level 6 that represents all of the grossly clerks, 2015 that represents all of the in-home support care workers. so just wondering if we've done that? >> not yet. we're just kind of beginning the outreach today and tomorrow. the unions are definitely on our list of organizations to reach out to. they have excellent networks. in terms of your first part of your question, we took a look at means testing in making that a part of this program. we didn't see any adequate models that we could easily replicate. and a number of other questions came up about what level of income and how do you assess and verify income. and so we did ask ourselves these questions as we've gone back and forth between sfcta, air district staff. we weren't able to include it in the program yet. it's still something that we

continue to take a look at. but we don't have a viable model yet that we can necessarily replicate. and that's why it's not yet in the program. >> commissioner fewer: okay. because i just want to also emphasize that some of these communities for a long time have not had equitable transportation services to begin with. when you eliminate these -- there are other viable means of transportation like many of these people, who are low income, have not had the same opportunities as other communities have. if we had millions of dollars to give this to everyone, i would just say there's no cause for it. when you're telling me it's 70 to 100 people a week, i just think that sometimes we have to prioritize those who are the most in need, meaning that if they were to seek the transportation options themself, they would not be able to put their food on their table or feed their children or pay their rent. some of us are in different positions than others.

and i just wanted to make sure that these funds -- and everything that we're looking at during this crisis, is through an equity lens. and also let's not forget a racial equity lens, too, as we see the greatest economic gaps between people of color and people who are not of color. so thank you very much. >> thank you. >> commissioner peskin: thank you, commissioner fewer. and then madam executive director, do you want to speak to the amount of potential funding that we have, if this is a success? >> sure. yes. yes, thank you, chair. as anna laforte mentioned earlier, i believe we do have another clean taxi purchase planned, that is potentially available, up to $250,000 of tfca funds that have been programmed, just like the first grant that we could -- the board to elect to reprioritize to

expand this emergency essential worker ride-home program. in addition, the transportation authority we do receive annually about $750 to prioritize the program annually. and we already have a call for projects under way. and we can certainly consider adding funds from that annual pot for 2021 as well. >> commissioner peskin: thank you, director chang. are there any members of the public who would like to comment on this item number 9? >> clerk: yes, chair, there is public comment. >> commissioner peskin: okay. first speaker, please. >> announcer: you have one question remaining. >> clerk: welcome, caller, your two minutes begins now. >> caller: yes. good morning. and thank you for the supervisors. i actually called in for something that's going to be placed on the agenda for thursday. but i've been listening to this. and my concerns are with the

$197,500 transportation funds for clean air, is that going to also impact some of the homeless encampments over on jones and taylor or cleaning up and refreshing that air and remove ing some of the public waste, that now we realize that covid has now found in feces? so how is that going to impact some of the funds for homeless sanitation? thank you. >> commissioner peskin: does that conclude your comment? >> yes, sir. thank you, supervisor, peskin. >> so public comment on this item is now closed. and with regard to the issue raised by the member of the public, this is the transportation authority commission, not the board of supervisors. and we allocate -- >> i'm sorry.

>> commissioner peskin: transportation. >> yes. i'm looking at the prompter. i meant transportation. >> commissioner peskin: right. but i'm answering the question that you posed, as to other issues like homelessness, that are within the jurisdiction of the board of supervisors. this is a transportation funding agency. and we're discussing transportation options during covid-19 period for individuals that need to be taken from work. as commissioner yee raised to work. with that, a motion to move item number 9? >> so moved. commissioner preston. >> commissioner peskin: all right. is there a second? >> second by mandelman. >> clerk: on item number 9, seeking final approval on its first appearance.

commissioner. >> commissioner aye. >> clerk: commissioner haney? commissioner mar? >> commissioner mar: aye. >> clerk: commissioner peskin? >> commissioner peskin: aye. >> clerk: commissioner preston? >> commissioner preston: aye. e.p.a. commissioner ronen? >> commissioner ronen: aye. >> clerk: commissioner safai? >> commissioner safai: aye. >> clerk: commissioner stefani? >> commissioner stefani: aye. >> clerk: ye,. >> commissioner yee: aye. >> commissioner peskin: next item, please. item number 10. update on the municipal transportation agency's transportation programs to

assist seniors and people with disabilities. this is an information item. >> commissioner peskin: ms. la porte. >> anna la la la porte, deputy director. the previous item was providing taxi rides for essential workers. and i'm pleased that we're also able to shed light on the suite of programs that are offered to san franciscans and. and the next presentation is what is offered as far as assistance for seniors and people with disabilities. several commissioners have asked about this, what transportation services the san francisco municipal transportation agency is offering to support the mobility of people with disabilities and older adults, due to the transit service reductions during the covid-19 pandemic.

in response, staff from the sfmta, i'll provide an update to the board, including on how the current transit program is operating and also on the new essential trip card, which is helping seniors and people with disabilities take and pay for essential trips in taxis during this crisis. and with that, i would like to invite annette williams, director of accessible services at the sfmta, to give her presentation. >> commissioner peskin: good morning, aannette. >> good morning, commissioners. can you see me? hi. [laughter] i'm just going to pull up my slides. so nice to be here. my name is annette williams. i'm the manager of accessible services. let me just get to the main slide here. i really appreciate you having me. and i wanted to give you an

update on the services that we provide, both now during covid and in terms of our whole suite of services. as you know, at this point muni is only really for essential trips. and for those who don't have other transportation options. we're very concerned about the safety of muni customers and operators. and that we're retaining social distance on the system. so that has also resulted in some reductions to service, which i'll talk about in just a minute. as you're probably aware, most people are now boarding at the rear door. but it's very important for seniors and people with disabilities, who need the lift or the kneeler, to be welcomed and innovated in the front door. and so that's very important to us and that's a big part of making sure that access is continuing at the front door of the system. we're also making sure that on the vehicle, as i mentioned, that there's physical distance. and that both the operators are

wearing p.p.e. and that any of the customers are using face coverings or masks. and they can ask verbally for a stop instead of needing to pull the stop request or pushing the stop request button. as you're aware, we're now running -- as of last week, we were running 17 of the 79 lines. and that's 80% of the service pre this reduction was on those lines. so they were the most important lines, in terms of service. but it does mean a great reduction in the amount of coverage in san francisco. fortunately last friday we were able to add back some services on the five fulton, 12 f. lsom. to add frequency on the "l," the "n" and 39 r. as you're aware, the owl service

is starting earlier at 10:00 p.m. appear and 30-minute headlines on the lines and listed there on your screen. you can see the map of the services that we're currently providing. one of the mings that muni is very proud of is that we're within a few blocks of every household. but in this covid period, we're not able to be in that kind of distance. and, of course, many of you, as commissioners and those of us who work at m.t.a., we're very concerned about what does this mean for people with mobility impairments, for those whom getting to the further distance to the bus is very difficult. we developed a new program called the essential trip card program. and this is to make sure that people, though all of us are staying home, right, and we're only going out for essential trips, but there are still trips that people must -- may need to take, because they don't have

someone else to do grocery shopping for them or may need to go to a medical appointment. we started the program and it subsidizes those few rides. in order to qualify for the program, a person just needs to be 65 or older or have a disability. and how it works is for each $6 that they load on their card, they receive $30 in taxi value. up to a maximum of $60 per month, which is about three to four round-trips. and we also wanted to make sure it was easy, that we had good outreach, that everybody was aware of this program. and so we used 311 as our conduit to get into the program, because it's an easy thing to remember. and we have people there at 311 at all hours. so if they call 311, then they're transferred to the paratransit office, who then takes the registrations. and they're open monday through friday from 9:00 until 4:45.

i'm really happy to say that we already have 600 people who have signed up for the program. we started it on april 16th. another thing that's very encouraging is the -- i believe 587 of those people were eligible for free muni. so we're getting to people who really don't have the income levels that may allow them to take taxis themselves. you know, on their own, paying the full fare. we also -- more than half of those people are people of color. so the next slide is for those of you at home, or later, please do check out this video about the program. it explains it. it's just two minutes long. it will give you a good overview of the essential trip card. so then i wanted to go into also explaining all of the programs that we have for paratransit. and paratransit is door-to-door services for people who are

unable to use muni. most people with disabilities, most seniors are able to use muni. but there are people, for whom it's difficult to get to the bus stop. they're not able because of their bus stop to get to independently ride the bus. they may have alzheimer's, they may be going to dialysis, where they don't have the strength to take the bus home. so the three main modes of service are s.f. access, group van and taxi ramp taxi. the way that people become eligible for paratransit >> like i just said it's a functional eligibility. it's based on the fact that they're not able to use muni. there's an application they fill out and usually an interview or sometimes professional verification from a medical professional. currently under covid, we're submitting the -- we're really encouraging everyone to submit the applications by email or fax. so that it can be done quickly. and that they don't need to visit the office or leave their home. we have certification analysts

that are performing the interviews and they're doing all of the interviews by phone during this period. and if -- when they get their i.d., it won't have a photo on it now, because we don't want people to come in for a photo. so in terms of s.f. access in covid-19, we're still providing door-to-door service, prescheduled one to seven days in advance. many people are going to dialysis and have a standing ride. it covers the entire city, including daly city, three quarters of a mile around the bart station. and we're encouraging people to only take essential trips, just like all of us. we minimized the van capacity to make sure that there's social distancing and we're not taking more than two riders per van. and we're providing masks to all of the drivers and p.p.e. and the vehicles are cleaned significantly with significant cleaning every night. group van where groups of people are going to one location, like

an adult day health care center or a seniors' center, those services were operating for the first few weeks for some agencies. but all of the agencies now have closed their doors. and so during shelter-in-place, the group van services are not happening any longer. in terms of tax service, we're providing same-day on-demand services. all taxes are are required to participate. we're encouraging customers to take essential trips also on taxis. and as director tern mentioned earlier, we've done a lot in terms of making sure that the taxi drivers have p.p.e. kits. and that it's clear that they're required to clean the vehicle between trips and they've been trained. both we have a video and the companies have been given the p.p.e. and the cleaning supplies for the drivers, so that they have that available to them.

and don't need to get it themselves. they're required to wear face recoverings as well. one of the other one operating is the shop-around program, which is a van that takes people to shopping centers. usually we have five to seven people that may sign up. now we're only doing two per vehicle and providing more vehicles, if there's more demand. there's also a shop-around taxi drive. and this is for people who aren't a.d.a.-eligible and paratransit-eligible, for whom taking muni would be difficult to do shopping. taking your groceries back may be difficult. so they're able to use the shopping service instead. we also have the van van go shu. and any agency or group in the city that has seniors and people with disabilities, that would like to use the van go program, it is available to them.

unfortunately now with shelter-in-place, it's temporarily suspended. but we look forward to that ramping up again when we're all back. paratransit bus is a taxi program that we have for those who are not a.d.a.-eligible, but may have great difficulty -- or had difficulty in using muni. they -- they're able to get paratransit plus. it just provides a benefit for taxi for some occasional trips. another program that i'm sure you're probably aware of is a grant program that we have done with the department department c health. we're calling the choice transportation program. and this is to address the transportation needs of people going to public health clinics. and we have transportation navigators who meet with the individuals, to make sure they that they know about all of their transportation options, like free muni, discounted clipper, travel training, paratransit, shop-a-round.

if those services don't immediate their -- meet their needs. one last thing i wanted to mention is that the sfmta has a mobility management center, which is run out of our paratransit office. and this provides a way for people to get nell information they might need for caregivers or others who want to understand what are the things that are available to me. how do i get from point a to point b. i have a new disability, i'm not sure how it's going to affect my travel. and so we have personalized transportation information that's available there. and we've also done a lot with our website to make sure that it's easier for people tomorrow navigate. if they're a caregiver, how do i get through to see what other services are available for the person i work with or a child looking for their parent or the person themselves who just wants to understand what services are available. and we have a lot of personal

relationships with the community-based organizations. we believe it's really important to work with them. and that's part of why i think so many sign-ups for the trip card, we've done a lot of outreach through community organizations. so here's a list of quick ways to get into the website for particular programs. all of the information on covid. information on the e.t.c. program, paratransit, paratransit taxi, shop-a-round. and then i wanted to just show you a quick little video. one of the things during this kind of time is, you know, there are a lot of people who are working -- excuse me. working very hard. and some of those are our paratransit employees. they are making the difference in terms of people's lives. and what they can do. so we're just going to quickly show you this one-minute video that says thank you to those people.

>> commissioner peskin: thank you, annette. [music playing] >> i know that paratransit serves some of the most vulnerable people in the city of san francisco. paratransit needs to be there for them to just allow them to even go to the grocery store. and it's one of the things that people are struggling with as we go through this health crisis right now. >> really appreciate having a job. i guess directly help people. a lot of them that have jobs, i felt like i didn't really see the results of my work. >> i appreciate everything that we do. so i try to be as loving and caring as possible, because that's how you feel, you know,

when you help. i feel like i'm giving back. >> that makes me feel good and proud of myself. >> commissioner peskin: thank you, ms. williams p >> thank you to all of the people working so hard out there. and i'm available to answer any questions you might have. >> commissioner peskin: thank you so much. commissioner safai. >> commissioner safai: thank you, chair. just wanted to say that this essential trip card program is so important for us. there's a number of pockets in our community that have been completely isolated, as the m.t.a. service has -- the muni service has been reduced.

we were very happy to work with the transit workers' union and roger, local 250a and jeff and his team and julie. we just god word that we're going to be restoring the m-line in a variation of that, starting monday, may 4th, 6:00 until 9:0. 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. in 20-minute intervals. we're really excited about that. i want to thank sfmta and for everyone working with us on that. there's still pockets of my community that really, really will rely on this essential card program, because seniors don't feel comfortable going out, even on buses or even in large setting. they'd rather be in an environment that they know is safe and they are by themselves. i just want to thank annette and her team and others and the t.a. for really prioritizing this. because it's an essential piece of getting seniors, who are socially isolated,

geographically isolated, lack of service right now from muni, to be able to get the essential items that, you know, many of them don't have a computer. many of them don't have internet access. they can't order things online. they might have language barriers. and so this is an important program that we're really excited. and happy it's available. along with paratransit, of course. that's also very important. but just wanted to say that this is important. we're going to continue to promote it through every avenue we can. and i thank the t.a. and the sfmta for working on this. thank you, chair. >> commissioner peskin: thank you, commissioner. commissioner preston. commissioner preston? >> commissioner preston: i was muted there. thank you, chair peskin. so concur with commissioner safai's comments about the importance of this program. thank you, ms. williams for all

of your work on this. i just had one question. i'm curious about the age 65. obviously right now vulnerable populations in san francisco are defined by using the age of 60. and i was just curious whether any thought was given or whether it might be possible to expand eligible for this program, during the shelter-in-place period and state of emergency from 65 down -- down to 60. >> can i respond? >> commissioner peskin: yes, ms. williams, please. >> what we did is we followed our guidelines in terms of the fare categories at muni, which is 65 and over is a senior and below 65 is r.t.c. so anyone who has a mobility impairment, that's under 65 and is a muni user, they are probably already in our r.t.c. program, using it because they

have a mobility need. and so we think that we captured everyone who would be affected by the, you know, the additional distance that they need to walk to get to the muni line. because they would already be in our r.t.c. program. so that's how -- you know, we think we captured everybody who has mobility issues with this eligibility. do you understand -- the way that the regional transit discount card program works is that if you're under 65, then you get that card. and if you're over 65, you get the senior clipper card. so it should capture everybody who has any kind of mobility limitation, that would affect their ability to walk to muni. >> commissioner peskin: commissioner? >> commissioner preston: thank you. i think that -- i understand that that probably captures most folks. i do think folks who may not

have that mobility issue, but are still on this high-risk category, could possibly benefit. i don't know logistically if redefining it poses other administrative challenges. >> i can definitely take that back to our policy group and discuss it with them. i'm more than willing to do that. but i do feel that we're probably captured most of those people in the 60 to 65 category, who have mobility impairments, because of the way that the fare programs work at m.t.a. and in the region. >> commissioner preston: thank you. >> commissioner peskin: thank you, commissioner. commissioner mandelman. >> commissioner mandelman: i'm not quite -- i may be being slow i didn't quite follow that last explanation to supervisor preston. so the -- and maybe you can say it again. >> i'll try.

>> commissioner mandelman: it occurs to me that if i'm 60 years old and i live in twin peaks or diamond heights, and i don't necessarily have an impairment and 61 years old and walking -- it's a little harder to walk, you know, half a mile uphill with a bunch of groceries than maybe it was 15 years ago. what program would i be under? >> so what i was explaining is if you're a muni rider, and you have any kind of mobility impairment, most muni riders then would apply for the r.t.c. program or senior clipper to get the discounts or the free muni, if you're low income. and so anyone under 65, who has a mobility impairment is eligible for the r.t.c. program. and if they had applied for that, or had a disability, they're eligible.

>> access to which program? >> access to the discounts on muni, to free muni, if they're lower, moderate income. and to the e.t.c. program, the essential trips per card program. so if they have an r.t.c. card, they're automatically eligible for the e.t.c. program. >> commissioner mandelman: it just strikes me -- and i had some conversations with people who are sort of in this kind of late 50s, early 60s kind of category. >> like me. like me. i'm one of them. >> commissioner mandelman: wouldn't necessarily feel like i have a mobility impairment that would have caused me to enroll in a particular program. it's just half a mile to a mile up a hill with groceries is maybe more than i can handle. so i do -- i just want to -- i think for simplicity sake, for user friendliness, i want to concur with and echo supervisor preston's, you know -- from what i have heard, also some flexibility around, you know,

people who do have, you know, maybe not over 65, but maybe you do have a mobility issue and maybe we'll give you the e.t.c. that way and there's been some of that. >> and we are. >> commissioner mandelman: and i'm pretty sure of that. i wonder if it might make sense to push the qualifying age down to 60. and then i just -- i really appreciate the expedited kind of process around paratransit eligibility. so what is timing like now from i call 311 to i'm in the program? >> the staff is trying to process them as quickly as possible. under the a.d.a., they have up to 21 day. i think most are processed within a week. sometimes the problem is getting information back from a doctor, if they're waiting for something and they have to wait for that information and, you know, follow up with the doctor. but they're trying to do them as quickly as possible.

no longer than three weeks. most are happening in less than two weeks, some even in money. >> commissioner mandelman: okay. okay. i didn't know by the paratransit plus program. how does that relate to any of these other -- any of these other options? >> it's just it's something that we've had for quite some time. we put in place -- we're always trying to meet the needs. we know muni meets a lot of needs, paratransit meets others. but sometimes some gray area in the middle. and the paratransit bus we put together a -- probably more than ten years ago, when there was some people who didn't quite meet the a.d.a. criteria, but knowing they had a taxi trip if something was really difficult, made a big difference to their mobility. so we did this paratransit plus program. it's generally offered to people who don't get a.d.a. eligibility, but still have some difficulty occasionally with using muni.

the taxi industry has been huge to paratransit for many, many years. they've been a backbone in terms of providing a lot of services for seniors and people with disabilities. and people love it. you know, they like to be able to call a cab and have it come right away and be able to get to where they need to go quickly and easily. because of those relationships and what we've built, we were able to put this program, this e.t.c. program in place like, you know, very, very quickly. i'm really proud that we have that kind of relationship with the industry. >> commissioner mandelman: great. thank you for your work on that. and i'm done. >> commissioner peskin: thank you. are there any other members who would like to speak to this item number 10, which is an information item. seeing none, are there any members of the public who would like to make public comment on this item? >> clerk: there are no members of the public at this time.

>> commissioner peskin: okay. public comment is closed. colleagues, is there any introduction of new items? seeing none, is there any general public comment? and before we open it up, i do want to mention that we are all in receipt of public comment via email from alvin, that our clerk distributed to all of us this morning, prior to the meeting. now we'll open it up for public comment. are there any members of the public here for general public comment? >> clerk: yes, chair, there is a public comment. >> commissioner peskin: all right. first speaker, please. >> announcer: you have one question remaining. >> clerk: welcome, caller, your two minutes begins now. hello, caller? >> caller: can you hear me? >> commissioner peskin: yes, we can hear you. >> all right.

sorry, i was muted. i apologize for the breach of protocol earlier, in that basically a brain fail on my part. the only thing i'd like to ask, two items at the last board meeting, 17 and 18. i did come in on 17, no time left to come in on 18, because both items were together. so i followed up. i do have a question through the chair, though, about what happens to written public comment from the general public, because the sfcta and m.t.c. does not -- the communication to the agenda item on the website. the last comment i have is that i think it is unfortunate that the c.a.c. has not been able to chime in on multiple prop k allocations for the last two board meetings. even though the sfcta have had

the ability to hold multiple community meetings via teleconference. thank you. >> commissioner peskin: thank you for those comments, mr. lebrun. and we do get all of the public comments that are distributed individually to each of the members. i think i acknowledged your comment from the last meeting on item 18. you make a good suggestion about actually appending those and making them part of the publicly available file online. and with regard to the c.a.c., we are getting there. this is our second sfcta meeting, virtual meeting. but i'm working with staff to make sure that we are able to reconvene our c.a.c. are there any additional public comments? seeing -- go ahead. >> clerk: i apologize. i was just going to say there is no additional comments. >> commissioner peskin: okay. seeing none, public comment is closed.

and the sfcta is adjourned. [taps gavel] >> announcer: you're watching "coping with covid-19." today's special guest is dr. steven getnick. >> hi, i'm chris man us and you're watching "coping with covid-19." today my guest is the director of the behavior therapy center of san francisco and professor emeritus in counseling psychology at the university of

san francisco. doctor, welcome to the show. >> thank you. >> let's talk about managing anxieties during this pandemic. what types of issues are people facing at the moment? >> there are a number of issues and i really want to point out that this is affecting everyone and has come on very quickly. so it is normal. if you are not experiencing some anxiety, something is a touch off because this affects us all. i think some of the main ones are our health and worried about getting the virus and our developing serious complications. i think for a lot of people who are single, living alone, in isolation, has been very difficult. i think being in close quarters with people who we normally have some space from now are

together 24/7. that's produced a lot of stress and anxiety. that loss of connection with others. we already addressed. and having kids home. for a lot of people. >> yes, absolutely. what are the other problems that they might have? >> i think without that dynamic, the good things are not a problem. it is the difficulties we have. and when we're together 24/7, again it's like hooking everything up to an amplifier. >> so, what kind of problems could be created from working home from home, perhaps for the first time in your career? >> a lot of people are not used to working at home and a working at home just isn't the same. for one thing, there is a lack of social interaction. some people find that that

affects them greatly. some people are actually finding they're getting more work done at home without distractions from work. the lack of structure is probably the most common. we see it here with work at the office. people are kind of watching. we know that our schedule is, suddenly you're at home and you are on your own. >> absolutely. if those are some of the issues people are facing, what are some of the techniques people can use to overcome their anxiety? >> caller: i think there are many. one of the first is how managing and keeping track of your thinking, we think and talk to ourselves a lot. that's normal. we have a dialogue with ourselves often and we need to monitor that a bit. people tend to ruminate versus problem-solve. that is they tend to worry about all the things that might go wrong. and what i suggest is, look, there are things that can go

wrong, but ruminating about the worst-case scenario is not going to be very productive. sit down, figure out what the things are that you have to deal with and try to problem-solve. i think any of the self-control techniques for anxiety can be helpful. and there are dozens of them. the common ones are meditation, relaxation techniques, yoga, for example and another is diaphragmattic breathing. if you google that, you can learn diaphragmattic breathing in about 10 minutes online. it's incredibly simple and it is a really nice way to reduce anxiety in the moment. self-control procedures, exercise. whether if you're fortunate enough to have equipment at

home, that's great. if you're not, get outside and go for a walk, keep your safe distance, of course. but you need to be active. that's helpful. >> i think people marry be dealing with information overload at the moment. how do you suggest people manage that? >> i was just going to say that. i think it is really important to kind of limit the information you get. not in terms of accuracy. i think in terms of accuracy, you want to identify a few sites where people are coming with evidence-based information and scientific information so you can form yourself well. once you've informed yourself, you need to not be watching all day long. i've talked to people who are mesmerized from the tv and a it keeps that anxiety going so you need to limit your viewing for sure.

this can be stress for people who have economic concerns and worried about their family and friends and loved ones who are essential workers. what would you suggest they do to help manage anxiety and stress? >> there is a number of things. one of major ones for depression is behavioral activation. simply, it really means that people will tend to not be depressed as a number of reinforcing activities to engage in. whether it is hobbies, you read, you listen to music, you crochet, you -- whatever. these kinds of things are very important so you want to make sure that you're engaging in activities that literally make you feel better as opposed to sitting around ruminating, worrying about the worst-case scenarios that might happen. >> what about trying to do some self-development? >> yeah. it's a very interesting time.

i've talked to a couple of my own clients who are finding, in a very positive way, that this isolation, while at first can generate a lot of anxiety, particularly if you're just not good at living alone. for a number of people, it's giving them a chance to sit back and really think about what is important in their lives, what are the priorities. i think that maybe if there is any silver lining in this epidemic, it's really forcing all of us to kind of rethink what's really important. >> indeed. you know, though, at the same time, there are people who are feeling very lonely at home. how would you encourage them to overcome that? >> you get online. facetime, skype, zoom, like what we're doing right now. you can stay connected. it's very possible. most connections are important. we are social critters and we need that connection. i think for people who don't

have those options, pull up photos, take a look at pictures of family. you need to stay connected. and it's very important. >> and finally, do you have any suggestions that are specifically for families? >> yeah. well, again, i think one of the interesting things that's come about from all of this, is i talked to families on video is they're obviously spending more time together. while it's a bit awkward, particularly for parents who are in the house working a lot. it's a chance to really deepen relationships and spend more good, quality time together. i think parents really need to step back and kind of plan their day a little bit. not micro manage it, but have some ideas. can the family play games together? a lot of people i talked to, they're even together as a family for the first time. so i think there are a number of things that people can do.

i think it is qulaouzful for the families to take five, 10 minutes and say how did the day go? i talked to someone in the phone book before we started who said they noticed what time of day all their anxiety kind of comes together and they start sniping at each other. now they're taking a few minutes at tend of the day to say, ok, how are we doing? >> i think they need modeling good behavior, something you can do within the family, too, to try to -- >> that's right. i think that's relevant. very relevant to how children are going to do. most of the research from crises, particularly things we can't control showed that children do as well as their parents do. so i think it is important for parents to think about how

they're react aing and they stay calm because whatever they do is modeling, coping for their children. so, that can be very useful. it can also be problematic. >> when we talked earlier, you mentioned that acknowledging that your kids are afraid is important. >> yes. i think that ties to your last question. i think modeling -- you know, it's not incompatible with saying, yeah, you know, mom or dad is a little nervous, too. it means a lot of stuff is going on, but we're going to be ok. we're going to stay together. we have our time together. we're going to be safe. we'll -- fill in the blank. so you can do both. you can re-assure but in a realistic way that once the kids know it's normal to be anxious in these times. >> thank you for coming ton show, doctor. i really appreciate the time you've given us. >> you're welcome.

thank you for having me. >> and that is it for this episode. we'll be back with more covid-19 related information shortly. you have been "coping with covid-19." thank you for watching.

>> bonnie banks. bonnie banks. my definition of noise is uncontrolled music. without format. pretty simple affair. pancakes, and you're -- people get up on sundays around noon, weekends or whatever. should not be too hard to walk into place. have your audio alarm clock go off for two hours waking your up while you are eating breakfast with many interesting visuals once in a while. improvisation.

listening or not to the person you're playing up against or people or machines. trying to get as many different people in as possible. different genres, experimental noise, electronics, dissonance some drums.a tiny bit of ambient -- the first noise pancake shows, 1999, the first waffle noise, 2001. god-waffle noise, noise pancake came out of cubist art, place on mission street, brutallo,

where the church -- opened up his house and saturday morning cartoons. a big space. you can have everybody set up and barely move equipment around; small room for an audience to move around, walkover and get pancakes without getting burned up in the kitchen. there's like people in their hard-core gabber; people into really fast death metal; black metal. people who don't listen to music at all. guy like larnie bock (sounds

like) set up huge, motor driven harp. i don't know how to explain it. 40 foot of motors that he had running over strings and wires. and then played each string individually with the mixer. there is a feeling of euphoria when somebody's really good at what they do. experiencing a buffer, pushing your bowels out your rear. different. a lot of noise. you don't play clubs with a cleaning schedule, a guy coming in the morning emptying the beer bottles. you play the warehouse.

if you travel around you will see the exact same kind of weirdos doing their own thing. it is like in the bay area it's even more absurd. there seems to be more people that in a place like new york or tokyo. we did a show in new york, i didn't think that anyone was at hardly, and people come up and said i saw the show. i wish they had some kind of breakfast noise going on over there. i think a lot of people were being, walking out of the shows. that was incredible. i can't believe it's over already, after two hours. if you are reluctant to enjoy something like this it will probably take a mass of peers

to sell you on it. it's fine if you stay away. most of the people that come to the shows are pretty happy to be here. you may not be one of them. which is fine.

>> this is the school district for april 28, 2020. it is now called to order. roll call please. >> ms. collins. >> here. >> mr. cook. >> he is not here yet. >> ms. lam. >> here. >> ms. lopez. >> here. >> ms. norton. >> yes. >> are if student delegates with us? thank you. >> all right. here