tammie bryant from the san francisco county democratic central committee, we need our political leadership here as well, and we have our friends from san mateo county, our domestic violence advocates from our neighboring county who are here. as i mentioned, the theme of tonight's event is building pathways to safety. domestic violence is often the cause of homelessness, especially for our lgbtq community and families with children. our partner agencies play a vital role in providing services to survivors of violence and we are fortunate to have a diverse set of services to reach our diverse population. just a reminder, we will be lighting city hall purple and concluding tonight will be the red women's lightning group. let's hear it for them. [applause] so tonight we want to recognize the commitment and hard work of our partners who provide emergency shelter. our next week -- our next speakers represent organizations that do this every day. join me in welcoming the executive protect -- project -- director of the first asian women shelter in the country. [applause]. >> good evening. my name