persons with disabilities are no different from those without disabilities. they are the same in the most important way. we have our own well. a person is going to fail if they think like a failure. when my parents were first married and my mother became pregnant a year later, people in our own family wondered how they could raise children, these two of people. how would the children learn anything? how would they learn to talk temple they were focusing on the disability. fainted -- how would they learn to talk? they were focusing on the disability. my sisters and i were high achievers. our pens and still seeing right to values in us. -- our parents instilled the right values in us. my father helped linda and me when we build our home. we bought the farmhouse and move in with them and build our own home with our own hands across the yard. i would never have done that if the fund had not set, you can do this. we hired someone to dig -- i would not have done that if my father had not said, you can do this. i would never have had the courage to try that if my da

i am a person with disabilities. i am part of them for years. [inaudible] as i listen to the president and speaks that we have to be smarter in managing things. i know our assets and sro's isn't that great for people when i need my home care worker, assistant or others. it's hard to separate the physical assets from the physical abuse. good thing we danced last night on that, but i definitely know that it's time in the next four years we have to be a smarter government and agency to work and make this a better world. we have four years to do that and i hope this is the start of something great. there are a lot of people who are seniors and disabilities at the sro hotels that look like me and i encourage them to go out. sometimes they don't get a chance to participate and scared and other things that go on in the city, but it's pertd nanlt because we have 260,000 people out of the population of san francisco who receive social security benefits and a lot of us sro's and medicare and medicare and i have a thing really to help make better physical

or people with disabilities. for

with disabilities by jessica. jessica could you please say your last name? i don't want to mess it up. thank you. >> can you hear me from here? >> yes. >> my last name is lehman. jessica lehman. thank you. hello councilmembers. thank you so much for having us here today and congratulations to our new chair. >> thank you very much. >> okay. let me know if the sound is okay. is that close enough? okay. great. so i understand we have about 10 minutes. is that right? >> yes. >> okay. i'm going to try to take about just five minutes of our time because we have two board members here who i want to introduce them and a chance to speak as well. so senior disability action was technically formed last summer through the merger of senior action network and planning for elders in the central city. both are ork niegzs that have been around for 20 years and had similar missions for supporting seniors and people with disabilitys in san francisco and our mission is about empowering people with disabilities and seniors to improve

it may not be a disability issue. it could be street repaving or a housing issue but your names are not out there. the disability community is large and growing because you have more people living longer with disability. we have more seniors aging into disability and yet we are not as powerful as let's say the bike constituency. there aren't enough people active out there saying "we want this". saying "no" or asking "why or why not?" and i am suggesting you could help yourself and all of us by being much more visible, involved. even phone calls to your district supervisor. as i will tell you if you do that enough you will find out they don't respond. i have papered the supervisors, not just the official email but the staff by name, and as you will see maybe next week again they don't respond. there's another story i am involved in about the disabled and the supervisors do not respond. until more of you do it they will continue in that neglectful pattern. thank you. >> thank you. walter paulson. >> good afternoon mayor

or people with disabilities. for instance, painting inside a building or maintaining the smoke ban shelters where people get sick from less cognitive ability and leading to cancer and asthma. they pay no attention to it. this is like a gas chamber in the city of san francisco and maintained as a public shelter. and in the sro's everyone can smoke and no attention paid to the disability cause by breathing other people's smoke. no option to get smoke free housing at low cost under the auspices of the city. now, these things are provided for people that have money as tourists, 75% of the rooms reserved for dedicated non spoking in the hotels. it's not a matter whether you can smoke or not smoke and the predecessor didn't smoke or vice versa and 75% but not a single room in the city's sro's for the people coming out of the shelters. accommodate cigarette smoke and eventually so toxic themselves they go in to the environment in those places to be sick and 20 years shorten their life span. now i think one place we can

before i go with that, i just wanted to say that the mayor's office on disability and the mayor's disability council want to express our best wishes for former co-chair jul parsons, that she enjoy good health and that she is comfortable and well in her new environs. the bart elevator study. following a decision made by the oakland mayor's commission on persons with disabilities, to address the decline of both sanitary conditions and mechanical dysfunctions of the system-wide bart elevators the oakland commission in collaboration with the city of san francisco's mayor's disability council and the city of berkeley commission on disability is in the process of gathering information from all bart elevateor riders. we are asking participants to keep a log or journal of their bart elevator experiences. the log should include the following information: your name, and contact information. location of the elevator. dates and times of use. the condition of the elevator. was it satisfactory or unsatisfactory? and a brief description of your experience. please turn in your log or journal to myself, chip

they may have any range of disabilities but the focus is on the ability rather than the disability. and i can tell you as part of our initiative for the first part of your question, we have been consulting with and informed by people covering every possible disability. and it has been an incredible educational process. and hopefully at some point the governor can tell his own story because he's got really amazing insights into this as well. >> everyone represented here also not only is involved in public policy but also significant employers. as you look at this from the business side towards the government side, what kind of initial adapteders what kind of tasks, opportunities are there? literally millions of people represented as employees here obviously we have to the taxpayers our fiduciary responsibility very similar to that you have your shareholders and what not. what advise do you have to us in the public sector to tasks or responsibility that is might be quick adapters so that we could be not only partners in breaking down barriers for you but also partners in the actual ac

so that is the disability committee. we have direct access to the secretary. chairman louis is the commissioner for the administration for now the newly formed intellectual and developmental disabilities. on that the aging said, mr. walker serves as the deputy assistant secretary for aging, advocating on behalf of older americans. now this new federal agency will seek to enhance and improve a broad range of support that individuals may need to live with respect and dignity as full members of our community. this needs to go well beyond health care. it includes the availability of private housing, employment, education, meaningful relationships, as well as social participation. in addition, we will be working with the centers for medicare and medicaid services to develop, refine, and strengthen policies that promote independent living among all populations, especially those served by medicaid. we would also look with cms to promote home and community-based services and support. last but not least, i will be remiss if i forget to mention that may is also the time

disabled access this way. so i just wanted to make that comment, so maybe that will get to some of the people that are doing the work, that they are doing a good job and it's accessible for me. and i look forward to hearing the rest of the agenda. thank you. >> thank you. next i have mr. bob planthold. >> i'm bob planthold. i think win of the major concerns and needs frankly is simply money. let's face it ihss hours are cutback. adult day health care services are cutback. programs are in peril that affect people. we hear talk there isn't money, but i want to bring to your attention last fall san francisco voters passed a tax-change measure. and the mayoral spokesperson in a later article indicated there likely could be more money from this new local tax measure that replaced an outdated one. to the extent that the office of disability, department of aging and adult services and mod can monitor the income from this new tax, i'm going to suggest that some of that extra money could be devoted to restoring some le

information item, report from the disability disaster preparedness committee. and denise will read that report. >> thank you, chip. the disability disaster preparedness committee met on friday, january 4th, 2013. there was a number of community-based organizations and city departments participating. the ddpc committee reviewed their accomplishments for 2012 and set priority fools for 2013. the discussion around 2012 accomplishments revealed that we were quite successful at meeting most of our goals, especially the ones which involved the mayor's office on disabilities guidance and effort. it was remarked that considering the loss of manpower at mod, a substantial and impressive amount of work was produced. these efforts included, but are not limited to the civic city-wide evacuation drill and activation drill. a two-day fast, functional service team, training and developing a plan for personal assistance services during an after a disaster. goals for 2013 were brought up in discussion and ranked by everyone present. the three strategic goals for this year were

the seniors and people with disabilities face increasing challenges. francisco's official policies to support our seniors and aging folks as we age in place. the city has no comprehensive strategy for serving those who by choice or circumstance live in residential hotels.esro collaboratives, reduce this report which-- i met sponsor legislation that will help people meant these legislations. i wonder to also say is special thanks goes to the department of building inspection chief housing inspector rosemary bosque for her great leadership, and providing technical assistance to our office.-- for her amazing work.us today addresses two key legislations. the first mandated residential hotels provide rooms with workingshared bathrooms. the cost of these requirements is little relative to the benefit that the residents will reap. it will enhance the quality of life and safety upgrades to the building. the risk of the senior suffering a broken bone from slip on the shower or a disabled person not being able to communicate with service providers are problems t

the risk of the senior suffering a broken bone from slip on the shower or a disabled person not being able to communicate with service providers are problems that will be drastically diminished with the passing of this ordinance. increasing the safety for some of our most vulnerable residents is so important but also saving the city money in these preventive measures is critical. in order to develop a set of guidelines that are implementable as well as cost-effective we have to move with measures like this. and though the ordinance will be affected within 30 days of its passage there will be no notices of violation issued for the first six months after the ordinance passes.hotel, an important mailing and outreach that will take place and for owners to have time to consultothers, and technical assistance guide developed by the mayor's office on this ability as well . significant revisions and thanks to the city attorneys office for this.ordinance received unanimous support.date the ordinance is effective owners to make these programs quickly. it also allows for different room configura

five, report from the director of the mayor's office on disability.ix, presentation by bevan dufty, director of the mayor's office of hope. at 2:30 p.m. there will be a break. the council will take about a 10 minute break. seven, senior and disability action, a presentation by jessica lehman. eight, action item, cochair election. nine, report from the physical access submit. 10, a presentation from the sfmta advisory committee. 11, public comment, items not on today's agenda but within the jurisdiction of the mdc. again each speaker is limited to three minutes. 12 correspondence. 13, discussion item, council members comments and announcements. 14, adjourn. >> >> thank you. i have made some changes to the agenda. team six will be prepared before team five at 115 to accommodate our speaker's schedule. can i have a motion to a -- approve the agenda. >> i move it. >> second. >> okay. public -- so we're -- we're back on public comment. oh i am sorry you guys. this is my first time. we are definitely going to agree. we had a second. >> i second the motion.

i'm carla johnson, the interim director of the mayor's office on disability. the first announcement that i would like to make is that as we were listening to the reading of the agenda a little earlier and the discussion about the accessible meeting information here at city hall, i just wanted to provide a quick update for people who are using mobility devices to let you know that right now the lift at the carlton goodlett street entrance formerly known as the polk street entrance is not operational and we're ordering a replacement for it soon. so if you are coming to city hall, please come by any the other three accessible entrances which would be the van ness side of the building, the mcallister or grove side of the building. we do apologize for the inconvenience this may have caused. it feels like a really long time i have seen all of you. it's been a month since we met at city hall -- actually it's been a month since i have seen you and two months since we have have our last mdc meeting. i have a quite a bit of information. the first thing i wanted to brief

employing people with disability. this initiative focuses on the roles of both state government and businesses can play in advancing employment opportunities for people with disabilities to be gainfully employed in the labor market. as governors, we know how cynical jobs and employment are to our constituents in the economies of our states. when a significant segment of our population is kept from participating in the workforce, talent is being wasted and our economic competitiveness suffers. implement outcomes for individuals with disabilities have not improved since 1990. during the recent recession, employment realities for people with disabilities got even worse. workers with disabilities left the workforce at five times the average rate. the medium income for this workers is less than two thirds the median wages for other workers. that is why i chose this initiative, building a better bottom line, employing people with disabilities. we can do better and we must. an estimated 55 million americans, one in five, has

many elderly people, and disabled people, excuse me -- are prone to falls. with grab bars, it would be easier for them to hold onto, have something to hold onto, prevent falls, prevent injuries or death and yes, save a lot of tack pair dollars because people living in sr o's don't have lots of money or insurance to cover hospital bills and it's taxpayers that wind you have paying those bills. i know the owner of my hotel said they are not installing any kind of grab bars and until the legislation makes them and then and only then, they will put them in so let's make it mandatory and save lives while we do it. >> thank you ms. jordan next speaker? >>> i would like to thank the sponsors for this incredible situation that needs to change. i really appreciate that. i'm joy a bounds and i'm representing senior action network and disability and i would like to say that we heard a lot of stories today and i do not need to reiterate what has been said but i would like to say that everyone including myself could be one step away from living in an sr o and losing thei

we don't call them disabled. they happen to have a disability. he joined pacific bell, helped organize honda the advisory group for people that happen to have a disability. he gave them put to that company on how to develop features that will help them do better. he became the director of death and disabled services. he was executive director for berkeley in 2001. under dmitri's direction, they have expanded it, they have done so many different things. i can't even less the mall. he sends people out that happen to be disabled and of a test things. before they get out there, to make sure that they are done the right way. so they can practically help people. it is my pleasure right now. give a warm welcome cojones -- to mr. dmitri belzer. [applause] >> thank you, dave. i just decided who will be giving this speech that my memorial service, that is a great introduction. i want to talk to them about how people with disabilities use computers. the first and want to talk about is my family. i come from a family of eastern european immigrants. they were

safer and more desirable for both pedestrians and bicycles and after we heard feedback from the disability community about the cycle track installation in golden gate park our office saw the need and initiated a project to develop some accessibility building blocks for bicycle facilities and this project is necessary because the ada is silent on this area. it's a new feature. there are no design standards for bicycle facilities, but we can use the ada as well as the draft policy right-of-way accessibility guidelines to develop some accessibility building blocks that make sense. some of the questions that have come up during the discussion is if you have a barrier or a buffer zone that separates a bicycle lane from a parked car then what should be the minimum width of the barrier or buffer zone so where a person with disaiktd has room to exit their car and travel to the corner crosswalk? another question is where do you put the blue zones, white zones, when have this type of facility? how do you fit para-transit boarding into the design and what does the bus stop look like with this differe

for people with disabilities. housing living independently within the community and spending your life in an institution, so our next agenda team is the last one in this series of this meeting on supportive housing and opportunity for peoples with disabilities among others. we are happy to welcome bevan dufty who is the director of the mayor's office on hope which stands for housing opportunity, partnerships, and engagement. thank you and mr. dufty is here. yes. he's passing out some information but he will be right up to the mic. thank you very much. it's a pleasure. hey. >> hi everyone. thank you for welcome being me. i am bevan dufty and i am in charge of the housing opportunity, partnerships, and engagement and when i sat with mayor lee and maybe a week ago i said at 57 -- soon to be 58 i was too young to be the director of losing so i asked him for something more inspirational. when you say that it's not portraying winning the hearts in the task. i think that all of you are familiar with individuals who have

discrimination against persons with disabilities. title two of the ada addresses access to public services, including public transportation for persons with disabilities. it requires transit operators to call out stops at transfer points, major intersections, and major destinations, and to announce particular stocks requested by customers with disabilities. stop announcements are especially important for passengers who are blind or have low vision. these individuals cannot travel independently if they are not assured of getting off at their intended destination point. >> san francisco's buses and trains serve many riders who are blind or how low vision. muni is their lives line to get around. simple act of courtesy can help them access muni services safely. it is not just courtesy. it is the law. >> i used to take the 21 airlock. >> lot of times, when i would be waiting at the bus stop, the door would open and the driver would announce the bus line. >> 71. >> it is easier and preferable when a driver sees someone who is obviously vis

the special needs of children with disabilities are often ignored in developing countries. they are the discards of society. that's why a u.s. ministry is sending its interns to africa so they'll be better advocates for people with disabilities. >> reporter: katie dickie suffers from spinal muscular atrophy, but it doesn't keep her from competing in wheelchair soccer or completing a college degree. he travelled to africa with a small group of interns organized by the johnnie and friends ministry. >> when the children see me in a wheelchair, even though we look different, we have the same way to get around. i truly believe that god has opened so many doors for me to connect with these children on a heart level. >> reporter: the team connected with more than 100 children at a special-needs school in uganda's capital. they encouraged teachers and worked with children in the classroom. the volunteer came to realize these kids are the fortunate ones stents told them of other children living in far more difficult situations. >> they talked about the children with disabilities in

and groups that represent individuals with disabilities. especially input from blind and low-vision advocacy and they are seeking a meeting with the california council of the blind hopefully at the lighthouse and we'll wish to invite other council members and the members of public to attend that presentation focus group. our next meeting is usually planned for the sec second friday of the month and that would be february 8th here at city hall, but since we are having low attendance at our meetings and we haven't had many suggestions on typicks, chairman roland wong has rented that we have a joint meeting with the multimodal accessibility advisory council. i believe their meeting is the third thursday of the month. and that would be the 14th. valentine's day. we'll put out a meeting notice and topics on that, i think are topics that will involve cycle tracks and some of the projects happening in san francisco by mta. our meetings are usually held at city hall the fourth floor, room 42 1 and should you have any ideas for our physical access c

i like how you look at people with different levels of disabilities and different types of disabilities and try to achieve accommodation for that. it's very important. yeah, i kind of don't know where to start. i have a few comments. i work at the needle exchange at glide and i see the folks lining up outside to sleep in the cold for the following day's beds and it's highly discriminatory with people with any mobility issues, for women, for just anyone who might feel their safety is compromised by laying on the street. it's disturbing, and i would really like to see some efforts go into examining that system and seeing what we can do about that. yeah, yeah. i have personal experience being homeless, and this was before cell phones and one could spend an entire day trying to get one phone call through to somebody finding the change, finding a phone that worked, finding time, and finally getting through to the person that you need to speak to, so cell phones, yes. it's great to get these tools into people's hands for so many reasons, not just housing, for other forms of support and other

a triumph for sections of disability. will the prime minister welcome the generation inspired reports which is going to be presented at downing street today as a great opportunity to use the legacy office to improve the lives of young, disabled people? >> i will survive welcome the report that my honorable friend mentions. i thought that the paralympic games were an absolute triumph for britain the way they were put on, and also the way that the auditoria stated were full for almost every single event but i thought it was a great testament to the generosity of people of this country and their enthusiasm to paralympic. but i think most important thing is the change in perception about what disabled people are capable. i think that is a real gift and something we should encourage. >> thank you the prime minister supports an extension of the bedroom tax but not for people with cancer, people with disabilities or for armed forces families. why? >> as she knows first of all there's a 50 million pounds fund to directly support

i myself am a disabled person, and i represent disabled people, bot seniors and disabled people. i appreciate being on the board. i enjoy working with the staff. we have a very devoted san francisco transportation authority staff. myself has been elected as the vice chair. i am very honored in serving as the vice chair, and now for my -- excuse me, for my second appointment i am very interested in the transportation committee, and i would like to continue as the vice chair for the san francisco transportation authority. thank you very much. >> thank you. next speaker. >> good morning commissioners. i am jackie sax. i have been on the committee since 97. i worked with mr. flanagan for the last two years. he's done an excellent job filling in when our chair could not attend the meetings, that sort of thing, and i strongly support him being repointed. he's an excellent job. he know what is he's doing. he knows what he's talking about and he's lead the meetings very well and i urge you to reappoint him. >> thank you. is there anyone else that would like to speak? seeing none public c

people with disabilities are no different than those without disabilities. in the most important way we have our own will. when my parents were first married and my mother became pregnant a year later some people, even in our own family, wondered how they could raise children. how will children learn anything. how will they learn to talk? they were focusing on the disability. they didn't realize how determined my parents were. they did not know how hard they were willing to work. my sisters and i were high achievers because our parents instilled the right values. my sisters were at the top of their classes and were successful in their careers. my father helped linda and i will be built our home. we bought the little farm house for my parents when we got married. we moved in with them and then we built our own home with our own hands across the yard. i would have never done that if my father had not said, "you can do this." we hired someone to dig the basement and pour the foundation. after that we did everything. we framed it, she's dead, we install windows,

--americans with disabilities act-- an increasing numb of young children with disabilities are being enrolled in regular childcare centers. a primary benefit of integrating children with special needs into typical early childhood settings is that all the children learn to accept differences. also, is integration provides children with disabilities more normalized experiences and chances to socialize. while these are important benefits, it'slso important to recognize that such youngsters require special services as well. states are obligated by law, in most cases, to provide that help. provision of these services varies from community to community. sometimes the physical therapist, the speech therapist, or the hearing therapist visits and works in the classroom, or sometimes, the child works separately with them. however help is provided, teacher and specialist need to draw on one another's strengths and information to do their very best. woman: very good! take it out! put it on the circle! yeah! when including a child with a disability in a group, we may feel uncomfortable about hw l

pay can be a lifesaver when you really need it. >> but disability fraud is a growing problem. fox's david lee miller has more. >> reporter: investigators say the woman wearing a statue of liberty headband playing drums fraudulently collected years of social security disability insurance. she claims she couldn't work due to anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. she ripped off the system until caught partying at this music festival. >> she alleged she pent most of her time alone in in her own house just trying to ease her own'sitey. >> reporter: there are now 8.8 million people, more than the population of new york city, claiming they are unable to work and collecting social security disability insurance. >> there is a fair amount of fraud and abuse in the system simply because of the way it is organized. >> reporter: in addition to physical ailments, applicants can claim to be suffering from mental disorders that are easily faked such as difficulty concentrating. the majority of people collecting a check never return to work unless doing so illegally off the books. >> soc

. >> how does it feel to be an inspiration for literally people who are disabled the entire world over? >> i think it's a massive blessing. i have been very privileged to be given a talent and over the last seven or eight years i have worked hard on working on it and making sure i can be the best athlete i can be, and obviously being an international sportsman is a lot of responsibility that comes with it. you have to remember there are kids who look up to you, is definitely something you have to keep at the back of your mind. >> what somebody said to me, the amazing thing you have done, oscar, for all those kids who have lost a leg, two legs, the amputation they have suffered. in the old days, they were so stigmatized, they were picked on at school, they feel different. what you have done is make it cool to be an amputee, which may not be your intention, but they all want to be like oscar now. >> i grew up in a family where a disability was never an issue. we really didn't speak about my disability, not because it was a topic that was taboo or we thought was a stereotype, but it was j