we think about the youth. they have a right to go to school and they have a right to try to get to recreational centers and different things the city offers without thinking about the fact that a lot of them have parents who work a lot but do not get paid very much. they do not get to reap the benefits of some of these things the city offers. this is a very important issue for youth. there are a lot of youth who work. they need public transit. we are talking about poor people. we are talking about services that have been cut. they are forcing us to pay. in this way, the fact that services are being cut -- they are impeding our families from being able to support our families. i want to say enough to the bureaucracy that is stopping us -- stopping this from being put forward. we have fought really hard. we need to keep fighting and demanding the implementation of the fest passes. enough with the excuses. i want to thank the supervisors. we count on your support. i feel we have the best supervisors of any city i

this is a very important issue for youth. there are a lot of youth who work. they need public transit. we are talking about poor people. we are talking about services that have been cut. they are forcing us to pay. in this way, the fact that services are being cut -- they are impeding our families from being able to support our families. i want to say enough to the bureaucracy that is stopping us -- stopping this from being put forward. we have fought really hard. we need to keep fighting and demanding the implementation of the fest passes. enough with the excuses. i want to thank the supervisors. we count on your support. i feel we have the best supervisors of any city in this city. bowie also want to count on the school district to be representing the young people and families. supervisor campos: thank you. let me read a few more names. happy yang, joyce sung. >> i am with the chinese progressive association. some of our families came all the way from chinatown. i want to ask them from -- ask them to stand up. they came through the rain and the wet today to

i ask that we think about -- if we really love our youth, make this free for youth. make transit free poor youth. it should not just be provided to the more low-income children. that creates a stigma for them. that is a type of racism. i wish for this day that the test passes be implemented not just for the next three months, but the we can have free transit for youth for the future. i understand at this hearing that the implementation of the fast pass it is expensive, but we need to make it free for youth between the ages of 5 and 18 who ride the buses every day. they should not have to show a fast pass. they should just be able to get on a bus, just being used. i think about my own children, who i give money to ride the buses sometimes. instead of buying their transfer, they end up buying candy, and they do not know the consequences of these decisions and what they could face as a result. we should think about the majority of the people who ride the buses. they are low-income poor people. i just want to say that i do contribute to the community here in san francisc

we think about the youth. they have a right to go to school and they have a right to try to get to recreational centers and different things the city offers without thinking about the fact that a lot of them have parents who work a lot but do not get paid very much. they do not get to reap the benefits of some of these things the city offers.

r metro -- armitraud, the youth commission, and ms. martison to develop a discounted past delivery system for next year that is going to be streamlined, sensitive to the needs of our youth and families , and something that is administratively sound and sustainable. winter -- we participated in this process closer to the end of this process, after many months of conversation between the school district, mta, and members of the board, primarily so we can call the school district develop a system for next school year that will meet the needs of our families. we will make the commitment to work with our partners in developing the planning process and creating a delivery system that will work from all of us so that come august, when school starts again, we will be able to have, once again, a streamlined system. we actually do partner very closely with several institutions that are housed in said the school already, which i believe will help us facilitate the delivery of these fast passes, namely the wellness centers. we operate those in all

we think about the youth. they have a right to go to school and they have a right to try to get to recreational center

lifeline discount fastpass program for qualified low-income youth. supervisor avalos: 90. supervisor campos will get to run this part of the meeting. -- thank you. supervisor campos: thank you. happy valentine's day. i think it is only appropriate that we are holding this hearing on valentine's day, and i wanted thank the members of the committee who have come out to this hearing. i see at least one member of the board of education. we have all been impacted by the tough economy, and as we know here in san francisco, as of november last year, the unemployment rate was 9.6%. this economic downturn has been especially difficult on low- income children. the number of public servants qualifying for free and reduced lunch has actually increased from 54% in 2008, 2009 to 61% in the 2010-2011 school year. just to put some perspective on those numbers, to qualify for free and reduced lunch, a student has to live in a household with income below 130% of the poverty line. that means that to qualify, you have, for a family of four, you're talking about income o

they are still incarcerating youth at a cost of $230,000 per youth. you could send a youth to 3 years in law school in stan ford and yale. beyond that, every year we have looked to issues of critical importance. not only locally but throughout the nation. 2 years ago, we looked at undocumented youths particularly those from honduras and other countries where a hostile relationship were being deportd and sent back without parental support. so this year, we focus on the problems of guns and violence in our schools. both to and from schools and at schools. we raise this not as an insend iary issue. but as the headlines read and give the impression that youth themselves are to blame for these incidents that we often hear about involving guns and gun violence. but to recognize as a society, we have done little to decrease the proliferation of guns on our streets. we have done little. it's just like the war to drugs. you know, it seems almost strange toous those words since it's been such a failure. but the same thing we've seen with guns. particularly thos

we would like to see free youth passes for all youth, not just low-income news. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you very much. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. my name is of his martina's -- is otiz martinez. all you see behind you is color and struggle. we have taken a chance for the youth. we have taken a dream and they hope. if they do not have a pass, they get fined. they get sent to jail. this is opportunity. give them a chance. use that chance. thank you. supervisor campos: thank you. i am going to read a few more names. ava benetra, hillar liang, gloria esteban. >> [speaking chinese] >> my name is ho. i am from chinatown and am a pier or the buzzer. every month, a lot of our families have to pay for three or more test passes. it is a heavy burden, especially for new immigrant families. i hope supervisors will pass this resolution so they can have free fast passes. supervisor campos: are we ready? i think we are ready now. >> what is your full name? what school do you attend? >> bling vista -- buena vista. >> do you like muni? >> yes. it takes a lot of tim

>> right now it is only seven out of home youth. it is actually a partnership with a public defender. we estimate 100 a year. in total, on average, about 200 youth year a surge in out of homeless men. supervisor kim: so it is not a selection process to go through that particular do are going to go to the program. it is all you going home after detention. >> the only real exclusions are those who have significant mental health needs we are not able to address through community programs. for the most part, the majority of public defender you are returning after the placement. supervisor kim: do you feel that log cabin has been successful? >> it is a work in progress. we started the model at log cabin last fiscal year. we brought in the mo. youth services institute, who is the national best practice in terms of operating detention facilities. we have completely revamped the program, focusing on vocational education program, reentry, we have therapeutic program in place, we have extensive training offered to our staff as well as our par

youth employment and youth leadership. just to give you a sense of how many people are served there are over 8 thousand children from all /*eugt ethnic backgrounds. they help over 3 thousand youth to be the first to go to college. they put over 2 thousand youth a year to work through employment programs. we have to increase that to 20 thousand. his program as in many ways, revolutionized the way youth are employed in san francisco. the organization is often called upon by leaders and city government to implement now programs. they are established by governor mayor gavin newsom. but beyond all that john has accomplished, we honor him for isunselfish giving. many who are mom and pop organizations. a lot of time we find that community based organizations don't collaborate or coordinate. john has always opened up his doors. particularly those from immigrant communities. he has been a partner. he has been an individual who have reached out beyond his agency to work with other agencies who share the common purpose of searching o

one youth told us. he is more scared of getting caught without a gun on the street than caught with a gun by the police. it's a direct and general order, we will accept any gun. no questions asked. it's booked as found property. you know brothers and sisters and people who have guns. make the call. we have hot lines. we have to get them off the street. we talk about these injunctions. i often wonder what's going to happen. now that we have done all this enforcement. the next wave is the next wave the kids. are we protecting them? i have been doing gang work for 20 years. it's embarrassing that we are arresting grandsons and grand kids. we have to stop that trend. it's not like if plea and mr. adachi get in a fight. here we go. you are gone. we better stop that trend. cheryl. >> i was just go to ask cheryl. her viewpoints on use with guns and whether the gun buy backs will work. do you have friends, thank you for bringing that up. >> i know people with guns. i wouldn't. i don't want to get involved with

pecan -- used to feel secure -- youth feel secure. supervisor avalos: next speaker, please. >> i am with children and youth, but basically, i am here today because i am the parent of two teenagers who will have to take the bus to and from school, and this kind of relates to what i am one to speak about today, and it is the issue of safety of our children and decriminalization of our children on muni. children of young people who got citations, and that is a $250 ticket. not having a fast test or not being able to afford it but also being criminalize for having an expired ticket or having forgotten your ticket. my son and i, we had to go to juvenile court because of a $250 ticket. he is not alone. last year, many people got citations, and it is safety for him, because he would have to walk miles because he would not get me. -- dittmer u.d. -- get muni. i think it is not fair that children cannot go on buses. everything but the parents and said so far. but one other thing we have to pay attention to is the criminalization of our childre

mountain manor provides a whole range of services for youth and that's really important, that it takes more than one kind of approach to try to get to adolescent drug problems. so we do substance abuse counseling, we do mental health therapy, we do educational programming, we do psychiatric treatment, we do medical treatment with pediatricians, we involve parents, we work with kids on an out-patient level and an in-patient level and everything in between because one size doesn't fit all. and we try to squeeze all sorts of different approaches to tailor make treatment to kids. what's very important is the continuum of care. they come in, they get stabilized in residential treatment and they step down to what we have as a partial hospitalization program, which is 6 hours, 5 days a week. that'll go for a week or two, that steps down to 4 days a week, 3 hours a night. and if they do well, they don't relapse, they're talking, they're working on these skills in the actual environment where these stressers happen, that is where you really get the bang for your buck by them being in the enviro

what other substances are youth taking today? while most youth who use, do use alcohol, marijuana runs a pretty close second with high use in marijuana. but probably the most rapidly growing segment of new use is in the prescription drug area with high increasing numbers of new users coming into the system who've used prescription drugs and normally getting it from a relative or from friends. and inhalants may be a problem as well? inhalants is a problem at younger ages more so than at the older ages. we see a higher use of inhalants with the 13- to 17-year-olds than with the 18- to 24-year-old. and the challenge with inhalants is that they're more readily available. they're in the homes, so. gateway-type drug to using other things, eventually. monique, what are some of the factors that really place a youth at risk? well i think factors that place the youth at risk for using substances include underlying mental health issues. i think that environmental factors play an important role if they're in a community that is highly suppor

. >> i just want to piggyback to something the youth said. it's greater that we do all the planning. i think we cannot forget the people that we are targeting. because sometimes we set agendas and it doesn't mean it's going to work because we have been educated. we are really not educated to whether it's best for the community. we have programs and nobody comes. it's not relevant to the community. it's about being innovative. >> opening the doors doesn't mean people will come. if people won't come and they are not interested. if it's not going to take them to the place they want to be. then it's going not to work. even today. we have talked to some folks. we were fortunate in one of the housing developments to get money from cmlj. they may not have been what we wanted it to be. they had youth and it was probably one of the safist summers. to get those people come here. every time we go to speak. we end up in trouble. we are being identified as trouble makers or we're being identified as not following the rules and they feel like they are bein

let's engage a couple of our youth. jenay. what do you think it's going to take to have a safe summer >> you should get into a lot of programs. or get a job. i have a lot of job offers. i have 6. if you keep yourself involved then you won't be involved in gangs. people get in trouble not doing anything. if you keep yourself occupied. then you won't be able. are you going to fight this girl. no , i got to go to work. if you keep yourself involved in amount of activities you don't have time to get into bad stuff. >> jenay. >> have you 6 job offers. >> i just got one today >> tyree. >> i keep my focus on the studio. we have a program in the summer at the cultural center from 9 to 3:50 p.m.. 9 to 5 now. it's your momma's schedule. it's all positive or drama. like we do rapping. make beats. produce. that's about about it though. >> cheryl, do you have anything to add >> >> it's going to take the kids to stop the violence >> how do we do that? >> people need to step up and tell their friends. >> voices of the future. >> hall luia. >

the center for youth services does matter. it is a healthy identity for urban youth. this award makes me want to

they had youth and it was probably one of the safist summers. to get those people come here. every time we go to speak. we end up in trouble. we are being identified as trouble makers or we're being identified as not following the rules and they feel like they are being punished for the stand they take to better their community. it's great to make policy. but if we're not involving the community, we will have the same problems. >> i am going to call on you. what program were you referring to that was working. that you said had community involvement? >> it was called open arms. it was a name that was group at that housing development created for themselves. it may not have been up to codes or standards, but what i would like to see is us put money to those who are prepared to go not community and train them. instead of saying, it's great you got 50 kids. they weren't doing what we wanted them to be. we are going to pool the money, give it to an organization and we wonder why nobody comes. this is good dialogue. >> what you're saying and some of your comments are directed towar

have the youth say it. i see a lot of youth parents taking them to school because they are afraid they won't see their child again. it starts in the community. this meeting is really great. you are preaching to the choir. we need to speak to the youth. i have seen violence on the bus of a kid showing off a weapon in the bay view. people don't want to change and they don't want to be labeled. we are not protected. you have to be careful on what you see. you can't say what you see at all times. if you live in the community and you see something. you have to understand people are not telling things because they are not protected of the we have to understand, what we can do about it is put police officers on the buses from the high crime areas going to the schools so they can be on the bus that's what they need. we need to put them on the buses so they feel comfortable going to school. >> that's right. i want to introduce tracy brown in the audience >> stand up >> the dc y. and it's going to be tracy's job to t

she took a particular interest in working with youth and with schools. she was a sro , school resource officer. during that time, she worked with middle schools throughout the district and in many areas where they were experiencing violence. she has been an invader. i would like to acknowledge captain masha ash. captain ash has done a tremendous amount of work. she worked on protocols that would work with children taken to the youth facility. during the parent's arrest and from trauma. thank you very much officer pri lo and captain nash. i am going to go over the panel discussion. we are try find solutions which includes violence to and from school and on the site. our goal is to move forward solutions. we ask that all questions be reserved today end. please feel free to jot down questions you have. those questions we are not able to get to, we are interested in collecting them. we are going to collect information with respect to solutions as well as action items that they are going to take back and work on. so our first topic is violence to and from sch

for the time i was in the youth authority, djj. you know, i learned a lot because when i got into the situation, when i went throughout the situation at the age of 16. i didn't think i was going to get out of that situation. my mother was always there for me, number one. i didn't see that before i got into the situation. for the youths that don't see it yet, your parents are for the most part always there for you. sometimes you don't see it. sometimes it takes something dramatic. i stay positive instead of being negative. the number one thing that i can say over all, because i'm not going to stand up here and preach. the can say that when you do something, be dedicated and if it's not beneficial. it's detrimental. if you don't know what that means, go look it up. it took me a long time. but i'm here. i want to thank god. there's numerous names. it's man, i'm here and i want to thank everybody who supported me going through what i was going through. music is my passion. i sing. until you see the youth performing here today. express

. >> i am with the youth commission. we are here to ask this to go forward and hope to the calendar tomorrow for the full board meeting. we hope that this committee and the full board tomorrow and i do the presentation from staff, it was really encouraging. we want to show the young people some love. not just the board but in part for city staff for various departments and the school district about why the commission has been advocating for this for over a year. the initial resolution that the commission adopted actually happens february 1, 2010. last year, asking about delays, and our steadfast commitment to the fast pass, charging the board of supervisors and the mayor on behalf of our young people. this makes manifest the need for affordable fussed passes. in the 2008-2009 school year, west and 60,000 schoolchildren qualified for the reduced free lunch. there was the great recession of 2008 that has definitely subsided. public agencies like the m.t.a. are going to be facing projected budget deficits in the years to co

i wanted to say within the last couple of youths. we have all kinds of youth cultures and we have a huge latino population. most of those kids are young. we have been having our convenes meetings. all of us agree. none of us have the structure. we need to have someone get involved with job opportunity. we need that in the t l. >> that's my comment. >> i don't know. people could respond to that. >> i have actually talked about kyle peterson to have a discussion. i agree. the need is out there. one of the things, with the crn structure. there has to be and agency that are going to have to step in. that was one the barriors. it wasn't mentioned before. with all of the other different crn's. there is an existing relationship that has transsended generations. i think the tl hasn't been a specific culture or ethnicity. i don't think the community ties are as long. but the conversation had sparked up and by all means, i am on board to see what can be a development. additionally, that's what i wanted to say. >> john. can you commit to that?

the youth was demanding best. it means that we will not be able to examine, debate, or rule on the constitutional amendment. there must be a parliament to examine the constitutional amendment. that means to sacrifice these amendments in order to respond to the demands. september is a time limit which must be observed. otherwise, we will have a constitutional vacuum. we should also calculate our measures within this time limit in a very constitutional and local manner. if we dissolve the parliament, it means that we will take further time in order to initiate a new process of parliamentary elections. taking into consideration the population, we will take more time and the police imperatives which is different than their status before the 25th of january. the youth are suspicious or lack in confidence about that. as a result, the president decided to suspend the parliament terry -- parliamentary elections. this will take about three weeks before being presented to both houses of the parliament. the constitutional am