the project moves forward, thank you. >> thank you, commissioner. >> commissioner ros aralis. >> my comments are brief. i think we studied, listened and heard from a technical standpoint, but what moves me as a commissioner and a san franciscoan is for the community

to tell us what moving this project moving forward at every level. my own experience as a commissioner tells me that i can trust lenar and five point to follow through. early in my days, when i first heard about this project, i had a -- you won't say a doubt, but a question, and i wanted to make sure the community was fully backing the plans, that this was not a city thing or that kind of thing and i've been convinced through not just the records that we've heard, the reports wave beewe've been given and thb development programming and the small business development, the numbers, of course, and making sure the numbers are real. we rely on our staff for all of that and the community to tell us and so i'm impressed with the work that's been done so far. i think the becauseview

community is incredibly resilient. we're talking about folks on this commission that have been experiencing -- and the room, thiawaiting this moment, if you will, for a long, long time and i am in full support of these items. >> thank you, commissioner rosalis. i just want to say that, you know, i was on this commission when -- and i said this before, when it came to redevelopment. i was appointed by mayor nusome, as a redevelopment commissioner, and i remember the long hours of discussion regarding this project. but i can't believe it's happening. and having grown up in the mission, the southeast, part of our city has been historically neglected over and over again.

and to see us be able to do something right, i think we're still lucky, especially the last few years, you know, we've been working with the lawyers and the chase center and everything we asked them to do, they did. they hired locally. they got local artists. they got local vendors. it was a community building and it was a community effort and i feel equally as bless ed this we've been working with -- i can't even -- they should be lucky to have you, coffey, your passion for running a business but lifting a community, which

most people say cannot happen and you proved that it can. cheer char. and you put a team together. be proud knowing this is one of your legacies. this project has been able to bring out some of our most incredible leaders. ann leaders who didn't agree all of the time, like dr. jackson. [ laughter ] you heard her and never made her feel like she wasn't heard and

lifted her up, even when she didn't agree and that says a lot. of course, we have others that have spoken before us today. and so, i just want to say thank you, thank you to all of you. thank you to the future workers of this project, to the future janitors, the future residents, to all of you who know that this project has come in a concontinuum of grace, passion, of hard work and this is one of the thingthe thingsi'll be the . fellow commissioners, we'll take these three items, 5b, 5c and 5d as one vote. so being a chair, i can't move this item, but i would ask for a motion, commissioner scott some.

>> yes, i would love to make the motion. >> may i have a second motion? >> i would like to second the motion. >> madam secretary, please talk your roll call. >> please announce your vote for 5b, 5c and 5d. pai (roll call). >> mr. chair, the vote is four ayes. [cheers and applause] >> madam secretary, please call the next item? >> the next is item 6, public comment on non-agenda items and we have one speaker card. oscar james. >> mr. james.

>> oscar james again and you know the last commission, something has been on my mind since that time when i first brought up the mission during the model city's area. larry decarlos was a director when we started programs in the mission. so that's been on my mind, to get that name to you guys. when you have senior moments, which you guys will be there pretty soon, you will come back to the same first step. you think of something, you go down to your basement and forget and go upstair. this is me coming upstairs, where i had that senior moment. but i want to commend this commission like i do several times a year. your dedication and the cac,

their dedication didn't our community to make things happen. without both of you, things wouldn't be possible. thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. james. >> anybody else wishing to speak and if not, ok, i'm closing public comment and we'll go to >> item.auto >> report of the clear? >> no report. >> the next is item 8, report of the executive director madam director. >> none, ok. >> the next order of business is commissioner's questions and matters. >> any questions, seeing none, hearing none. next item. >> item 10, closed session and next is 11, adjournment. >> a motion to ajourn. >> i move we ajourn. >> i second. >> thank you.

>> well, well, we have one of the most exciting projects in district 11 in over a decade.

supervisor safai, for the past 10 years, no one has been able to get a housing project of this significance built in this community, and guess what? you made it happen. [applause.] >> 116 new units, 50% affordable units for family of four making up to $123,000 a year. how incredible is that? this will provide housing for low income families and for foster care youth. i mean, this is how you get housing done in san francisco, working together, working in

partnership with sammy and people who love. the fact is people who love this community and didn't have to go above and beyond in providing higher affordability on this project but wanted to do something to support the city and county of san francisco and what we are dealing with as it relates to our housing crisis. we are grateful for you and the community is here, and i also know your family is here. i am so excited. this will make a difference. on top of that, that is not even all. 40% of the units that are built of the affordability housing will go to the people who live in this neighborhood first, neighborhood preference. the legislation that i worked on back in the day when i was on

the board of supervisors. it is going to be used on this project so that we can make sure that the community who lives here, where they might be struggling to hold on to their unit and whatever capacity, they will have a real shot of being a part of this incredible new community. i am excited about this project. i am grateful to supervisor safai for his leadership. i can't wait to be here when we open the doors for people to walk in their new places, and it is absolutely amazing. the person who led this effort to make this happen, who also did more than just help get this project through the process but also makes some zoning changes to make it possible to have as many units as we can on his site no other than supervisor safai.

[applause.] >> supervisor safai: thank you, mayor breed. i feel like i am at a family reunion, but i did joke with sia and sammy i think we could put a runway strip here. this is the largest development in the history of this neighborhood in this community. there has never been any family affordable housing built in this community. i remember sitting with them a decade ago when they laid out the vision of wanting to do something to give back to the city that they feel made their family anal -- and lifted them back up after going through a revolution in their country

they. they came here with very little and they have worked 50 years to build what we are seeing happen today. this is truly a gift to the city and county of san francisco. this is not something that is required. this is completely private land, privately financed by a family that wanted to give back to the city. i want to say thank you to the family for everything and you will their children and siblings and relatives for everything they did to make this happen. it is truly a gift. this even out paces the giant's ballpark development omission rock, which is 40% affordable on public land. 50% will below market rate. home-sf set the income. he said he wanted lower than what we laid out in the city.

we tried to do the remaining 50% as rent control. sometimes the city gets in its way. i know they will continue to keep these rents affordable for this community. they are doing so much to give back to the city and county. we talked about this over a decade ago. we sat down with mayor lee before i became supervisor. he said he would prioritize this. the reason i bring that up is because this mayor has made not anything more of a priority than building housing. that was when we sat down with mayor lee, that was in the middle of 2016. we are going to the end of 2019. even with everything that -- and i would get monday my phone

would ring. every monday i would get the call from him and family members. we are still over three years into getting this project done. this was supposed to be one of the highest priority projects in the city and county of san francisco. i know this mayor is dedicated to finding a way to cut through the layers. when a family wants to give a gift to the city, we have to wait almost three and a half years to get this done. besides all of that, i want to shout out to crazio. she guided this every step of the way on behalf of the mayor's office. my team was guiding this every step of the way. the planning department, the mayor's office of housing, city attorneys, all of the people working on behalf of the mayor. there is more to come, there are

two more projects that are 100% affordable. she dedicated an additional $53 million in the budget. we break ground in october next year on two more projects. out of all of those together, almost 600 units, 65% will be affordable below market rate units in this community and affordable to the people living here. that is a big accomplishment. i am so lucky to have a partner in the mayor's office who prioritizes this community like no mayor has done in over 20 plus years. [applause.] i could go on and on. i will hand it over to the patriarch of the family, the mind that doesn't let any little thing get away from him, but he has to be that way.

three and a half years, he has to be that way. someone was bragging about him the other day. he knows how to get projects built in san francisco. he really does. i am honored to have him as a friend and invest in this community. [applause.] >> thanks everyone. mayor, my good friend, supervisor and my family and everybody who is here. this wouldn't have happened without participation of everyone for this to happen. he is right i call every monday morning. if i wouldn't have done it, it would have taken seven years. this happened in three and-a-half years. i want to tell a story about my life, how i am here. i came with my wonderful life

about 40 years as an immigrant from iran. i have been here 1973 i came here to san francisco. i was a student and i fell in love with the city. i still love this city. i always said we have got to do something. whatever i have, i got it through hard work. being in this wonderful diversified city. we talked a lot about it. this came about in 2007 when there was a melt down and i was able to purchase these. that is when me and sammy, she is an advocat of foster and homeless kids. this came about. i said maybe we can do something about it. finally here we are. thernext step is the foundationd

get the super structure. i want to thank the wonderful mayor. i am so proud of you. you are a wonderful mayor. you are a great person. i want to tell my brother-in-law who designed this property, my kids and this is all my family. i love them all. it is great to be here. too many persons. (laughter). it is a great thing. i am so blessed. i asked my wife to be by my side. if i make a mistake she will say stage right. i think i have done go, right? she gave me a list and said

memorize this. i said i will do this. that is not me, i have to talk how i feel. that is how i do it, you know. [applause.] >> i want to thank the mayor's office of housing. wonderful job. i forgot about my wonderful friend tom. he is a big support. thanks a lot.

>> my son and i was living in my car. we was in and out of shelters in san francisco for almost about 3.5 years. i would take my son to school. we would use a public rest room just for him to brush his teeth and do a quick little wipe-off so it seemed he could take a shower every day. it was a very stressful time that i wish for no one.

my name is mario, and i have lived in san francisco for almost 42 years. born here in hayes valley. i applied for the san francisco affordable housing lottery three times. my son and i were having to have a great -- happened to have a great lottery number because of the neighborhood preference. i moved into my home in 2014. the neighborhood preference goal was what really allowed me to stay in san francisco. my favorite thing is the view. on a clear day, i'm able to see city hall, and on a really clear day, i can see salesforce tower. we just have a wonderful neighborhood that we enjoy living in.

being back in the neighborhood that i grew up in, it's a wonderful, wonderful experience. now, we can hopefully reach our goals, not only single mothers, but single fathers, as well, who are living that. live your dream, live your >> i went through a lot of struggles in my life, and i am blessed to be part of this. i am familiar with what people are going through to relate and empathy and compassion to their struggle so they can see i came out of the struggle, it gives them hope to come up and do something positive. ♪ ♪ i am a community ambassador.

we work a lot with homeless, visitors, a lot of people in the area. >> what i like doing is posting up at hotspots to let people see visibility. they ask you questions, ask you directions, they might have a question about what services are available. checking in, you guys.

>> wellness check. we walk by to see any individual, you know may be sitting on the sidewalk, we make sure they are okay, alive. you never know. somebody might walk by and they are laying there for hours. you never know if they are alive. we let them know we are in the area and we are here to promote safety, and if they have somebody that is, you know, hanging around that they don't want to call the police on, they don't have to call the police. they can call us. we can direct them to the services they might need. >> we do the three one one to keep the city neighborhoods clean. there are people dumping, waste on the ground and needles on the ground. it is unsafe for children and adults to commute through the streets.

when we see them we take a picture dispatch to 311. they give us a tracking number and they come later on to pick it up. we take pride. when we come back later in the day and we see the loose trash or debris is picked up it makes you feel good about what you are doing. >> it makes you feel did about escorting kids and having them feel safe walking to the play area and back. the stuff we do as ambassadors makes us feel proud to help keep the city clean, helping the residents. >> you can see the community ambassadors. i used to be on the streets. i didn't think i could become a community ambassador. it was too far out there for me to grab, you know. doing this job makes me feel good.

because i came from where a lot of them are, homeless and on the street, i feel like i can give them hope because i was once there. i am not afraid to tell them i used to be here. i used to be like this, you know. i have compassion for people that are on the streets like the homeless and people that are caught up with their addiction because now, i feel like i can give them hope. it reminds you every day of where i used to be and where i where i used to be and where i

>> first off, i want to give a huge shout out to the domestic violence's consortium and fearless leader of the event, beverly upton. [cheers and applause] domestic violence is an issue that spans many departments and agencies here in san francisco. as a safety, we have worked very hard to develop strong partnerships. i want to welcome supervisor catherine stefani. [cheers and applause] supervisor safai, city college trustee i.v. lee, fire chief janine nicholson, we welcome her david lazar.

representing san francisco airports, front seth -- francesca garcia, and on her way is the sharp director kelly densmore who is the new director of the office of sexual harassment and assault response and prevention. so tonight's theme is building pathways to safety. we recognize that domestic violence is an issue that impacts every gender, race, sexual orientation, immigration status, and we need to meet our diverse community members where they are. we are so proud of our partner agencies that work so hard every day to expand women's safety. if you are from one of our partner agencies, make some noise. [cheers and applause] please stay until the end of the event. as the sunsets, city hall will be let -- let purple for

domestic violence awareness month. this is the only time of the month that it will glow purple. it is truly magnificent. a wonderful selfie shot. so i want to welcome -- we are welcoming our president, the commission on the status of women, the strongest women's commission in the country. let's give that a cheer. [cheering] >> the president the lifelong advocate for women and girls and has acted as a champion for policy change in education and community and economic development. she just stepped off a plane from india, so please help me welcome president rhianna zawart

>> hi, everyone. i am very honored be here and to represent the strongest commission in the country. i'm joined tonight by our vice president, commissioners. can we give it up for our commissioners? [applause] the reason why this commission and this department is so important is because every day we live the theme of this month which is building pathways to safety. according to the national coalition against domestic violence, an average of 20 americans experience domestic violence every minute. that is 10 million victims in a single year in the u.s. and according to the coalition, domestic violence survivors receive 8 million -- lose 8 million working days. the numbers are there and they are scary. we can't get lost in the numbers because we have to remember what

happens when people are victims and survivors of domestic violence. and what i'm proud of today with this commission is that we have provided an impressive dented $8.6 million in funding to community-based organizations working across the city to support victims and survivors of violence and their families with crisis lines, counseling, case management, legal services, emergency and transitional shelters. can we give it up for a $.6 million in services for the city and county? [cheers and applause] for example, we provide essential funding to three domestic violence shelters including the first in the nation, the asian women's shelter pick the first in california -- [speaking spanish] -- and st. vincent de paul society. through these grants, we are serving thousands of victims and survivors. in 2017, our partners filled in 25,000 service calls, provided

25,000 hours of counseling and reach 12,000 individuals in violence education and prevention programs. our strong network of partners and provider services and dozens -- in dozens of languages works to ensure that their work with the survivors is done in a culturally competent and sensitive way. again, we always look past the numbers and the humanity. the people that faces every day to make sure that we are providing the needs of this community. so make some noise again for our partner agencies who are doing this work every day. we are so proud of you. [applause] even with all of that, the demand is greater than the supply. for every one person served in our emergency shelters, we are about four people who are turned away every day and placed outside of san francisco. we have to do better. there is more work to be done to ensure that survivors and their families are on a path toward safety. every day, survivors are faced with the impossible choice between remaining in an abusive environment that are potentially

life-threatening, relieving and becoming homeless. -- or leaving and becoming homeless. we must invest in expanded services and more shelter spaces for domestic violence and their families. by providing safe places for survivors and supporting them to rebuild their lives, we can break the cycle of violence. is our guest of honor here? fantastic. with that, i want to introduce someone who i am honored to work with. our supervisor catherine stefani , "i know is not afraid to stand up and defend survivors and his leadership in this city and county is unprecedented when it comes to finding pathways to safety. give it up for supervisor stefani. [cheers and applause] >> thank you so much. i want to thank the department on the status of women and the

domestic violence consortium for sponsoring today's event and everyone who came out today to show your support. it is an honor to join many community partners as we continue to fight against domestic violence. i look forward to the day when we don't have to do this. we have made great progress in the city but we know we have a lot more work to do. according to a recent united nations report, the most dangerous place for a woman around the world is in her home. more than half of all women, homicide victims in recent years , were killed by their partners or relatives, and while we know that it is not just women who are affected by domestic violence, women are far more likely than men to experience violence in the home. in the united states, more than one in three women will report experiencing abuse by domestic partners in their lifetime. this abuse impacts not only the victims, but entire families and communities.

one domestic abusers have access to guns, the effects are deadly. we know that over half of female victims were killed by the partners in the united states are killed with guns. if you are a woman in the united states, you are 16 times more likely to die by gun violence by an intimate partner then in other countries and we also know that most mass shootings in the united states, over 50% of them, are related to domestic violence listen to this statistic. this one blew me away. 92% of all women killed with guns in high-income countries in 2015 were from the united states 92% is absolutely unacceptable. we know that, and in so many cases, law enforcement and families feel powerless to stop tragedies. we have been hamstrung and getting weapons out of the hands who would harm their partners and family members, and there is no single way to win the fight

against domestic violence, but we will not win unless we continue to bring attention to this important issue and pass legislation at every single level of government. that is why i will introduce my ordinance to implement the gun violence restraining order law and a very happy to be doing that with the help of deputy chief lazar. gun violence restraining order laws give families and law enforcement the power to temporarily remove an individual 's access to firearms before they commit acts of violence. is also known as red flag laws. gun violence restraining orders save lives. i look forward to passing this legislation at the board of supervisors and continuing to work for commonsense legislation to protect those affected by domestic violence. it is really so inspiring to be here surrounded by our city's leaders and advocates who are all working, we are all on the same page, to end domestic violence in san francisco and i look forward to continuing that work with you all. thank you.

[applause] >> thank you so much, supervisor stefani. a couple other folks to recognize. representing the sheriff's office, we have deputy kathy johnson. give a wave. [applause] i will invite back to the podium president zawart to introduce our very special guest tonight. >> i am back and i am really honored again to be back to introduce one of my personal heroes. the mayor of san francisco london breed, who is a committed and compassionate women's rights advocate who we know is not afraid to stand up to defend survivors and under his leadership the city has been working to further prevent. i think that is key here. we can't erase, there is no silver bullet, but this mayor is committed to preventing this every single day. without further ado, mayor breed [applause] >> thank you. good evening, everyone.

i want to thank each and every one of you for being here to recognize something that is so critical to what we need to do in terms of the work of the city and county of san francisco, and that is honoring and remembering survivors of domestic violence and making sure that their memories are not forgotten, that we do not forget who they are, in some of the challenges that they experienced. in fact, we know all too well the history of our city and our country. in fact, the neighborhood that i grew up in, it was not uncommon to sadly see men beat up their girlfriends and their wives. and when the police would get called on occasion, and i have had this experience directly, they would come and sadly, in some cases, people would pretend

as if nothing ever happened and no one would be held accountable for that because the fact is, so many of those women were living in fear, in fear of what might happen if they did stand up, and the times -- on the kinds of situations they were in requires us to make sure that we are doing more to protect people. to make sure that no matter what relationship you are in, that you shouldn't have to fear your partner, your spouse, or fear that you don't have support or resources available to you to help in case you are in a situation like that. we are here today to remember that there is still work to be done. in fact, here in san francisco, although we have invested millions of dollars over $8.5 million into programs and services and resources that help those who tragically are victims of domestic violence and help

with crisis hotlines and help with shelter and other access to services, we know that there is still work to be done and we are committed to the work. we also know that sadly, in the bayview hunters point community, we are seeing record numbers of domestic violence incidents that have been reported. as a result, we have to be focused on new ways in which we can make it easier to help people who are in need of help. in the san francisco police department, we have launched a new opportunity for an app that is called hard. it is an application that, using technology, that assist police officers right on the spot with identifying what is happening in the situation, and asking the right questions, and more importantly, how we directly connect people who are victims

with services right away. it is the first step in so many other things that we know we can do as a safety to be innovative, to be creative around creating opportunities to connect people to resources. knowing that, is tough for someone maybe, it can happen to anyone at any given time, and any relationship. so it is important that we continue to provide the supports , to provide the resources, to remember the tragedies that have occurred, to never forget those, was specially who have lost their lives, and to really commend and thank the survivors who have come forward to tell their story and to be advocates for change around this most critical issue. today and tonight, in fact, we light up city hall in the color purple. the purple -- the color that

recognizes domestic violence awareness month in san francisco , and when we see san francisco lit up this color today, we think about the people , the experiences, the stories, the challenges that have existed, but more importantly, we think about the resilience of such an incredible community of people who have stepped up, told their story, and really have been able to make change happen. the difference between what happened in the past when i was growing up and what happens now, when there is an issue of domestic violence and the police come, someone is going to be held accountable. it took a long time to get to that point, but we are in a better place with more work that needs to be done, and i know, with the commission on the status of women, with the san francisco police department, with so many incredible nonprofit organizations that continue to work on so many of these issues every single day, that it is only a matter of time before we finally get to a

better place where we don't lose a life over domestic violence in the city and in the country. thank you all for coming out today and for your advocacy and work and support on this very critical issue in our city. [cheers and applause] >> thank you so much. another round of applause for the leadership of mayor london breed. we are so excited about this new announcement that will really bring more of the victims survivors services. we are really excited about that our next speaker is beverly upton, executive director of the domestic violence consortium, which brings together an incredible network of organizations to support survivors of domestic violence and their families. beverly was a key partner in putting together tonight's event please join me and giving her a warm welcome. [applause] >> thank you so much. i'm so honored to stand here

with emily again this year. we have lighted city hall purple for about a decade and we have seen a lot of progress in that decade. we have been gathering here to show the city's commitment to ending domestic violence, violence against women, and violence towards san francisco's most vulnerable residents. we gather here today to honor those who certainly have survived and are here with us. they are our heroes, but this is also a time that we get together and honor the folks that are answering the crisis line 24 hours a day, that are running the shelters, 24/7, 365 days a year. [cheers and applause] keeping survivors and their children safe. lots of children in shelter. i'm sure you will hear more.

they are teaching, training, working with survivors, working with youth, we have a pil you -- we have youth here today. they are taking the tough cases. they are getting the restraining orders, they are taking these complex cases that are so confusing and there are so many details, and the abuse has gone on for so long, it takes a good, legal community to unravel those cases, support their survivors, and take them where they need to go. we have that. i see jerel here, i say kimberley here, i see our attorneys from the justice and diversity center. we want to honor you for being in the trenches and really coming through for survivors and their kids. this is what we are here for today. this is what the mayor is supporting, this is what the department and the commission on the status of women are supporting. this team of survivors here, now , 24 hours a day, but we wouldn't be here without our

city partners. emily and her team at the department on the status of women are such great leaders. they support 24 hours a day these agencies. they help us make sure that our staff are right and help us tell the story. they help us connect with city hall every day. they help us connect with the commission on the status of women. none of us would be here without our city partners. we wouldn't be here without the mayor's office, we wouldn't be here without mayor breed, and we wouldn't be here without the board of supervisors. the board of supervisors works with us every year to make sure that we have the resources we need to meet new communities where they are, to support our immigrant brothers and sisters, our transgender brother and sisters, our native american brothers and sisters. absolutely. as mayor breed said, we have a lot to do. we have more to do, and we are going to need more resources, but i know they will be there when we need them.

there are heroes. when we look at our native sisters working to end domestic violence, when we look at the transgender community looking to end domestic violence in their community, we are so happy to see you and we are so happy to stand with you always. survivors and their children are our heroes. they take the courage every year they are beyond heroic every day to step out of violent situations and risk becoming homeless or worse. they risk it because of this safety net here. we have to get rid of gun violence, we have to protect our citizens, we have to protect our residents, our most vulnerable people in san francisco and we can do it. i think supervisor stefani really gave us a good task. let's get this legislative work

going, let's work with the police department, let's get guns out of the hands of abusers and stockers. it is pretty simple. don't let anyone make it complex for you. it is not out of the hands of abusers and stockers. so their lives in the lives of children count. we are all here to do everything we can to end domestic violence in every community to make san francisco the safest city in the nation. can we do more? yes. must we do more? yes, and we will. thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you so much, beverly. under mayor london breed, she has made a historic investment in these services. the largest budget ever for services to victims and their families of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking.

we are really blessed to be in a city that is making this huge investment. i want to recognize a few more people. nicole from the mayor's office helped make today happen. [applause] kelly has joined us from the human rights commission and the sharp office. tammie bryant from the san francisco county democratic central committee, we need our political leadership here as well, and we have our friends from san mateo county, our domestic violence advocates from our neighboring county who are here. as i mentioned, the theme of tonight's event is building pathways to safety. domestic violence is often the cause of homelessness, especially for our lgbtq community and families with children. our partner agencies play a vital role in providing services to survivors of violence and we are fortunate to have a diverse set of services to reach our diverse population. just a reminder, we will be

lighting city hall purple and concluding tonight will be the red women's lightning group. let's hear it for them. [applause] so tonight we want to recognize the commitment and hard work of our partners who provide emergency shelter. our next week -- our next speakers represent organizations that do this every day. join me in welcoming the executive protect -- project -- director of the first asian women shelter in the country. [applause]. >> good evening. my name is orchid. i have orchid coloured glasses and i am ready for this year's domestic violence awareness month press conference with all of you. i am here with asian women's shelter, and with every person here who believes that ending domestic violence is key to

building healthy, safe, and hopeful communities. so this year, 2019, it actually marks the 30th anniversary of the first time that the u.s. congress passed legislation to designate october as national domestic violence awareness month. and when they passed that legislation for the first time in 1989, it was eight years after the national coalition against domestic violence. it had grown an initial day of unity in 1981 into a week, and then a month of events. these events were designed to do three things that we are still doing today. one is to mourn those and to honor those who have been killed by people perpetrating domestic violence, two, to celebrate and to support those who have survived and are still surviving today. and three, to connect those who work to end violence so that we

can lean on each other, uplift each other, and amplify our longevity and our impact beyond what any of us could do if we were in isolation from each other. so 30 years later, we have come a long way and clearly, we are not going anywhere because our job is not done yet. we have so many to honor and mourn here in our city, as well as across our state, nation, and world. whether they were killed by their perpetrators, framed by them, had their mysterious deaths covered up by them, or were driven to suicide or self-harm by the people who made their life unlivable. we also, 30 years later, we have so many to support and to celebrate as they rebuild their lives from rock-bottom after having given up everything to try to carve out a new future for themselves and for their children, and because violence

travels intergenerational he, for their children's children. they survivors are champions who are trying to reroute this intergenerational violence and carve out a new lifeline for their family. amidst odds that i think would make most of us at least to me, not be able to get up in the morning. and 30 years later, we have so many more of us who are working to end violence and who have been gifted the progress that has been made by those who came before us. but still, we have to be here and we have to be really loud. we have to be really clear, we have to be really confident and sure about what we are doing, and we are. they're still people in forces out there who are perpetuating myths about domestic violence and to need our help to become more aware. they still think domestic violence isn't actually that big of a deal, that it is a contained issue, that it is special interest or it is

private or it is personal, it is about anger or it is about alcoholism, and that there's nothing we can do because it's about individual people and individual people are who they are. some people are just inherently more violent and others are inherently more submissive. we are here every single month, and especially in october to take those myths and grind them to a pulp and flush them. we know they are not true. we are here 30 years later using this platform to say domestic violence, it is personal, it is private, and it is social. is political. we are showing that this is an issue that we pay a tremendous price, an unacceptable price for allowing to continue. at the asian women shelter here in san francisco, we know that domestic violence is interwoven into every single issue that we are arguing about in the country right now. immigration, gun violence,

gun-control, homelessness, workforce development, poverty, gender, justice, policing, equal pay, all of it. and now 30 years later, we have more data. others have mentioned some of these pieces. on average, 20 to 24 people per minute, that means we are approaching 100 since i have been talking. our victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner in the united states. ten to 12 million people over the course of a year. that is completely unacceptable. in a 16 year study ending in 2010, while we know domestic violence victimizes people across the gender spectrum, that study showed four in five victims were female identified. when we look at the numbers, the risk factors for women living with disabilities for survivors who are indigenous, survivors who are black, survivors who are transgender, undocumented, who speak limited english, we know

the pathways that we have to create, they don't look the same way. we have to have all kinds of different pathways that address the different barriers and challenges that different survivors face in our communities and our neighborhoods and in nurse neighborhoods and families. we will have to recognize, as has also been said before, the kids. the kids. nationally, the majority of people who abuse their intimate partner do so in front of the kids. and 50% also abuse their children, but over and over, week after week, in our counties here in the bay area, we see decisions made that don't reflect knowledge of this. that somehow think that you can terrorize your intimate partner but be an amazing parents. that is not true. in 2018, every town for gun safety report indicated that at least 50 4% of mass shootings in

the united states