we have a number of excellent candidates in front of us. two are the top two. both of them are going to talk in terms of gender representation and in terms of sexual orientation representation as well. it is not a great thing for this commission not to have any queer people on it. that being said, both of the folks who seem to be the top contenders would be important additions. it is meaningful to me that commissioner recommended david rizk and the bar association recommended him.

not queer or a woman, i think he would make important contributions. he also did address a concern i have. he don't have time for that. each of the folks. there is, i think, not a necessary tension but a challenge for the commission in addressing both the need to advance reforming in a way that enhances public safety. i did appreciate mr. rizk addressed that and suggested his experience overseeing the bart police gives him the background he needs not only to create more response i and just police department but one that does the job of preventing and involving crime objectively.

i hope we can find away for both candidates to be on there. that is all i got to say right now. thanks. >> i think, supervisor mandelman, you touched on the struggle we have. thank you to all four applicants. we are circling around two. i would like to have the cake and eat it, too, to get both of them on there now or in is not too distant future. there are a number of ways to do that. yes, there is mr. rizk's knowledge as attorney in the field and experience there and mr. yanez's experience with law enforcement, police reform on community side. they both have things a lot of things going for them. i think supervisor chan suggested we go with mr. yanez

today there. is another alternative which is that we can continue this a week and send whatever we decide as committee report next week before our last board meeting for the year. i note that our colleague supervisor ronan weighed in with a letter in support of mr. yanez. is also a big fan of mr. rizk. i don't think i know because i spoke with her this morning was also very supportive of a notion of figuring out a way to get everybody on. this could open up a little time to talk to the mayor as to whether she is interested in either one of those candidates or not totally within her prerogative. i think while everything is on the table we have a suggestion

from supervisor chan that i am 100% okay with. go with mr. yanez and send to the full board and vote on him next week and take up mr. rizk at future date or continue one week and decide next week to send a committee report so we would be voting at full board on the same day. what is your pleasure, colleagues? >> i am down with continuance. i think that -- i mean it is in a different topic and item. we are not really able to talk about things like this because of the brown act until we come into session in closed hearing. this is frankly, you know, the first time all three of us in

the committee to have this conversation and thinking about it. i am happy to continue these items for conversation publicly. during our committee hearing to give us time knowing that both of you what your thoughts are allows me to give it some thought, too, not knowing, chair peskin you have the conversation with supervisor ronan but now that i know that perhaps there is opportunity for conversation with the mayor's office i am down for that so we have consensus. police commission is a critical body and requires us to be thoughtful and a body to work together. whenever i get a chance to talk to these candidates for the

police commission candidates, i like to know what they think of the commission chair cohen's leadership. would they support the leadership and work together? i am down. >> okay. colleagues. how about we continue this item one week to our meeting next monday and then whatever we decide will go to the full board for the 14th of december. if there is no objection to that, mr. clerk, could you please call the roll. >> motion to continue to december 13th. supervisor chan.

>> aye. >> vice chair mandelman. >> aye. >> chair peskin. >> aye. >> the motion passes without objection. >> next item, please. >> next item on the agenda item 4. hearing to consider appointing three members to terms ending july 1, 2022, and two members terms ending july 1, 2023 to the children youth and their families oversight and advisory committee. to comment call 415-655-0001. id24871554296. press pound pound. if you haven't done so dial star 3 to speak.

>> we will hear from the three applicants for the five seats. >> thank you, supervisor peskin. one of the candidates is not able to attend. she has a conflict with class schedule. i will speak on her behalf. she is the first applicant for consideration. >> okay. i don't know that we need you to do that. i think that we have all looked at the written file and i think ms. c.u. rry is good to go for seat 7. we don't need you to speak on her behalf. why don't we go to jennifer salerno for seat 11. >> good morning. thank you for considering me seat 11 on children, youth families oversight committee. >> i worked at ymca for five

years created and managed youth force development serving 150 to 200 young people between 14-24 every year. majority of youth we served were current or former sfufc students. i worked with sfusd and other agencies for work force education to former students. program manager for excel managing two after-school programs one at the high school and one at the academy. my primary focus while at ymca was on providing resources for participants and families. i place tremendous emphasis for healing from trauma. i believe in a trauma-informed approach to supporting young people and families and will

work to advance these initiatives. i worked in higher education for six years at usf and sanford. i focused on financial aid support and creating and implementing diversities. i left ymca in october and now work as senior work force development specialist. my role isn't exclusively on youth i support families around retaining employment so they cannot only survive but thrive in san francisco. being first generation high school and college student raised by single mother i understand how crucial it is to support our children and families ensuring they have equitable access to resources and be opportunities. thank you very much for your consideration and time today. >> thank you and thank you for applying.

last but not least julie roberts-ph un g. >> we can hear you. >> i want be to thank you for considering my application to oac and put in a good word for jayda curry. i have appreciated learning more about the ways dcyf supports families and working with team on the shared goal of deepening racial equity in san francisco. over the life of the pandemic i have seen how the grantees showed up for families of color. during this time i worked closely with communities in the tenderloin where my children go to school and western addition where my family lives.

i have watched resources that leave gaps in tenderloin, treasure island, other neighborhoods where i am grant families live. food, testing, vaccine access, computers or community hubs they are left out and community leaders have had to do hard work to close gaps. during my time i have advocated for increased transparent for students and families spanish, chinese and seven languages they support. filipino, arabic and vietnam niece not through dcyf but tph and other systems. it is both important to help connect these systems and it has

been challenges to see how we struggled to do that over the pandemic. i have appreciated dcyf staff providing child care and developed deep appreciation for the staff to support students and allow them to stay in san francisco. i have addvo kayed for communities in san francisco for too long. pacific islander, undocumented and transyouth and families. honor to be part of the efforts in these difficult years and given me a deep appreciation for staff, board and partners. i hope you will support my application to tip be to serve on this board and to continue to advocate for issues as we navigate beyond the covid-19 pandemic. where i served in seat six last term based on the age of my children i believe seat eight is the best fit for me at this

time. thank you for everything you do for san francisco youth and families. >> thank you. are there any members of the public to testify on this item number 4? >> we are checking for callers. if you have not done so dial star 3 to be added the queue to speak. for those on hold continue to wait until the system indicates you are unmuted. we have onelitionner but nobody in line to -- one listener with nobody in line be to speak. >> we will close public comment for item 4. we thank the applicants and the two reapplying for their seats for applying again. colleagues, i think we should a motion is in order to have jayda

curry for seat 7, based on what julie just said to the age of her child move her from seat 9 to seat 8. and to have ms. salerno be seat number 11 as she applied for. if there are no objection to say that, i will say that is a motion and ask the clerk to call the roll. >> on that motion. supervisor chan. >> aye. >> vice chair mandelman. >> aye. >> chair peskin. >> aye. >> the motion passes without objection. >> we are adjourned.

>> by the time the last show came, i was like whoa, whoa, whoa. i came in kicking and screaming and left out dancing. [♪♪♪]

>> hello, friends. i'm the deputy superintendent of instruction at san francisco unified school district, but you can call me miss vickie. what you see over the next hour has been created and planned by our san francisco teachers for our students. >> our premise came about for san francisco families that didn't have access to technology, and that's primarily children preschool to second grade. >> when we started doing this distance learning, everything was geared for third grade and up, and we work with the little once, and it's like how were they still processing the

information? how were they supposed to keep learning? >> i thought about reaching the student who didn't have internet, who didn't have computers, and i wanted them to be able to see me on the t.v. and at least get some connection with my kids that way. >> thank you, friends. see you next time. >> hi, friend. >> today's tuesday, april 28, 2020. it's me, teacher sharon, and i'm back again. >> i got an e-mail saying that i had an opportunity to be on a show. i'm, like, what? >> i actually got an e-mail from the early education department, saying they were saying of doing a t.v. show, and i was selected to be one of the people on it, if i was interested. i was scared, nervous.

i don't like public speaking and all the above. but it worked out. >> talk into a camera, waiting for a response, pretending that oh, yeah, i hear you, it's so very weird. i'm used to having a classroom with 17 students sitting in front of me, where they're all moving around and having to have them, like, oh, sit down, oh, can you hear them? let's listen. >> hi guys. >> i kind of have stage flight when i'm on t.v. because i'm normally quiet? >> she's never quiet. >> no, i'm not quiet. >> my sister was, like, i saw you on t.v. my teacher was, i saw you on

youtube. it was exciting, how the community started watching. >> it was a lot of fun. it also pushed me outside of my comfort zone, having to make my own visuals and lesson plans so quickly that ended up being a lot of fun. >> i want to end today with a thank you. thank you for spending time with us. it was a great pleasure, and see you all in the fall. >> i'm so happy to see you today. today is the last day of the school year, yea! >> it really helped me in my teaching. i'm excited to go back teaching my kids, yeah. >> we received a lot of amazing feedback from kiddos, who have seen their own personal teacher on television. >> when we would watch as a

family, my younger son, kai, especially during the filipino episodes, like, wow, like, i'm proud to be a filipino. >> being able to connect with someone they know on television has been really, really powerful for them. and as a mom, i can tell you that's so important. the social confidence development of our early learners. [♪♪♪]

san francisco, 911, what's the emergency? >> san francisco 911, police, fire and medical. >> the tenderloin. suspect with a six inch knife. >> he was trying to get into his car and was hit by a car. >> san francisco 911 what's the exact location of your emergency? >> welcome to the san francisco department of emergency management. my name is shannon bond and i'm the lead instructor for our dispatch add -- academy. i want to tell you about what we do here. >> this is san francisco 911. do you need police, fire or

medical? >> san francisco police, dispatcher 82, how can i help you? >> you're helping people in their -- what may be their most vulnerable moment ever in life. so be able to provide them immediate help right then and there, it's really rewarding. >> our agency is a very combined agency. we answer emergency and non-emergency calls and we also do dispatching for fire, for medical and we also do dispatching for police. >> we staff multiple call taking positions. as well as positions for police and fire dispatch. >> we have a priority 221. >> i wanted to become a dispatcher so i could help people. i really like people. i enjoy talking to people. this is a way that i thought that i could be involved with people every day. >> as a 911 dispatcher i am the first first responder. even though i never go on seen --

scene i'm the first one answering the phone call to calm the victim down and give them instruction. the information allows us to coordinate a response. police officers, firefighters, ambulances or any other agency. it is a great feeling when everyone gets to go home safely at the end of the day knowing that you've also saved a citizen's life. >> our department operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. >> this is shift work. that means we work nights, weekends and holidays and can involve over time and sometimes that's mandatory. >> this is a high stress career so it's important to have a good balance between work and life. >> we have resources available like wellness and peer support groups. our dispatchers of the month are recognized for their outstanding performance and unique and ever changing circumstances. >> i received an accommodation and then i received dispatcher of the month, which was really nice because i was just released

from the phones. so for them to, you know, recognize me for that i appreciated it. i was surprised to even get it. at the end of the day i was just doing my job. >> a typical dispatch shift includes call taking and dispatching. it takes a large dedicated group of first responders to make this department run and in turn keep the city safe. >> when you work here you don't work alone, you work as part of a team. you may start off as initial phone call or contact but everyone around you participating in the whole process. >> i was born and raised in san francisco so it's really rewarding to me to be able to help the community and know that i have a part in -- you know, even if it's behind the scenes kind of helping the city flow and helping people out that live here. >> the training program begins with our seven-week academy followed by on the job training. this means you're actually taking calls or dispatching responders. >> you can walk in with a high

school diploma, you don't need to have a college degree. we will train you and we will teach you how to do this job. >> we just need you to come with an open mind that we can train you and make you a good dispatcher. >> if it's too dangerous to see and you think that you can get away and call us from somewhere safe. >> good. that's right. >> from the start of the academy to being released as a solo dispatcher can take nine months to a year. >> training is a little over a year and may change in time. the training is intense. very intense. >> what's the number one thing that kills people in this country? so we're going to assume that it's a heart attack, right? don't forget that. >> as a new hire we require you to be flexible. you will be required to work all shifts that include midnights, some call graveyard, days and

swings. >> you have to be willing to work at different times, work during the holidays, you have to work during the weekends, midnight, 6:00 in the morning, 3:00 in the afternoon. that's like the toughest part of this job. >> we need every person that's in here and when it comes down to it, we can come together and we make a really great team and do our best to keep the city flowing and safe. >> this is a big job and an honorable career. we appreciate your interest in joining our team. >> we hope you decide to join us here as the first first responders to the city and county of san francisco. for more information on the job and how to apply follow the links below.

>> hi everybody. i'm san francisco mayor london breed and it's great to see all of you here today and miguel even dressed up for me today. looking good. i like your hair cut. looking real, real good. first of all, let me just say, this is a long time coming. and i know many of you are apart of the fabric of what makes san francisco great and this l.b.e. program was so important to ensuring that businesses in san francisco have an opportunity to succeed and so we were looking at

reforming this program to ensure that it is available it's accessible in general and it helps not only those companies that want to get city contracts and do work in the city, but, also, we wanted to make sure that once companies are part of the fabric that you're able to grow and thrive and to continue to succeed and then to hire and then help raise the next generation of contractors in san francisco. and so the program, of course, has been complicated, it's been challenging, it's difficult to deal with and everything in between. even when i was a member of the board of supervisors, we've been talking about reforming this system and i want to take this opportunity to really thank all of you because

especially darilyn and miguel who helped to lead the efforts on getting us to this point where we were able to get legislation finished, passed, and now signed today. and i want to thank our city administrator carmen chiu. and i said, carmen, we've been talking about this for too long. we have to build some consensus. we have to raise the threshold, we have to get to a better place and she got it done. this is like a major accomplishment for our city and i want to also thank the board of supervisors president shamman walton. he helped to provide these

opportunities for all of us to be here to do to sign this legislation, so i appreciate his leadership and the other board of supervisors members who are involved in our l.b.e. program. thank you supervisor safai and supervisor melgar for being with us here today. and once i sign this legislation, i'm sending all my friends and family from the neighborhood to each and every one of you and i want you to hire them because i know as a result, your businesses are going to grow. you're going to continue to do work in the city and i know the city is not without its challenges. and i hope that you see how all of you working together, how we are able to accomplish so much more than working apart. so much compromise has been

made to get us to this point and my hope is that this is the start of what can be transformative about this program so that it doesn't depend on who's the mayor, who's the supervisor? but we have a structure now in place to allow for consistent increases in the threshold to make it easier for someone to make it into the program and succeed in the program in the first place. so i'm really excited about the future of this. [ applause ] and the last thing i'll say before i turn it over to the president of the board of supervisors shaman walton is, you know, getting an opportunity like this i know has been amazing for you for so many and what i really love about miguel is the conversations we have and the push he has not just to make his company a success, but how

he wants other companies in the program and how he has given back he's provided that opportunity and i know so many of you have done the same. and, what that makes for is really a better san francisco. i want all of you to be working in some capacity with the city and 'i also want all of you to be mentors for the next generation that wants to be apart of the city. that's what this program is about and that's how we're going to make san francisco a better place is continuing to work together and i want to thank all of you and at this time before i sign this legislation, i want to ask the president of the board of supervisors shaman walton to come up and say a few words. >> president walton: we definitely want to say thank you so much, mayor breed and really just want to agree in terms of the fact that this has

taken us awhile to get to this day. i can even remember being at this and talking about l.b.e.s and making sure they have jobs in san francisco and to really make sure that it's advantageous to be a city business that's based in san francisco. and so i'm proud of each and every one of you for working together because when we have conversations with miguel and we have conversations with darilyn and you super conversations with patrick and a whole gamut of business owners, different sectors of employment and then getting everybody to work together was very important. in the beginning of the conversation, some of you remember, i said if you all don't work together and go in a room and have these

conversations with each other, we're not going to be successful. and you all did that. and so i really want to commend you for getting together, working through the hard details and am copping to us with a unified front. i do want to thank city administrator chiu. i also want to thank the city attorney that worked closely to draft this legislation. that is important and so the last thing i'm just going to say is this is one step forward. obviously, we have continued work to do to make sure our contractors have the advantage when it's time to do business here in san francisco, but we're going to do everything we can in our roles to make sure that happens. i do want to thank and acknowledge supervisor safai, supervisor melgar for their co-sponsorship and all their hard work with everyone on this as well. thank you so much. [ applause ]

my apologies. i forgot to introduce the person who had her and her team make this happen and they worked very hard. she had to put together all of the things that you all are communicating and all the conversations over the number of years that took us to get to this point. so city administrator carmen chiu. thank you. [ applause ] >> hello. it's so exciting to be here today. i think for many of the folks who've been in the room and been in these conversations, i want to thank you all for your patience and continuing to work with us to make sure that we make sure our economic recovery is going to be a strong one and one that's led by our local businesses. i think for many of us who are here, i grew up in a small business as well. we know that when our local businesses succeed, our community succeeds. our local businesses, they go and they shop in the local

areas. they go and eat at the local restaurants. they hire from the local community and they know people here and i just want to say thank you for your continued investment in san francisco. it makes all the difference to know that you're with us and that you're going to continue to grow your businesses here. the program, the legislation that our mayor is signing today thanks to also the help of our president, shaman walton and members of the board who also co-sponsored. it will do many things. it's going to mean that we see more prompt payments for our local subcontractors who can't afford money not to get paid back or reimbursed. we're going to have pilot programs to make sure we encourage more l.b.e. participation and as the mayor mentioned earlier, this is the program that's going to help us to make sure we incentivize

mentor protoge programs and mentorships. so i want to thank folks like miguel and patrick who really invest back into our community and how important it is to do that. i do want to thank a few folks from the city side who really made it happen. of course, mayor breed, she mentioned the conversations we had from the beginning and i will tell you it was relentless. as you know, every meeting i had with the mayor was about how is this program going? are we getting to consensus? are we figuring out a way forward? so i want to thank her for continuing to push all of us to head in that direction and get to where we are today. and i want to thank jennifer brush on our team. she was an amazing partner. i think yadira was mentioned with our city attorney. she knows so much how

contracting works and helped us through all the different complexities of contracting. you know, our job is to make sure a good idea gets married with the right administration. making sure we can carry out the things that we promise we're going to do. and i want to thank, of course, all of the community members whether it's juliana choy from the economic equity and alex chiu. darilyn, miguel, patrick, all the folks who advocated and came to our office. thank you so much. with that, it is my absolute pleasure to introduce miguel gallarza to come up. above and beyond that, someone with a big heart who continues to reinvest time and again to people to make sure we are successful as a city. thank you, miguel. [ applause ]

>> thank you everyone for being here and showing the support we've had all year for the last two or three years. it makes a difference. it shows we're engaged as a community. it shows we believe in the true spirit of the government because it can make a difference for all of our lives. i really appreciate all of my partners have worked really hard from the l.b. advisory committee. from those member that is don't get the recognition. dr. ansani, of course, darilyn and all of them that have taken part in helping us draft this and make sure that we had the right message that we listen to the right community members. people that were not part of the advisory committee, the well bonders and the patrick to make sure they engage with the small community and help that voice come out so that we can listen to them, pay attention to them, focus on their needs and make sure we created the

opportunity for them to succeed. and, most of all, i remember 30 years ago when i was a wee young lad and how a civil servant came to me and says, you know, miguel, we need young entrepreneurs and young people to be engaged in the community. we have older generation that's retiring. we need young blood and that person and he told me be engaged, bepart of the community. focus in on what you can do for your community and you'll benefit greatly and rewardingly. and so i'm taking that to heart. now that i'm looking forward to passing that baton on to those young entrepreneurs that want to make a difference. you know, i was a kid from the mission district. and, yeah, i went to but you know what, at the end of the day, we made a difference and at the end of the day, we're here because this program is meant to empower our people so

that we can rise our community. so that we as african american latinos, asians can all benefit and raise your community so we can all strive to be true san franciscans and join the prosperity that this affords us and gives us the opportunity to succeed by. with that, i want to introduce somebody who was pushing me, pulling me to my left, to my right, encouraging me, inspiring me, and making sure that we had the right things to say to our legislators so that we had the right message. with that, come up here, ms. davidson. take a bow. [ applause ]

>> i'm going to be very brief. i just want to say most of all thank you to all of the supervisors, to my partners, my friends, people i've gotten to know over the years of working through this legislation for many, many years. i started on this probably about 15 years ago when it was h.r.c. and didn't get much traction then in 2015. thought we were almost there and then at the last minute, there were some changes to the legislation. so ever since then, i've been working on making sure that small businesses like mine who are in san francisco have an equitable opportunity to do business here in the city that i was this legislation is going to allow me and a whole lot of other people. a lot of other small companies continuing to work and do business here in san francisco. so thank you all for all the help in the work. it's been -- we had many long nights.

lots of conversations about whether this could happen and it actually hasn't. it's hard for me to believe that we're here because i've been on this fight for so long that actually, we actually have crossed over to having a piece of legislation that will make a difference for all of us. so thank you [ applause ] >> all right. let's get this legislation signed. come and join me, the two of you.

[♪♪♪] >> 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.

shop and dine on the 49 promotes local businesses and challenges residents to do shopping and dining within the 49 square miles of san francisco by supporting local services within neighborhood. we help san francisco remain unique, successful and vibrant. where will you shop and dine in the 49? san francisco owes the charm to the unique character of the neighborhood comer hall district. each corridor has its own personality. our neighborhoods are the engine of the city. >> you are putting money and support back to the community you live in and you are helping small businesses grow. >> it is more environmentally

friendly. >> shopping local is very important. i have had relationships with my local growers for 30 years. by shopping here and supporting us locally, you are also supporting the growers of the flowers, they are fresh and they have a price point that is not imported. it is really good for everybody. >> shopping locally is crucial. without that support, small business can't survive, and if we lose small business, that diversity goes away, and, you know, it would be a shame to see that become a thing of the past. >> it is important to dine and shop locally. it allows us to maintain traditions.

it makes the neighborhood. >> i think san francisco should shop local as much as they can. the retail marketplace is changes. we are trying to have people on the floor who can talk to you and help you with products you are interested in buying, and help you with exploration to try things you have never had before. >> the fish business, you think it is a piece of fish and fisherman. there are a lot of people working in the fish business, between wholesalers and fishermen and bait and tackle. at the retail end, we about a lot of people and it is good for everybody. >> shopping and dining locally is so important to the community because it brings a tighter fabric to the community and

allows the business owners to thrive in the community. we see more small businesses going away. we need to shop locally to keep the small business alive in san francisco. >> shop and dine in the 49 is a cool initiative. you can see the banners in the streets around town. it is great. anything that can showcase and legitimize small businesses is a wonderful thing.

>> my name is andrea, i work as a coordinator for the city attorney's office in san francisco. a lot of it is working with the public and trying to address their public records request and trying to get the information for their office. i double majored in political science and always tried to combine both of

those majors. i ended up doing a combination of doing a lot of communication for government. i thought it would connect both of my studies and what was i was interested in and show case some of the work that government is doing. >> i work for the transportation agency known as muni and i'm a senior work supervisor. >> i first started as a non-profit and came to san francisco and started to work and i realized i needed to work with people. this opportunity came up by way of an executive fellowship. they had a program at mta to work in workforce development type project and i definitely jumped on that. i didn't know this was something that i wanted to do. all i knew is that i wanted to help people and i wanted to empower others.

>> the environment that i grew up that a lot of women were just stay-at-home moms. it wasn't that they didn't have work, but it was cheaper to stay home and watch the kids instead of paying pricey day care centers. >> my mom came from el salvador during the civil war. she worked very hard. when she came here and limited in english, she had to do a service job. when i was born and she had other kids, it was difficult for her to work because it was more expensive for her to be able to continue to work in a job that didn't pay well instead of staying at home and being able to take care of us. >> there isn't much support or advocacy for black women to come in and help them do their jobs. there also

aren't very many role models and it can be very intimidating and sometimes you feel uncomfortable and unsure of yourself and those are the reasons exactly why you need to do it. when i first had the opportunity, i thought that's not for me. my previous role was a project manager for a biotech start up. i thought how do i go from technology to working in government. thinking i didn't know about my skills, how am i going to fit in and doing that kind of work. thinking you have to know everything is not what people expect have you, but they expect you to ask questions when you don't know and that's important. >> my mom was diagnosed with cancer. that was really difficult. she encouraged me to go to school because in case anything happened i would be able to protect myself.

i wanted to be in oncology. i thought going to school it would set me for the trajectory and prepare me for my life. >> we need the hardships to some of the things that are going to ultimately be your strength in the future. there is no way to map that out and no way to tell those things. you have to do things on your own and you have to experience and figure out life. >> you don't have to know what you are going to do for the rest of your life when you are in college or high school because there are so many things to do. i would encourage you to try to do everything that you are remotely interested. it's the best time to do it. being a young woman with so many opportunities, just go for it and try everything.

>> hello everybody. i'm san francisco mayor london breed. i'm here at the 911 center with a number of our public safety leaders in the city including director of the department of emergency management, mary ellen carol, dr. grant colfax, our fire chief jeanine nicholson. and chief deputy lizar and we're here just to talk with a

number of our dispatchers here at the 911 center and i just want to thank the dispatchers and the people who are part of this center because i think what people don't realize is every single day, 24 hours a day, the people who work in this building, they are fielding calls on a regular basis of people that sometimes sadly are experiencing one of the worst times in their lives and they're looking for help. and these folks in this building who show up time and time again for us despite the pandemic, despite everything that's been going on in this city for the past year and a half. they've been here. they are wearing their mask and doing their jobs and they're showing up for san francisco. so i want to that our 911 dispatchers and their hard work and commitment to san francisco. we just heard back from a number of things they, of course, want to see change and

they want the public to be aware that when they call and you call 911, they hear a lot of calls and they know what is available and what's important for everyone to know is i know folks are asking i want a paramedic or a want a police officer or i want the street crisis response team. well, ultimately, they need to understand what is going on in the scene to the best of their ability. and they are able to make decisions baseded on what they hear from you. ultimately, it's about public safety and they can't just send anyone into any situation without making sure that they understand what's going on and often times our police department are the first line of defense around issues that involve public safety and when you're able to dig a little bit deeper sometimes, they recommend the street crisis response team or a paramedic. ultimately, the men and women who work here every single day,

they've heard a huge range of things and they as far as i'm concerned are the experts and the best judge of what is most appropriate to send when you call 911. so trust them. many of them have been working here for 10, over 20 years and have heard a number of calls from a number of people and so we are here to express our pre-for their hard work and ask the people of san francisco when you call 911, please respect and trust our dispatchers. today, we're also celebrating one year of our street crisis response team and so i know simon peng and others are here with us and the behavioral health teams from the department of public health, i mean this was what some considereded a crazy idea bringing all these city agencies together to respond to the crisis that sometimes

people are having on our streets. and the fact is there's not a one-size-fits-all. there are people suffering from schizophrenia. there are people who suffer from behavioral health issues and substance use disorder and it's complicated and sometimes people are violent, sometimes they're not. i went on a ride with the street crisis response team and, you know, it took about an hour to even get to a point where we could actually get that person over to general hospital. we had to unfortunately do a 72-hour hold, 51-50 that individual because of their behavior and even if they didn't have a weapon and weren't going to harm themselves, going in and out of traffic where a car could potentially hit them or that person in the car who hits them could be harmed themselves with a real problem and so they have to use their own expertise,

their own judgment to decide what is best for the individual they are trying to serve. and this program came about in trying to find a nonpolice response to things that don't require a police response. we have a lot of challenges in san francisco and we truly appreciate and value our police department and the work that they do to serve and protect the people of this city. but we also understand that there are some calls that they are not necessarily needed and so my preference is that when the dispatchers get the call, they make the decision sometimes for there to be the street crisis response team or a police officer or a paramedic depending on the situation. and so this program has been in existence for years. they've answered thousands of calls. they helped divert people to some of our behavioral health beds which you all know. we have expanded significantly

and there's a commitment from this past year's budget to increase the number of beds by an additional 400. we're already over 200 additional behavioral health beds and we plan to do more. the goal is to make sure that when we engage with members of the public who are struggling and having challenges, behavioral health related issues, we are able to have a place for them to go and sometimes that's not always the emergency room. so we know there are complex problems and complex solutions and other challenges that our city as a major, as a major city, that's a very dense city, we know there are problems and challenges we have to face, but i've got to say, i'm so very proud and grateful to all of our public safety officials who are doing the work on the ground to try and keep people safe. i'm grateful to them for showing up and despite dealing with some of the most

challenging of circumstances every single day, they still show up. so when you see our firefighters, our police officers, our paramedics, anyone wearing a city uniform in any way, just give them a smile and thank them for their service because they are doing the hard work day in and day out to deal with the challenges that exist in this city. so thank you again everyone for being here. we celebrate and we're grateful to our street crisis response team. we're grateful to our police officers and our firefighters and our department of public health officials, our doctors, our nurses, our clinicians. all of the people who were extraordinary and helped us through this pandemic. we are so fortunate to have so many extraordinary public servants in this city. and now, with that i'd like to introduce the director of the

department of emergency management mary ellen carol. >> thank you mayor breed. i really appreciate the fact that you took time to come in today. we got some feedback on the implementation of the skirt teams and some of the other teams and we're super grateful for that. i just want to thank my colleagues, dr. colfax, chief nicholson, of course, deputy chief lizar for your support and commitment to developing alternatives for people in crisis. the role of emergency management is to provide coordination and there is no significant crisis than what we see of the the tragedy happening on our streets.

this includes overseeing multi-department operations. we need to unify all of these different groups to figure out are we doing this most efficiently. are we getting the results that we need and ultimately our goal is to improve the conditions on the streets and the sidewalks and our conditions. just to reiterate, we have increasingly more resources at our disposal to aid people working on the streets. again, to echo the mayor, we need to trust their expertise. please do not hesitate to call 911 or a nonemergency if there's an emergency and provide the information that these trained professionals are asking for. they care deeply about this city and they want to get the

information out and the help out and their frustrations they indicated is they're going to have to get into these arguments to call in to get the information. we want to get the help to the persona needs it as quickly as possible. and so that starts with calling 911 and responding to the prompt so we can get that help out quickly. the emergency management side of d.m., we are drawing on our experiences. the development of all the relationships that we've had and the expertise that we developed to help our department partners here really effectively utilize the resources and work towards those common goals and outcomes. san francisco is a leader in developing and implementing

ultimate response teams for people in crisis. and we at the department of emergency management are honoreded to be able to help coordinate these efforts and bring our best outcomes for the people of san francisco. right now, are i'd like to introduce my colleague, dr. colfax, the leader of the department of public health. >> good morning everybody. thank you director carol. hi, everyone. it's great to be with you here today and i want to thank mayor breed for her tremendous leadership. san francisco is fundamentally changing how we serve people in crisis and leading the nation on how we respond to health care needs with health care response. and thank you, mayor breed and partners for helping us do this. i want to thank director carol and the 911 dispatchers to ensure they apply the most appropriate and compassionate

response is provided to people in need and this includes people experiencing nonviolent mental health or substance use disorders to the best response the street crisis response team. our community paramedics, mental health with lived experience together have a range of specialty skills to engage in crisis and address a person's immediate needs for care, treatment, and shelter. skirt is truly a collaboration. as you know, staffing comes from the department of public health and, of course, fire as well as our wonderful community partners health right 360 and rams. and the first year, skirt responded to over 5,000 calls. those 5,000 calls in emergency visits a decrease in ambulance rides and a decrease in law enforcement responding to

nonviolent calls and most importantly, an opportunity to connect san franciscans with those most appropriate services. skirt is supported by a dedicated followup team within 24 hours of the initial encounter. nearly a third of all people are successfully reengaged with followup care such as being connected to a provider or treatment facility. this is really about meeting people where they are and tailoring our response. if you have a person on the street in a skriesz, even the skirt team to wrap around that person, that's an important step. you don't want to crowd that person. so the pier counselor will go out and engage that person one on one saying i've been here before. i have that lived experience. how do i share my experience and engage the broader team. they can transport that person to places like humming bird, our low barrier care. that low barrier care.

getting that person off the street, linking them to care. skirt is part of our larger effort to bring our response to the community. our community based teams like skirt and overdose response team are removing access to care, treatment, and services. and i want to make one more plug, if you see someone in crisis, please call 911 to describe what you are seeing and somebody will be there. now, it's my pleasure to introduce a great leader, partner, and collaborator in this response, chief nicholson. thank you. >> thanks, dr. colfax. yes, i just want to say thank you, mayor breed for trusting us in the fire department to take on this critical role with the department of public health and others. as you may have heard, street crisis response team, we also call it "skirt." i want to give a shout out to some of the people here on the

street crisis response team. we have a community paramedic that has more training than a regular paramedic. they're trained in de-escalation. they can redirect people to other services and a mental health professional from public health and as dr. colfax said, a peer support person. in terms of the 5,000 calls we have gone on and of the folks we have gone out to help, 40% of them have accepted help and transport to a psychiatric facility. that does not include people that we have had to 51-50. but this is an extremely successful program. we're working out all the

creaks. but we look forward to it. chief simon peng, if you have any specific questions, he is here as well. thank you all for being here today and, again, a big shout out to our street crisis response team and i would like to introduce our partner of safety, deft chief lazar. >> thank you, chief nicholson. what else can be said? first on behalf of chief scott and the entire san francisco police department, i want to thank our mayor london breed who back in 2020 was looking at policing and looking at the role of police. and really, it was her vision that said, you know, we need to take this important issue of helping and assisting the

mentally ill more away from the police and more towards professionals who are trained and go to school and are prepared to deal with the challenges on our streets and that's involved to what we see today. we have a lot to celebrate in one year and as you can hear, that's 5,300 calls to police who are sometimes there, but we're not there to do the intervention and to help people. and so that is a lot to be unlike other cities in america, the police and fire like each other and we're friends with each other and and maintains the building. and the last thing i want to

say is i want to thank our san francisco police officers. just like mayor breed has shown tremendous support. i want to thank them as well on behalf of the chief and the department for what they do every day working to help and serve the public and provide public safety in the city. thank you very much. >> i want to thank paul miamoto, but the people who secure i want to thank them for their services as well. with that, i want to open it up to any questions. >> i believe this was a week before thanksgiving. i'm curious if there are plans to services and how they.

>> well, i think what we've been doing around deescalation for the most part has been working and our police officers have a job to do when they're called to protect public safety. the chief last week showed the video and provided input. it's an ongoing investigation. there will be an independent investigation, but it appears that, you know, the training and what the officers learn to do around deescalation were implemented in this particular case. and so there's an ongoing investigation in this case but at the end of the day, i'm grateful for the work that we have done in san francisco around deescalation and around the ability to identify and work towards a solution in most of these situations and this was an unfortunate situation that occurred, but i think that

our officers handling themselves appropriately. >> reporter: [inaudible] >> i think it's hard to say because people have struggled with mental illness since the beginning of time. and the fact is we as a society, as a city, as a state, as a country, we have not handled it very well. we are doing the best that we can within the laws that we have. but one very important law that is missing in order to really see and feel the difference has everything to do with force and that means forcing someone into treatment, forcing someone into some cases, you know, a locked or unlocked facility based on

what their issues are. and so there's a huge push around we don't want to take away someone's rights and i totally understand it. i'm going to tell you right now. i see elderly people on the streets who have dementia. who have no family members. who have no one making decisions for them and then when we take them into our care and we try to get them help and support and make sure they're not outside doing things that they would not normally do if they didn't have dmen can. as soon as they say, i want to go. i don't want to be here we have to honor that and so the system is broken as a whole and needs to be changed. and so we don't necessarily unfortunately have the local jurisdiction to make those changes. we need a change in state law and we need a change in this country about how we address mental illness whether it's those suffering from substance

use disorder or dementia, schizophrenia and all these other ailments that may impact the mind in a way. my hope is that what we are trying to do is we're trying to manage the situation as best that we can within the laws that we have. we can't force someone to stay in our care. we can't force someone to stay in a treatment bed. we cannot force someone to behave in a certain way. there's a number of layers that go into that and so we are still missing the most important layer to see in a real difference a lot faster in our city.

you mean sheriff. >> reporter: [inaudible] >> work off duty in the private sector. i think at the end of the day, it's a sad state of what we're living in terms of what we are seeing with these mob style robberies and a number of other the burglaries, the car briek-ins, all of the things that and the people in this city want to change they're not coming back. so it's going to impact our

bottom line and the ability to pay for all of these problems to help homeless and mentally ill. it's going to impact our city as a whole. so that line of defense with our police department, our sheriff's deputies is going to be critical. a critical piece to helping to maintain safety. that's just what it is. yes, we have our ambassadors. yes, we have different responses to calls that people make to 911. yes, we are trying to make the reforms and to ensure that the appropriate interactions take place with law enforcement in san francisco. but at the end of the day, people want police officers, they want to make sure that our streets are safe and we're going to do everything we can to make sure that they are. and that's part of it. and by expanding the ability for sheriff's deputies to work off duty at these various locations, that's only going to enhance public safety and i am fully in support of that.

>> reporter: [inaudible] >> i'll let dr. colfax talk about that. we probably won't be able to relax right away. . it means that we don't know just like with covid when it first happened, we didn't know specifically the impacts. we don't know yet, we don't know when it will be in san francisco. but the likelihood it will be here is likely but we are paying for close attention to this. we are working with a number of health experts all over the country and ultimately what has been said time and time again, get your vaccine and do

everything you can to make sure you are protected. even if we see this is worse than the delta variant, you do have a layer of protection with the existing vaccine, but there may be more needed as well. so we just don't know what we don't know, but as soon as we know, our plan is to make sure the public knows everything that we know. dr. colfax, did you want to add to that? last question. good. >> reporter: [inaudible] >> yes. first of all, let me just say i'm a big supporter of night life and going out in san francisco. and there are rules and number

of regulations put in place in a number of establishments. number one, you have to have a mask. number three, when you go to the restroom, you have to have a mask and i was in a private area with my drinks, with the people i was with enjoying myself at a venue and i had a great time and i followed the appropriate protocols, and, yes, i was dancing, and, yes, i was drinking and having fun and at the end of the day, i am doing everything i can to follow the existing protocols and i think sadly sometimes these videos are taken out of perspective. i took pictures who wanted to take pictures with me. i am out there in the public not just supporting night life, but out there at our restaurants, shopping at various locations doing what i feel as mayor i should be doing but also as a human being who's been through a global pandemic who did everything i could to make sure that the people of this city were safe which is

why it's no coincidence we not only have one of the lowest death rates in any major city in the country. so i'm doing my job and i am following these protocolonel colonels. what i've said to people time and time again that we need to do our very best. in a room full of vaccinated people. so that's what i have to say about it. i'm going to continue to support our night life and go out and enjoy myself as someone who is a single woman living in a major city who is having fun, but i want to be clear, i'm not out there making the rules and then not following them. so it is just not fair to try and take a snip of a video which i knew was done by somebody who was at my table and use that as a way to indicate it's something other than what it is doing exactly what i would expect anyone else to do when they're out at a

night life venue drinking and dancing and partying and having a good time. thank you.

>> good afternoon this. meeting will come to order. welcome to the