one year and five years later, it is the best practice across the state and the country. i believe once we get this right, the mayor is going to have other cities across the country say secretary-general h -- saying, how did you do that mental health program and we are going to make that a reality. thank you to the mayor and supervisors ronen and haney for leading the charge, but most of all coming together and solving this problem together. thank you. [ applause ]. >> thank you. we've got to give this next speaker, dr. grant colfax, a major round of applause. poor dr. colfax had to start his job in san francisco between a battle between the board of supervisors and the mayor's office. that wasn't easy, and he did it

with grace and kindness and willing to work with us. i have no doubt that he's going to do a great job implementing mental health s.f. dr. grant colfax. [ applause ]. >> good afternoon, everyone. thank you, supervisor ronen and mayor breed, for bringing us here today and the city leaders together to solve the most urgent problem facing our city. you made sure that the department of public health and the clinicians, community partners, clients, patients, the people we serve, contributed their collective wisdom to this transformative plan for asterisk. under your leadership, mayor breed, with the help of people here today, we will make a positive impact in transforming our behavioral health system to

serve the people in greatest need. thank you again, supervisor ronen and haney, for your commitment to health and dignity for san franciscans experiencing homelessness, mental illness, and substance use disorders. the department of public health shares the passion and urgency you bring to this vital work. i really want to thank the health department staff who spent lots of time in city hall figuring this work out. i particularly want to acknowledge including dr. bland, director of health reform, dr. hammer, dr. sung, greg wagner, our finance director who is going to figure out how to pay for all of this, but much of the work laid out in mental health s.f. is under way and

many of the people are already doing this work. our incredible street medicine, shelter health, and community outreach teams are building trust with those on the streets, finding ways to engage them and care and saving lives to overdose preventions and saving lives every day to treat their substance use in mental health disorders. the department of health is collaborating with the department of health and homelessness support to make sure that the most vulnerable people on the streets get into housing and other safe care settings because we know that this is key to helping people in their recovery process. we are already planning to expand the behavioral health access center and to create a methamphetamine service center. we recently released those results. we are focusing on intensive case management so that people on the street can develop

strong, trusting, and therapeutic relationships with the persons who can get them the help that they need. we have identified that we need to help more people in this role and serve more people who lead this level of intensive care. thanks to mayor breed's investment, we have seen the addition of 212 behavioral health beds across our system and we are planning to add 800 more in the future. the agreement we are announcing today will allow us to scale up the things we are doing well, change the things we are not doing well, and modernize our behavioral healthcare system to catch up with behavioral health, so that san franciscans can be confident we are providing the best solutions possible. mental health will allow us to invest in the workforce, both in civil service and community organizations, so that those

dedicated to serving others can afford to work here and do the things they do so well. this is a visionary framework, and i'm optimistic that resources will follow. this will enable the department and the community partners to carry out the plans in a way that is evidence-based, that advances equity, and reduces harm. we know that wellness and recovery are possible for everyone. this agreement and the unity we are showing here today are part of san francisco's legacy. we come together to do great things. we've done it with h.i.v. and with healthy san francisco. now is the time to transform behavioral healthcare. together we can make a difference and save lives. thank you. >> thank you, dr. colfax. now we are going to hear from two members of the mental health s.f. steering committee that are leaders in this field. i also want to correct a

mistake. i forgot to personally mention one of my heroes, kim tavaloni, that represented the labor council and played an incredibly important role. thank you, kim. first we are going to hear from the executive director of the progress foundation, steve fields. >> good afternoon. the community-based non-profit agencies were invited to the table by supervisors ronen and hains rig -- haney right from t beginning of this effort. i think it's been no secret for a long time that hiring people with lived experience to be primary caregivers has been pioneered in one of the richest community-based non-profit

systems of care in the country and that's in san francisco. we're proud of that. the process that started back with supervisor ronen and haney coming up with a bold and exciting new idea within not just to tinker around the edges but to go for broke and go for the fundamental idea that behavioral health services should be a right, that access to services should not be denied to individuals because of their lack of capability and their status in the community and because they have a silent voice that never gets heard. we signed on to that effort because it was exciting and interesting and promised to bring some fundamental change. the promise of the new vision and for addressing the challenge of serving people who are suffering on the street, but also of strengthening a

treatment system that is creeking at the edges that without more support is not going to be able to to deliver the services that it has is going to help us deliver the agenda of mental health s.f. without the work of the department of public health and the support of the mayor's office and the incredible staff that showed up to help work through the differences between mental health s.f. and the mayor's proposal, we wouldn't be standing here today. this represents the best of leadership, two visions that fundamentally were not different from one another but had different approaches had to be brought together because we couldn't lose everything because we had to come up with a way to put everything in one package. it's only within with the leadership of mayor breed and the leadership of supervisor haney, ronen, and the support of

members of the board of supervisors. i've been working in the system for almost 50 years and this is the first time i've seen such a confluence of leadership in the political side of the city committed to improving the behavioral health services system here. we all have ideas and energy, and i want to recognize supervisor mandelman's leadership. we know better in san francisco and we're not going to lose an opportunity because we're going to be fighting for what we believe in on both sides of any issue. so i want to acknowledge dr. colfax and the mayor's staff who contributed enormously to this. we want to acknowledge the advocates in the community who kept the pressure up on all of us to not let this opportunity

slip away. it's an exciting time to be in san francisco. it is about to engage in a powerful exercise of implementing a shared vision for behavioral health services for the most vulnerable citizens of our city. community-based providers, the non-profit sector in this city, are ready to begin the challenging work of collaborating with city and county services and with the various other people providing major services to the mentally ill unfortunately in the criminal justice system and other sectors, to make sure that this is our opportunity to create a program that will become a model. we're excited to be in this engagement with everybody. keep watching, participating, keep bringing your ideas into the system because we're going to build an incredible behavioral health system in this city. thank you. [ applause ].

>> thank you so much, steve. and last but not least, an incredible woman who's going to close this out. jennifer stein, a registered psych nurse and a union leader with sfiu. where are you, jennifer? here she is. [ cheering and applause ]. >> i've heard a lot of constituthank yous, so i'm going to skip that part. it is an honor today to be here with my colleagues, especially those from the community and frontline staff. we've been working together and are bringing a milestone in our country. the first mental health program for those who made care. this will enhance the lives of residents in the city of san francisco. as a registered psych nurse, it has been my passion and duty to

make sure that adequate care is provided to all my clients, regardless of their stations in life. together with supervisors ronen and haney, our community health providers and advocates, the department of health, and mayor breed, we've created something truly revolutionary. [ applause ]. >> we've come together to form a social policy that will serve everyone who has been touched by a mental health issue and also those who were unhoused or struggled with substance abuse. the people from san francisco will benefit from mental health s.f. for years to come. my hope is that by implementing this new mental health care system and by enhancing and increasing the services that we found, the people here will finally get the care that they need and deserve, regardless of their income or insurance. everyone deserves to have their mental health conditions treated. they shouldn't be in crisis to get care. they shouldn't have to wait

multiple days, weeks, or longer to be seen by a clinician. we're we're also suffering with a crisis of bed capacity. i work for the department of public health and my work site is at the behavioral health care center. we have been fighting to make sure that beds do not close that serve people for life. right now, 54 people have been evicted from their homes in san francisco and our mayor has dedicated a promise to make sure that beds at boarding care homes will be allocated, yes, reinvested in and that these people will not go homeless. today, we do not have a place to move these people into and this is a crisis of the highest order. no one should be destabilized because their housing that the city is providing is going away. so as providers of care and

creators of policy, we set a new standard for the country to follow. i'm proud of being part of the process to make a way for those who struggle with minlt and addiction. this is a good way for the people of san francisco. let us hope that this is a national trend because we need and deserve it. america is a rich country, san francisco is a rich city. we can provide this care. thank you all. [ applause ]. >> give it up one more time for jennifer and all our workers who provide care every day. this is a good day for san francisco and a day we came together to address with a bold solution the issues facing our city. i want to say clearly we are not done yet. there is a lot of work that

needs to be seen through to fund it and we will need assembly member ting to help us. we're going to have to keep this coalition together. what we did is provide a vision, framework, and a path forward. thank you for your vision. thank you, supervisors, and mayor breed. let's get it done. thank you. [♪] we spoke with people regardless of what they are. that is when you see change. that is a lead vannin advantage.

so law enforcement assistance diversion to work with individuals with nonviolent related of offenses to offer an alternative to an arrest and the county jail. >> we are seeing reduction in drug-related crimes in the pilot area. >> they have done the program for quite a while. they are successful in reducing the going to the county jail. >> this was a state grant that we applied for. the department is the main administrator. it requires we work with multiple agencies. we have a community that includes the da, rapid transit

police and san francisco sheriff's department and law enforcement agencies, public defender's office and adult probation to work together to look at the population that ends up in criminal justice and how they will not end up in jail. >> having partners in the nonprofit world and the public defender are critical to the success. we are beginning to succeed because we have that cooperation. >> agencies with very little connection are brought together at the same table. >> collaboration is good for the department. it gets us all working in the same direction. these are complex issues we are dealing with. >> when you have systems as complicated as police and health and proation and jails and

nonprofits it requires people to come to work together so everybody has to put their egos at the door. we have done it very, very well. >> the model of care where police, district attorney, public defenders are community-based organizations are all involved to worked towards the common goal. nobody wants to see drug users in jail. they want them to get the correct treatment they need. >> we are piloting lead in san francisco. close to civic center along market street, union plaza, powell street and in the mission, 16th and mission. >> our goal in san francisco and in seattle is to work with individuals who are cycling in and out of criminal justice and

are falling through the cracks and using this as intervention to address that population and the racial disparity we see. we want to focus on the mission in tender loan district. >> it goes to the partners that hired case managers to deal directly with the clients. case managers with referrals from the police or city agencies connect with the person to determine what their needs are and how we can best meet those needs. >> i have nobody, no friends, no resources, i am flat-out on my own. i witnessed women getting beat, men getting beat. transgenders getting beat up. i saw people shot, stabbed. >> these are people that have had many visits to the county

jail in san francisco or other institutions. we are trying to connect them with the resources they need in the community to break out of that cycle. >> all of the referrals are coming from the law enforcement agency. >> officers observe an offense. say you are using. it is found out you are in possession of drugs, that constituted a lead eligible defense. >> the officer would talk to the individual about participating in the program instead of being booked into the county jail. >> are you ever heard of the leads program. >> yes. >> are you part of the leads program? do you have a case worker? >> yes, i have a case manager. >> when they have a contact with a possible lead referral, they give us a call. ideally we can meet them at the scene where the ticket is being issued. >> primarily what you are

talking to are people under the influence of drugs but they will all be nonviolent. if they were violent they wouldn't qualify for lead. >> you think i am going to get arrested or maybe i will go to jail for something i just did because of the substance abuse issues i am dealing with. >> they would contact with the outreach worker. >> then glide shows up, you are not going to jail. we can take you. let's meet you where you are without telling you exactly what that is going to look like, let us help you and help you help yourself. >> bring them to the community assessment and services center run by adult probation to have assessment with the department of public health staff to assess the treatment needs. it provides meals, groups, there

are things happening that make it an open space they can access. they go through detailed assessment about their needs and how we can meet those needs. >> someone who would have entered the jail system or would have been arrested and book order the charge is diverted to social services. then from there instead of them going through that system, which hasn't shown itself to be an effective way to deal with people suffering from suable stance abuse issues they can be connected with case management. they can offer services based on their needs as individuals. >> one of the key things is our approach is client centered. hall reduction is based around helping the client and meeting them where they are at in terms of what steps are you ready to take? >> we are not asking individuals to do anything specific at any

point in time. it is a program based on whatever it takes and wherever it takes. we are going to them and working with them where they feel most comfortable in the community. >> it opens doors and they get access they wouldn't have had otherwise. >> supports them on their goals. we are not assigning goals working to come up with a plan what success looks like to them. >> because i have been in the field a lot i can offer different choices and let them decide which one they want to go down and help them on that path. >> it is all on you. we are here to guide you. we are not trying to force you to do what you want to do or change your mind. it is you telling us how you want us to help you. >> it means a lot to the clients to know there is someone creative in the way we can assist them. >> they pick up the phone.

it was a blessing to have them when i was on the streets. no matter what situation, what pay phone, cell phone, somebody else's phone by calling them they always answered. >> in office-based setting somebody at the reception desk and the clinician will not work for this population of drug users on the street. this has been helpful to see the outcome. >> we will pick you up, take you to the appointment, get you food on the way and make sure your needs are taken care of so you are not out in the cold. >> first to push me so i will not be afraid to ask for help with the lead team. >> can we get you to use less and less so you can function and have a normal life, job, place to stay, be a functioning part

of the community. it is all part of the home reduction model. you are using less and you are allowed to be a viable member of the society. this is an important question where lead will go from here. looking at the data so far and seeing the successes and we can build on that and as the department based on that where the investments need to go. >> if it is for five months. >> hopefully as final we will come up with a model that may help with all of the communities in the california. >> i want to go back to school to start my ged and go to community clean. >> it can be somebody scaled out. that is the hope anyway. >> is a huge need in the city. depending on the need and the data we are getting we can definitely see an expansion. >> we all hope, obviously, the program is successful and we can

implement it city wide. i think it will save the county millions of dollars in emergency services, police services, prosecuting services. more importantly, it will save lives. . >> let's get started. welcome. yeah. you can be excited.

you should be. welcome to the beautiful new playground, everyone. [ cheering and applause ]. >> my name is phil ginsburg. i am the manager of the recreation and parks department. we're so pleased to have everyone here to celebrate what is really a transformation for this playground, a place where childhood memories will be created and opportunities for imaginative play are endless. there are a lot of community supporters and folks that made this happen. we're going to introduce and recognize all of them during our short program, but i'm so honored to introduce someone who has kept her eye on this playground for many years. as district supervisor and now as mayor, she is our park champion and chief. our kids do not need an advocate, because they've got mayor london breed.

>> mayor breed: thank you so much, phil. let me tell you, i can't be more happy than to be here today. i remember a couple years ago when we cut the ribbon on the new basketball courts and there were conversations going on and on and on about the playground and the next to do something better. the parents who bring their kids here on a regular basis reflects what we see here today. as much as i love. i grew up in sands, so i'm a big fan, but the fact is these kids are going to have a great time.

we are so lucky in san francisco that we have so many people in this community that are so generous and we're actively engaged to shape what this playground looks like right now. we have amazing contributors who have invested so much money into supporting and making this happen. our incredible partner, the parks alliance, thank you so much for your continued alliance and this playground. thank you were jody pritzer for your major contribution to this project. and brian baker who hosted. thank you so much for your work and for your advocacy. the work that you do to raise the funds and contribute to make this possible makes it happen sooner rather than later. so thank you, because the kids

that are here today are going to be able to have a good time and enjoy this amazing playground. i know they don't want to hear a bunch of long speeches. i know they can't wait to get started with playing. thank you to the nopa community and the ashbury community for your work and advocacy. it is so great to be here today to have this incredible experience. i know you are wondering why is sheriff vicky hennesey here today. she's not here to take anyone to jail. her granddaughter is a lover of this playground and we are happy to have her as a supporter, so thank you for your service to san francisco. fill, you say that i am the park champion, i tell you no one

works harder to bring in the resources and move these projects faster to get these done so that you have these results today. thank you and your team for the work that you continue to do. [ applause ]. >> mayor breed: last but not least, i started that and she finished it. valley brown has been an amazing advocate for this community for decades and she made sure that we got this project done. i will say in absolute record time. we just broke ground on this project last year and in bureaucracy time, this is fast. ladies and gentlemen, the person who was making it happen and doing the work for this community, your supervisor, valley brown. [ applause ]. >> thank you, mayor breed.

i remember when this was a twinkle in your eye, phil. i see the ashbury council is here. people have come here because this is an amazing park and the way that it was done with the contributor contributors made it what it is now. look at everything. i was looking around. i can't believe how cool it is, and i'm going to take a slide down that slide. i don't know if anybody has done it yet, but i want to go and slide down that slide. it looks so fun. i have to say that the city is like a tanker in ice. every time we try to do something, it takes that long. this is something that went fast because of community support, because we had private people coming in and saying let's make

this work, and we can turn faster than a tanker in ice. thank you, everyone, thank you, mayor breed, and let's play. >> supervisor brown said it perfectly, let's play. the mayor has keys to the city and gives proclamations at the board and we give away park signs to true park champions. thank you for all of your incredible support. [ cheering and applause ]. >> the mayor alluded to the fact that this was a big community effort. we need partners and friends. government doesn't do it all alone anymore. we need the support. i'm pleased to bring up our closest friend, drew beker.

the alliance of parks department have worked together since 2013 or 2014 on let's play s.f. which is our campaign to renovate the 13-mo 13-most-deserving playgrounds around the city. it is a $30 million effort that has a significant amount of public money, but that wasn't enough to get it done. we are the parks alliance and is the san francisco recs and parks department work together on so many things, including our 150th golden gate park celebration. this is part of that. the panhandle itself was practice for building golden gate park. around the park are 80,000 trees that were planted to figure out what would work best down the road. i'm so pleased to bring up a special partner, drew beker. >> thanks, phil.

i want to give a shout out. thank you, mayor, thank you, valley, thank you, phil. the parks alliance is so happy to be a part of this wonderful event. i would like to give a shout out to the civic committee. thank you so much. you helped make this possible. i want to give a shout out. thank you, liz, for everything you do. also brian baker held an event before this. thank you for you and your family to support us and the san francisco parks alliance. thank you so much. and the rec and park commissioners, we couldn't do this without them giving the okay to make all of this happen. we have partners with rec and parks and they don't get shout outs that much. i want phil, lisa, and abigail to know how much we appreciate what you do. it is so amazing to have one of

the top rec and parks departments here in san francisco. you have no idea how important it is to push these types of projects forward and make this happen and that's because it comes from the top. your amazing manager, phil, ginsburg, let's give it up for him. >> this public-private partner that was alluded to, we raised about $11.3 million for 13 playgrounds across the city. our goal is to raise $14 million, so we have a little bit more to go in order to make this playground and close out this program and have the most equity-focused playground initiative in this country called "let's play s.f.." let's make sure you visit "let's

play s.f.." make sure you are part of this movement to bringing this movement to 20,000 kids across this city. it's about making parts a part of each and every community. parks are part of the big puzzle, about keeping the parks part of our story. we need to move neighborhoods forward building parks. thanks for being a part of this movement and let's play. thank you so much. >> thank you, drew. this playground is about play and it's about community. so representing our community today, we are so pleased to welcome 45 preschoolers from steppingstones preschool. your granddaughter is here, but steppingstones has a spot in my

own heart. representing steppingstones and speaking on behalf of the community, i'm pleased to welcome a few members to share the importance of let's play. >> hi. my name is rakoia. i'm a director of a local preschool up the street, but more importantly i'm a mother of a 2 year old who is up there right now. i actually came here from l.a. i went to ucla. when i came to san francisco and looked at the preschools for work and realized none of the preschools have outdoor spaces or if they did, it was tiny. so steppingstones uses the community for their playground. what a resource to have playgrounds like these. this is an amazing playground just for the preschoolers, but

also now that i'm a mom, for communities like this for playgrounds that inspire community and imagination. we were just here in april for the ground breaking, and now it's november and it's incredible. thank you so much, everyone. [ cheering and applause ]. >> before we do our first slide with our steppingstones preschoolers and supervisor brown, we have some gratitude. i need to do some closing acknowledgements. we have a lot of gratitude for all of our supporters. without their help and support as i said, this wouldn't be possible. let me echo my thanks to the pritsker family. for brian and lesley baker, thank you so much for your support. for the folks from kaiser permanente, they have been big

supporters. this weekend we lost an advocate for health and equity and diversity and true supporters of playgrounds and someone who understood the very important experience of play. we would ask you to take a quick moment of silence in mrmr. permi mrmr. permi mrmr. permi mr. permit -- permanente's honor. thank you. let's give a round of applause. we're also pleased to be joined today by sheriff hennessey and her granddaughter. vivian liang, and then dmitri barstani is here with his mom, georgia. are you here and can you raise your hands? they're over there. thank you, dmitri and georgia

for being here today. we're honoured to be here. his memory and gus' memory will live on. i would like to thank niko and marie who helped to work on the bench plaque that i believe are here. tim sieford and michelle welsh. steve courier from the parks and recs open space advisory. and then to the design and construction teams, you have an inspired design and project. they deserve our thanks. to the landscape project. jeff cooper from c.p.m. services. and then to my own amazing team, the project managers for this

effort, it takes a village, karen rupert, brett emerey contributed to this project. thank you, lisa branson, to your team to make this dream come to reality for our kids. we're going to have some honorary preschooler that is are going to join us. supervisor brown, if you want to join us too. the mayor is going to lead us in a countdown. >> mayor breed: okay,

supervisor brown, you're going to have to put a kid in your lap. are we ready, kids? five, four, three, two, one, let's play! >> thank you, everybody. in the words of our mayor, let's play. [♪] all right. on 5, 5, 4, 3,

2, 1 you innovation on or was on over 200 years they went through extensive innovations to the existing green new metal gates were installed our the perimeter 9 project is funded inform there are no 9 community opportunity and our capital improvement plan to the 2008 clean and safe neighborhood it allows the residents and park advocates like san franciscans to make the matching of the few minutes through the philanthropic dungeons and finished and finally able to pull on play on the number one green a celebration on october 7, 1901, a skoovlt for the st. anthony's formed a club and john then the

superintendent the golden gate park laid out the bowling green are here sharing meditates a permanent green now and then was opened in 1902 during the course the 1906 san francisco earthquake that citywide much the city the greens were left that with an ellen surface and not readers necessarily 1911 it had the blowing e bowling that was formed in 1912 the parks commission paid laying down down green number 2 the san francisco lawn club was the first opened in the united states and the oldest on the west their registered as san francisco lark one 101 and ti it is not all fierce competition

food and good ole friend of mine drive it members les lecturely challenge the stories some may be true some not memories of past winners is reversed presbyterian on the wall of champions. >> make sure you see the one in to the corner that's me and. >> no? not bingo or scrabble but the pare of today's competition two doreen and christen and beginninger against robert and others easing our opponents for the stair down is a pregame strategy even in lawn bowling. >> play ball.

>> yes. >> almost. >> (clapping). >> the size of tennis ball the object of the game our control to so when the players on both sides are bold at any rate the complete ends you do do scoring it is you'll get within point lead for this bonus first of all, a jack can be moved and a or picked up to some other point or move the jack with i have a goal behind the just a second a lot of elements to the game. >> we're about a yard long. >> aim a were not player i'll play any weighed see on the inside in the goal is a minimum the

latter side will make that arc in i'm right-hand side i play my for hand and to my left if i wanted to acre my respect i extend so it is arced to the right have to be able to pray both hands. >> (clapping.) who one. >> nice try and hi, i'm been play lawn bowling affair 10 years after he retired i needed something to do so i picked up this paper and in this paper i see in there play lawn bowling in san francisco golden gate park ever since then i've been trying to bowl i enjoy bowling a very good support and good experience most of you have

of of all love the people's and have a lot of have a lot of few minutes in mr. mayor the san francisco play lawn bowling is in golden gate park we're sharing meadow for more information about the club including free lessons log [♪] >> 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. >> we have private and public gardens throughout the garden tour. all of the gardens are volunteers. the only requirement is you're willing to show your garden for a day. so we have gardens that vary from all stages of development and all gardens, family gardens, private gardens, some of them as

small as postage stamps and others pretty expansive. it's a variety -- all of the world is represented in our gardens here in the portola. >> i have been coming to the portola garden tour for the past seven or eight years ever since i learned about it because it is the most important event of the neighborhood, and the reason it is so important is because it links this neighborhood back to its history. in the early 1800s the portola was farmland. the region's flowers were grown in this neighborhood. if you wanted flowers anywhere future bay area, you would come to this area to get them. in the past decade, the area has tried to reclaim its roots as the garden district. one of the ways it has done that

is through the portola garden tour, where neighbors open their gardens open their gardens to people of san francisco so they can share that history. >> when i started meeting with the neighbors and seeing their gardens, i came up with this idea that it would be a great idea to fundraise. we started doing this as a fund-raiser. since we established it, we awarded 23 scholarships and six work projects for the students. >> the scholarship programs that we have developed in association with the portola is just a win-win-win situation all around. >> the scholarship program is important because it helps people to be able to tin in their situation and afford to

take classes. >> i was not sure how i would stay in san francisco. it is so expensive here. i prayed so i would receive enough so i could stay in san francisco and finish my school, which is fantastic, because i don't know where else i would have gone to finish. >> the scholarships make the difference between students being able to stay here in the city and take classes and having to go somewhere else. [♪] [♪] >> you come into someone's home and it's they're private and personal space. it's all about them and really their garden and in the city and urban environment, the garden is the extension of their indoor environment, their outdoor living room. >> why are you here at this garden core? it's amazing and i volunteer here every year.

this is fantastic. it's a beautiful day. you walk around and look at gardens. you meet people that love gardens. it's fantastic. >> the portola garden tour is the last saturday in september every year. mark your calendars every year. you can see us on the website >> this job, it's really not an i job. i wouldn't be able to do this job without other people. i make sure that all the regulatory and nonregulatory samples get to access in a

timely manner. we have groundwater samples, you name it, we have to sample it every day. i have ten technicians, very good team. we work together to attain this sampling. >> a sample is only as good as when you collect properly. if sample is not collect properly according to not the proper protocol, the sample could be biased, could be false positive or could be false negative. so all this to have good so you can manage the sample collectors, as well as the schedule, and she is pretty good, and she is very thorough. and so far, i think that she is performing a very good job. >> this job is really not an i job. i wouldn't be able to do this job without my team. you can assign them any job, they can handle it, and again,

without them, i wouldn't be here. i take pride, you know, for what i do. we are providing a very good water department. my name is roselle, and i have been working with the water department >> my s.f. dove -- government t.v. moment was when i received a commendation award from supervisor chris daly. then we sang a duet in the board chamber. [singing] >> happy anniversary san

francisco government t.v. happy anniversary to you. happy anniversary san francisco government t.v. anniversary, anniversary, happy 25th anniversary to you. [♪]