to go address an emergency, so she is no longer here, but i wanted to introduce commissioner stephan a. simmons, the liaison. >> good afternoon, and thank you for your time and for hearing us today. as a new member of the commission and liaison to the family violence council, i have been witness to the power of collaboration. there are not many instances where probation officers are sitting next to social workers, prosecutors, and public defenders who are usually on the opposite side of the courtroom on the same side of the issue of how to best address family violence. this is also one of the few places where city officials and community advocates have the opportunity to interact with judges. in our case, a judge who was recently named by the presiding judge to represent the superior court on the council. the commission's work in convening the council is essential in our fight against family violence. while we are grateful to the mayor for his leadership in protecting funding for violence against women prevention and intervention grants, the fact that our hard-working staff of five has been cut