>> so, okay. hi everyone. i'm sharaoen and i'm executive director of san francisco department of homelessness and supportive housing. i want to welcome everyone today to this joyous occasion. so, this is one of the new buildings that the city is acquiring to add to our permanent supportive housing stock. we know that supportive supportive housing is a try and traoud intervention for people experiencing homelessness. once people go into supportive housing, they do really well. i think we have an 87% retention rate over two years which means people tend to stay ones they come into supportive housing. and the reasons i heard from

people who have experienced is that they have a safe, clean and quiet space. that they can brown out noise of the street, that they can focus on the things that they need to move on forward in nr lives. so today i want to thank the mayor for her incredible leadership. we added so much to the housing stock, since she has been our mayor. i also want to thank catherine stephanie who is newly the supervisors of this particular over this particular building because the, because the lines of the supervisorial lines changed. that's great to see you supervisor. and i want to thank steve goode in five keys thoer their incredible work. both from the shelter side but also in permanent supportive housing. and they're the ones who are responsible for managing this building .d this is a building

for 114 adults. right now, it's got about over 90 people moved in. one of the reasons that we chose it is because of the location. one of the other reasons is because it's a building that was easily renovated and it had a low vacancy rate so there was only about 30 legacy tenants. so that gave us the ability to move a lot of people in. so today we're going to start by hearing from mayor reed, and then i will come back and introduce our next speakers. thank you. >> thank you, sharenne. let me start by saying it's so great to be here. we fortunately have acquired a number of these properties over the past two years, increasing our permanent supportive

housing portfolio to almost 3000 units which is one of the fastest increases in over 20 years. and these types of project don't get the fanfare support and recognition that they truly deserve. because because sadly we see too many people focused on the challenges of the streets but not necessarily on the people who were once part of the challenges of the streets. seems those people now turn their lives around, not just because they have a roof over their heads, but because they're going to have support from organizations like five keys where there will be case management and supportive services, 24-hour service from a team of people who actually really care about the success of their lives.

that's a big deal. and what i see constantly because many people say, what are we going to do about the homeless. and my push back is this, it's not a one size fits all. everyone you see on the streets is not necessarily homeless and has different challenges. so for us, to be as affective as we are in helping people and meeting them where they are, we have to get more creative and more importantly, we have to provide spaces like this. 114 units added to the portfolio with a team of people as i said from five keys. our goal is to make sure that the people that we are directly pulling off the streets and moving in this building never make it back out to the streets. never get back out there for any apparent reason.

it takes a lot of work and money and resources and it really takes a village. of course, sharene and the office of homelessness and housing play a key role in managing a lot of the properties that we have been able to acquire but we can't do it again. and having partners on properties like this and being actively engaged is going to really be a game changer for the city. this was not something that we focused on in the past. and in fact, by 2023, we'll have about 14,000 units of permanent supportive housing in our portfolio. so that's going to be a big

increase. and let's also talk about the data and work we've done and how we're finally seeing results. more than almost any other city not only in the bay area but the entire state of california. san francisco saw a 3.5% reduction in homelessness overall and a 15% reduction in unsheltered homelessness. so we have a lot to be proud of. we know something is working. we see the challenges every single day. but just because people are outside, hanging out whatever going on, does not always mean that they're homeless. and part of our foc sus making sure that we have support and a roof over folks head and the other part is services. the other part is assistance in various capacities. and five keys has been a tremendous partner in helping us in this work. so we appreciate the opportunity to open this space to make sure that we highlight the space. this is one of the, bases that

we were able to acquire fast, unlike most spaces we're able to purchase. wefrp approved in february and we started to move people in may. it was brought to mia tension late last time, that's rocket time in san francisco. but every delay, means a denial to safe affordable housing. i want to thank you for helping us make this building part of this reality and maintain this partnership and great opportunity for san franciscoians to have a safe affordable place to call home. and with that, i want to introduce the supervisor who represents this district. it threw me off, i used to be supervisor of district 5 and

after redistricting, supervisor stefani is the supervisor of this district which i think is great because she will give this building, this side of the community a lot of love and attention. but more importantly our city is changing. it's changing and we have to make some hard decisions redistricting. and in fact, we saw district 6 grow significantly. we saw district 10 grow. but we didn't see a lot of our other parts of our city grow because we were not building enough housing. we have to get aggressive in building housing all over our city. that's really important. but in the meantime this is a lucky building to have supervisor catherine stefani and without further ado, the supervisor of your district. [applause] >> thank you, for your leadership, i was thrilled when

you took lead of that department having worked with you for so long now. and i'm absolutely thrilled that this is part of district 2 and that we're going to add 1400 more units. it's important to do our share. the fact that we moved our lines moore way, certainly means a lot to me. mayor reed is right and i care deeply about the residents here, we have 94 here and 119 potential residents. they have a common room, they have a kitchen, they have a room where they can watch

football, 49ers of course. i noticed that there were no books. we're going to do that start today, we'll do a book drive. and i look forward to working with everyone. and sunny one of my she ros who is very involved with five keys. the fact that we brought over 2000 units is all attributable to mayor reed.

and we know that it's not just about providing a room. we put people in the room. this is what five keys does, so i thank you in advance and what you're going to do for those moving in. next we'll hear from steve goode who is executive director of five keys. >> thank you, i feel like everything i wanted to say has already been said. welcome to 385 church street. we call this the gothem while i'm not batman our staff are superheros.

that work that they do. what they do is nothing more than heroic, from reversing overdoses, treating somebody with dignity and respect deserving of every person. i want to say that i'm proud and happy to be part of the solution that mayor reed, board of supervisors, hsh has brought to the city to reverse the problem. and we'll continue to be here and i think we covered everything that i wanted to say. i have the privilege to introduce one of our residents.

david has been unsheltered for approximately 20 years. enter the system about 3 years ago. he's one of our residents right now. david? >> hello my name is david, david rogin and i'm a resident here. i'm a resident of san francisco born and raised 66 years ago. you know what, i'm lucky to be here. this is the first i can say this is my house. you know, i've got my own key. and now that i'm here my goal is to really get myself together.

i got a place where i can come in every night to eat and be safe. you know it's my room, it's my place. what is better is, the first thing i got into the building, staff made me nervous because they kept asking if i'm all right. i'm all right, they got me a place. i didn't move around like him. but he got it for me and i'm here, you know.

now that i'm here i can concentrate on my health. not only my health but my relationship with my sister. everybody else is gone. i can ask my sister to come over so i can cook her something to eat. i wish i did that with mom but, it's a little too late for that. i hung in there on this ride, i was living in sip, shelter in place. and first day, they said they would guarantee me housing and years later, i'm here right here.

that's what is going on right now in my life. who ever thought i would be doing something like this. it's the like the movies, the mayor is next to me and all of these people. makes me feel like i'm somebody today, you know. [applause] the numbers that are out there, it may be understand a whole lot about what is happening in san francisco with the homelessness and addictionness going on. yeah, it is a problem but my results is if you stick with it, you can get here in san francisco.

something must be happening, you know. i can walk through some of the old neighbors and show. it's different now. i don't know how much they had to clean up around here. this is a nice neighborhood, two blocks away from st. marie's church. one of the parks away, i used to play baseball. now it's about 50 years ago. but, i'm here now and i can look at the park every day and enjoy the sunshine. and just come back and kick it in my place, you know.

>> so i just want to thank everybody, thanks for coming and thanks for celebrating with us, have a great day everybody. . >> i love that i was in four

plus years a a rent control tenant, and it might be normal because the tenant will -- for the longest, i was applying for b.m.r. rental, but i would be in the lottery and never be like 307 or 310. i pretty much had kind of given up on that, and had to leave san francisco. i found out about the san francisco mayor's office of housing about two or three years ago, and i originally did home counseling with someone, but then, my certificate expired, and one of my friends jamie, she was actually interested in purchasing a unit. i told her about the housing program, the mayor's office, and i told her hey, you've got to do the six hour counseling and the 12 hour training. she said no, i want you to go

with me. and then, the very next day that i went to the session, i notice this unit at 616 harrison became available, b.m.i. i was like wow, this could potentially work. housing purchases through the b.m.r. program with the sf mayor's office of housing, they are all lotteries, and for this one, i did win the lottery. there were three people that applied, and they pulled my number first. i won, despite the luck i'd had with the program in the last couple years. things are finally breaking my way. when i first saw the unit, even though i knew it was less than ideal conditions, and it was very junky, i could see what this place could be. it's slowly beginning to feel like home. i can definitely -- you know, once i got it painted and slowly getting my custom furniture to fit this unit because it's a specialized unit, and all the units are

microinterms of being very small. this unit in terms of adaptive, in terms of having a murphy bed, using the walls and ceiling, getting as much space as i can. it's slowly becoming home for me. it is great that san francisco has this program to address, let's say, the housing crisis that exists here in the bay area. it will slowly become home, and i am appreciative that it is a bright spot in an otherwise as latinos we are unified in some ways and incredibly diverse in others and this exhibit really is an exploration of

nuance in how we present those ideas. ♪♪ our debts are not for sale. >> a piece about sanctuary and how his whole family served in the army and it's a long family tradition and these people that look at us as foreigners, we have been here and we are part of america, you know, and we had to reinforce that. i have been cure rating here for about 18 year. we started with a table top, candle, flowers, and a picture

and people reacted to that like it was the monna lisa. >> the most important tradition as it relates to the show is idea of making offering. in traditional mexican alters, you see food, candy, drinks, cigarettes, the things that the person that the offerings where being made to can take with them into the next word, the next life. >> keeps us connects to the people who have passed and because family is so important to us, that community dynamic makes it stick and makes it visible and it humanizes it and makes it present again. ♪♪ >> when i first started doing it back in '71, i wanted to do something with ritual, ceremony and history and you know i

talked to my partner ross about the research and we opened and it hit a cord and people loved it. >> i think the line between engaging everyone with our culture and appropriating it. i think it goes back to asking people to bring their visions of what it means to honor the dead, and so for us it's not asking us to make mexican altars if they are not mexican, it's really to share and expand our vision of what it means to honor the dead. >> people are very respectful. i can show you this year alone of people who call tol ask is it okay if we come, we are hawaii or asian or we are this. what should we wear? what do you recommend that we

do? >> they say oh, you know, we want a four day of the dead and it's all hybrid in this country. what has happened are paper cuts, it's so hybrid. it has spread to mexico from the bay area. we have influence on a lot of people, and i'm proud of it. >> a lot of times they don't represent we represent a lot of cultures with a lot of different perspectives and beliefs. >> i can see the city changes and it's scary. >> when we first started a lot of people freaked out thinking we were a cult and things like that, but we went out of our way to also make it educational through outreach and that is why

we started doing the prosession in 1979. >> as someone who grew up attending the yearly processions and who has seen them change incrementally every year into kind of what they are now, i feel in many ways that the cat is out of the bag and there is no putting the genie back into the bottle in how the wider public accesses the day of the dead. >> i have been through three different generations of children who were brought to the procession when they were very young that are now bringing their children or grandchildren. >> in the '80s, the processions were just kind of electric. families with their homemade visuals walking down the street in san francisco. service so much more intimate

and personal and so much more rooted in kind of a family practice of a very strong cultural practice. it kind of is what it is now and it has gone off in many different directions but i will always love the early days in the '80s where it was so intimate and sofa millial. >> our goal is to rescue a part of the culture that was a part that we could invite others to join in there there by where we invite the person to come help us rescue it also. that's what makes it unique. >> you have to know how to approach this changing situation, it's exhausting and i have seen how it has affected everybody. >> what's happening in mission

and the relationship with the police, well it's relevant and it's relevant that people think about it that day of the dead is not just sugar skulls and paper flowers and candles, but it's become a nondenominational tradition that people celebrate. >> our culture is about color and family and if that is not present in your life, there is just no meaning to it you know? >> we have artists as black and brown people that are in direct danger of the direct policies of the trump administration and i think how each of the artists has responded so that call is interesting. the common