Transcripts For SFGTV BOS Full Board Of Supervisors 20240713

Hi mayor. Good afternoon. My name is dr. Emily, the director of the San Francisco department on the status of women, the only department on the status of women in the nation. Since 1975, San Francisco has been the home of the strongest commission on the status of women in the nation. Its my pleasure to welcome you to the annual womens History Month celebration. This year we celebrate the National Theme of valiant women of the vote. We honor the brave women who fought for suffrage rights for women and those who continue to fight for the Voting Rights of others. Im very pleased to say were joined by many members of the family. If you could hold your applause, well give them a big applause after. Carmen chu, board of supervisors norman yee, catherine stephanie, sandra lee fewer, and fire chief nicholson, and police chief william scott. So lets give them a big round of applause for showing up today. [applause] i also like to recognize Womens Commissioner sophia and julie from the commission on the status of women. [applause] also joining us is president linda calhoun, and lisa of the friends on the commission of the status of women. [applause] and i just want to thank my associate director carol for her exceptional support for todays event. We are also joined by many Women Department heads, raise your hand if youre a Woman Department head. [cheering and applause] , as well as many Women Leaders serving on our commissions and boards. Can we have a wave from our Womens Commission and board members. [applause] so we mark 100 years since the passage of the 19th amendment. Its important to remember that as the sixth state to ratify the 19th amendment, california has played a major role in the suffrage movement. Newly uncovered historical sources put together by the neighborhood history project indicates that San Francisco was a site of the first ever suffrage march in 1908. Over 100 years ago, suffrage leaders picketed the white house, went to jail, endured intense personal suffering in order to secure the vote for women. I do want to note, this is my last womens History Month as the department head. I will be leaving my position at the end of the month, after 15 years of service. I had the honor to serve former mayor now governor gavin, the late great mayor ed lee, and the first africanamerican women and the second woman to be elected to be the mayor of San Francisco, the one and only london breed. She has made equity for all, including gender equity a hallmark of her administration. Shes working everyday to achieve a vision of San Francisco that is inclusive, fair, and compassionate, one that stands up and supports all its residents. She has a great team and i want to thank two members of her exceptional staff, senior policy advisor nicole and appoint secretary who helped with todays program. [cheering and applause] finally before i bring the mayor out, i want to thank the hard working staff of the Mayors Office of Neighborhood Services who makes these celebrations so special for the entire city. So, please join me in welcoming mayor london breed and happy womens History Month. [cheering and applause] thank you emily. I dont know if you all heard emily say this is one of her last women History Month events as director of the commission on the status of women and she has done an incredible job leading this department for so many years. Lets give her a round of applause for her service. [cheering and applause] and thank you to all the women who are here. They are not just women commissioners from the commission on the status of women, they are women commissioners who serve in various capacities in this city that has joined us here today to celebrate womens History Month in San Francisco. We know that there are still a number of inequalities that still exist for women. In fact, as a woman mayor, i still believe it or not, experience some of those when im even in meetings, even today, dealing with the challenges of the city. Questions that i get asked i know if i was not a woman, i would never get asked. The fact is that we made a tremendous number of gains. I look around and i look at the fact that so many of you serve in so many capacities. Even think of the history of our Police Department and we see now deputy chief and the other leading women who are basically running the Police Department in San Francisco. [cheering and applause] we see members of our board of supervisors, our fire chief, Jeanine Nicholson and so many other incredible leaders who continue to lead this city as the director of departments, commissioners, president of the commissions, and we also know that it shouldnt take 30 years to have the second female mayor of San Francisco. So while we come a long way, we know that there is still a long way to go. As emily has said, we are celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment giving the women the right to vote. It is time ladies that we exercise that right to vote. We know there is power when we serve on boards and commissions. We know there is power when we are at the table making the decisions that impact our lives. Just think about it. The fact that we are even discussing in the year 2020 a womans right to choose and we have to get out there and defend that, even in 2020 is absolutely insane. It means the work that we do now is important, more than it has ever been. I mean think about what San Francisco has done. Significant policies that the rest of the country is following, including our paid parental leave which people are still excited and talking about today. [cheering and applause] things that address the challenges of motherhood that people who may not have babies understand what mothers have to do in the workplace to of course make a living and take care of their families. There is still work we need to do. Todays honorees represent San Francisco values at their very best because the work they do highlights the need to do more, to get people to register to vote, to get more people interested in causes and policies that impact women, to help understand how our voices are important. When we come together and we vote, we make magic happen. We make change happen. We make the kinds of policies we know need to be here, even when were no longer here. We dont want 20 years from now the next generation fighting for a womans right to choose. We dont want the next generation fighting for the same policy that should already exist in this city that protect and support women. So todays honorees represent, as i said, incredible women who really have focused on advancing the rights of women, who are spending a lot of their time trying to get women registered to vote, to address what we know, even in San Francisco as we see a lower voter turnout, we know disproportionately that it impacts people of color and women. So getting women registered, getting them to turn out to vote is important and having organizations that are dedicated to that cause is also significantly important. Our first honoree is a local American Woman of color who is a child of immigrants who came to the united states. She worked tirelessly to engage women, register them to vote, and connect them with volunteer and civic opportunities. Have you ever come across people who say what do i do . How do i get involved . Whats the next step . People have no idea what to do. Nadia has been doing this work to help motivate and get women, especially women who have not been actively engaged, engaged. She volunteered a lot of her time during the 2018 midterm elections, traveling and california, speaking with people across the state and educating communities on how to get involved and how to register to vote. She has been working to bring women together and to take action. So please ladies and gentlemen, help welcome nadia roman and shes this years woman im honoring for black History Month. [cheering and applause] thank you so much mayor breed. Thank you for being a pioneer and modeling leadership in every way for girls and women in San Francisco, especially for girls and women of color. Mayor breeds work to cut red tape in city hall, take on the citys housing shortage, and end homelessness in San Francisco ensures that this city can truly be a home for everyone. Thank you for everyone who came out to participate today. Its great to see this balcony be full and see many familiar faces in the crowd as well. Thank you for participating in the celebration of womens History Month. 2020 is such an important year in so many ways and there is a lot to celebrate and look back on, including 100 years since the 19th amendment was added to the u. S. Constitution, finally giving women the right to vote. So securing that right to vote, we heard a little bit about everything that went into that. So the formal Women Suffrage Movement start in 1848, 72 years before that amendment was adopted into the constitution. 30 years after that, in 1878 was actually one of the 1st amendments that was introduced and it failed. Finally in 1920, a 100 years ago, it was adopted. Women and their allies secured the right to vote. So as we look ahead into the rest of 2020, were already in march now. I ask that we all be attuned to the time that were in right now. Mayor breed did a great job of talking about how our Civil Liberties are under attack and thats particularly affecting women and also women of color, specifically. So lets be intentional on how we choose to spend our time this year. Its of critical importance that we Pay Attention and do the work of winning elections for people that share our values. San franciscan values of equity, inclusiveness, and radical acceptance. If the suffrage that worked towards their goal for decades, for 72 years in a formal way across multiple generations of women and men, we can commit to eight months to get us to november 2020, right . Yeah. [applause] so im going to conclude my remarks with and ask of you all. Please push yourselves harder this year. Pay more attention, be more informed, push yourself to whatever your personal commitment to Civic Engagement looks like. That can be calling a friend or a relative tomorrow to remind them to vote in the california primary. That can be canvassing for a candidate that inspires you in a swing district in california or a swing state somewhere in the united states. Lets all commit to being as informed and engaged as possible this year and lets hold on to that beyond november 2020 so we dont find ourselves back in this place ever again. If you ever think about tuning out or turns off this year or in the future, please think of those who worked for decades for the right to vote. Thank you. [cheering and applause] thank you. So, the next honorees for today are a group of incredible, Inspiring Women who decided after the election in 2016 when the other 45 was elected, i dont know about you, but that night i was campaigning for my reelection for supervisor district five and i was Walking Around the neighborhood and i ran into a young woman who basically was in tears and so many people were hurt. I mean i won that election, but i was still devastated by the results of what happened as a result of that election. As a result of that, these incredible women got together and they said you know what . Were going to do something because i dont eastbound even want to talk about what we all know that this president has done, that has not only been offensive to women, but continue to roll back many of the gains we have made. They came together and they really started a movement. The womens march has really been a place that has brought so many women together for inspiring speeches, to connect with other women, and yes there are some men that show up too. Theyre always welcome with open arms, but what i notice about the men that show up, theyre showing up with their daughters. Theyre showing up with their moms. Theyre showing up with their Family Members in solidarity for what we know we need to call attention to the challenges that women continue to face in this country. Its clear that no matter what political spectrum you are on, there is a sincere need for women to come together for the purpose of talking about the things that matter to us the most. So this has created a platform, the womens march has just really taken on a whole other dimension. Its not only expanded to other cities throughout the country, where they even had a womens march in napa. I was thinking because i love wine, i was going to join them. I was already committed to San Francisco. Theyre not just focused on a womens march, theyre focused on advocacy and support year round, in helping to outreach, to get more women registered, to get more people actively engaged, to make sure theyre turning out. So they are all volunteers spending their time in order to provide a platform for women all over the country. The people here in San Francisco. They do it with a lot of love and lot of complaints from other people. [laughter] but they still try to provide the opportunity for people to be heard and to be recognized, and diverse community, and i know its a lot of work, but you still do it every single year, even though sometimes it may feel like oh, i dont want to do it again this year, its a lot of work. Were with you, we appreciate what youre doing and as long as were here in San Francisco, well be there to sported support the work you continue to do. Ladies and gentlemen, at this time i want to invite up one of our commissioners from the commission on the status of women. Sophia andari and ann to say a few words and to really thank them along with theres a bunch of women who helped to coordinate this event every single year. So after these ladies say a few words, were going to ask them to come up for a photo. [cheering and applause] good afternoon. My name is sophia, im a Founding Member and cochair of womens march San Francisco. Im joined by Founding Member elizabeth, kelly, martha, heath heather, janet who is here in spirit, shes working, and cochair ann. We have other leads of womens march San Francisco as well. Were all right here. On behalf of womens march San Francisco, thank you mayor breed for this incredible honor. Thank you so much. A group of 10 women came together right after the november 2016 election, not knowing the impact that we would have on each other and our communities. Over 100,000 marched on january 21, 2017, in the pouring rain. Pouring rain, yes. To affirm our commitment to womens rights, human rights, Civil Liberties, and social justice for all. Since then, we have partnered with Numerous Community organizations to continue that work through events, marches, and action to keep our communities civicically engaged. Stressing the importance of voting, getting involved in local and national campaigns, and empowering women to run for office and take on more leadership positions. Commissioners, more commissioners, now regardless of the outcome of the upcoming election, we cannot afford to be idle anymore. We need to show up with our votes for our most marginalized, elect more women, especially women of color, run for office, and take on more leadership roles so that women take 51 of seats in local government in the senate and the house, in boardrooms, and in all rooms where decisions are being made. [cheering and applause] thank you again for honoring our team to the mayor and the Mayors Office and the commission on status of women. Im going to hand it over to my cochair ann. [cheering and applause] again, thank you so much for everybody whos come out today. Im the cochair of the womens march with sophia. As sophia highlighted, none of the womens marches accomplishments over the last four years would be possible without the volunteers and the partners we had working an organizing on nights, weekends, and any other moments of time we could find. I would like to thank our Leadership Team that we have here today. Crystal, robin, ariel, and all the talent and hard work you bring to this organization. I also like to express our deepest thanks to the partners that helped us put this together. This includes planned parenthood of northern california, the womens building, the js c. F. S. , glide, care f. S. , and the league of women voters in San Francisco. [cheering and applause] our mission is to empower everyone that stands for human rights, Civil Liberties, and socialing social justice for all. We will continue to organize to march because the most marginalized among us is defending all of us. In 2020, this marks 100 years of women gaining the right to vote. The women that demanded this right were extraordinary in their conviction and ordinary in the fact that it was a Critical Mass of people coming together to demand more. To all the women that marched for us, who were arrested for us, who gave their lives for women to have their voice and votes be heard, we honor you today and we promise to humbly continue in your footsteps to all among us achieve equity. Thank you all for having us to celebrate. Thank you mayor breed and happy womens History Month. [cheering and applause] so thank you. As the women who are on the board for the womens march come forward so we can take a photo together. I just want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for coming out today to celebrate these incredible women, to kick off womens History Month. Tomorrow, the board of supervisors will be hosting their owner is moan ceremony starting at 2 30 where i know theyre going to be honoring some phenomenal women like we are today. So thank you all so much for being here. After this photo, i also like to take a photo with all the women commissioners and Women Department heads that are joining us. I want to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. You know, i know that it feels like there are challenging times ahead of us, especially in San Francisco and throughout this country. When i look around this room here today, when i think about so many of the incredible inspiring leaders that are with us right here on this balcony, i cant help but be excited about what we are going to do to change the future for the better because we know that we are stronger when we come together. There is nothing we cant accomplish. So we want to keep that in mind as we move forward with these challenges. We are going to take it all head on. We are going to do it because you know what . When women are in charge, great things happens. [laughter] thank you all so much. [cheering and applause] okay. Are we ready . Do i need to do this . No. We are now back in open session. May i have a motion for the board what . That the board finds that it is in our best interest of the public that the board elect not to disclose this closed session deliberations . A motion made by supervisor peskin, seconded by supervisor safai. For the record we will show that supervisor haney is not in the chamber okay. Then without objection, we will not disclose our closed session deliberations. I will hand this over to you for p. U. C. s action. Commissioners, can i have a motion on whether to disclose. A motion by commissioner maxwell not to disclose seconded by commissioner paulson. Without objection, that is the order. Mr. President , i would like to note for the record that the p. U. C. Commissioners caen and vietor are not in chamber okay. Colleagues that brings us to the end of our joint special meeting agenda. Madame clerk, is there any further business before us today . That concludes our business for today, mr. President thank you. We are adjourned. [please stand by] this facility is the largest project in our sewer system improvement program. It has a price tag of 1. 3 borghese. It is rebuilding one 1. 3 billion. The policy and Government Affairs team helps the finance team talk to legislative officials and policymakers creating financial programs for us to get low interest loans. Getting the funding for the project was important to save money for the ratepayers of San Francisco and enable us to build the project on budget. We were able to secure for the sf p. U. C. The loans from the epa and state mostly for the facilities project. We are providing low cost funding for projects that really provide tremendous social and environmental impact. For example the 699 million loan is going to pay for half of the biosolid project. What is challenging of the new sources of financing. They require the group to look at creative option ways to take the funds and build them to the existing process. The southeast plant is in hunters bay. It is across the street from residential homes. One of the objectives was to make it an asset. It will be at another plant further away from houses. It is going to help in terms of odor, air emissions, noise. This project that receives the federal loan funding is going to create 3,000 jobs in the community. In addition the streetscape improvements and architecture there is a lot of thought so that it is an asset to the community. It feels great to win the financial assisting ability award. I believe the group works hard to an chief Financial Stability in everything they do. We are getting world wide recognition for the work we are doing because of the green infracture projects in the communities with a lot of social impact. To me i am very proud of that effort to be a part of that. I nominated the team for the financial sustain ability award. They got some of the largest state and federal loans in the country. It saved the agency 10s of millions of dollars. I am proud of Temperature Team for put proud of the team for putting this together. We got the largest hello everyone. Welcome to the bayview bistro. It is just time to bring the Community Together by deliciou deliciousness. I am excited to be here today because nothing brings the Community Together like food. Having amazing food options for and by the people of this community is critical to the success, the longterm success and stability of the bayviewhunters point community. I am nima romney. This is a mobile cafe. We do soul food with a latin twist. I wanted to open a truck to son nor the soul food, my African Heritage as well as mylas continuas my latindescent. I have been at this for 15 years. I have been cooking all my life pretty much, you know. I like cooking ribs, chicken, links. My favorite is oysters on the grill. I am the owner. It all started with banana pudding, the mother of them all. Now what i do is take on traditional desserts and pair them with pudding so that is my ultimate goal of the business. Our goal with the bayview bristow is to bring in businesses so they can really use this as a launching off point to grow as a single business. We want to use this as the opportunity to support Business Owners of color and those who have contributed a lot to the community and are looking for opportunities to grow their business. These are the things that the San Francisco Public Utilities commission is doing. They are doing it because they feel they have a responsibility to san franciscans and to people in this community. I had a grandmother who lived in bayview. She never moved, never wavered. It was a house of security answer entity where we went for holidays. I was a part of bayview most of my life. I cant remember not being a part of bayview. I have been here for several years. This space used to be unoccupied. It was used as a dump. To repurpose it for Something Like this with the bistro to give an opportunity for the local vendors and food people to come out and showcase their work. That is a great way to give back to the community. This is a great example of a publicprivate community partnership. They have been supporting this including the San Francisco Public Utilities commission and Mayors Office of workforce department. Working with the joint Venture Partners we got resources for the space, that the businesses were able to thrive because of all of the opportunities on the way to this community. Bayview has changed. It is growing. A lot of things is different from when i was a kid. You have the t train. You have a lot of new business. I am looking forward to being a Business Owner in my neighborhood. I love my city. You know, i went to city college and fourth and mission in San Francisco under the chefs ria, marlene and betsy. They are proud of me. I dont want to leave them out of the journey. Everyone works hard. They are very supportive and passionate about what they do, and they all have one goal in mind for the bayview to survive. All right. It is time to eat, people. The hon. London breed hows everybody doing today . First of all, im london breed, mayor of San Francisco, and i want to thank all of the people who are here today to talk about Safe Consumption Services in San Francisco. Let me start by thanking glide. Just last year in this same space that we are here, glide hosted a mock, mockup of what a safe consumption space could look like in San Francisco and how it could potentially be an Incredible Service where it could save lives. And the fact is, i think the challenge that we face in this city and actually throughout this country is not having an honest conversation about people who struggle with Substance Use disorder. We know that its happening and playing itself out on our streets and people are complaining about it. But the fact is complaining about it and moving people from space to space to space does not solve the problem. If anybody has had a Family Member or their own personal experience with Substance Use disorder, you know its just not that simple to say here, heres help, or heres support or here are services you have to get better. People who suffer with Substance Use disorder have real challenges, and i think we have to change the kind of services that we provide to help people who deal with those challenges. Weve been lucky in San Francisco that we have incredible people and organizations that have led the way, including the aids foundation and the delancey foundation, haightashbury foundation, who have put themselves on the line for people that are struggling. And whats so amazing about the work that they have done, they help people beat the addiction that they have and get them back into full, productive lives. Thats all we want in programs like this, so today, we are here to announce what we are going to be providing in legislation. Myself, along with supervisor m matt haney, will be providing permits to organizations to allow them to operate safe consumption sites in San Francisco. [applause] the hon. London breed you know that ive been working on this for years, even when i was on the board of supervisors, and trying to inform people about what this actually means, what this could mean. And let me just talk a little bit about what it could mean, and ill introduce supervisor haney in just a moment. But the fact is, think about it. You see people who are basically out on the streets, injecting publicly. You see people using the foil and fentanyl and other things that are out there. Just think about them. Just imagining walking through this door and getting a space where theyre doing it inside, where theyre contained with people who are basically treating them with respect and making it clear to them that as soon as they are ready, we are there to help them. Thats what this is about. When they are ready, when they say the word, theyre getting the counseling and the services and they are immediately provided the treatment that they need to get healthy. Theyre not just going to do it because we say to do it. Theyre going to do it when provided an opportunity that they feel safe, that they feel comfortable, that they feel welcome, that they can trust the environment and the people that were working with. This is about not just the conditions that we are tired of seeing out on our streets, this is about saving peoples lives. The people out there are someones mother, somebodys father, somebodys cousin, somebodys uncle. They have Family Members, but they are struggling, and this is just a way that i think we need this is a direction we need to move in. Things are changing. What people are using is changing. We know the history, the crack epidemic in the 80s, the heroin epidemic, and now back to opioids in general and the trends around certain drugs and what happens, so we need to make some adjustments to deal with those challenges so that we can get people the help and the support that they need, and thats what this is about. And so as we know with all the challenges that exist with the federal government and the concerns, we know that those concerns are real. We want to make sure we protect the workers who are going to be on the front lines, doing the work, who are putting themselves on the line to help other people get the help and the support that they need. We want to make sure that the city is being responsible how they set up the permitting process for the agencies that are preparing to do this work, so this is just one step to get prepared for what were hoping could be an opportunity to open a safe consumption space in San Francisco soon. So thank you all so much for being here, and at this time, i want to introduce supervisor matt haney. [applause] supervisor haney thank you, mayor breed. I just first want to recognize and acknowledge your leadership, your steadfast leadership for Overdose Prevention sites and same consumption sites. Mayor breed safe consumption sites. Mayor breed, when she was a supervisor, she started the task force that looked into this issue and analyzed the sites in other parts of the country and other parts of the world, really, and came forward with a set of recommendations that this was something we had to do in San Francisco. So it was because of her leadership both as a supervisor and as mayor that were standing here today introducing this legislation. Its also because of the leadership of folks who do heroic work every single day to save lives on our streets, to provide care and outreach to folks who are experiencing Substance Use disorders, and those folks, i think, also deserve a great debt of gratitudetor what they do every day and for what they did to get us to this point. I want to acknowledge glide, the San Francisco aids foundation, the dope project, h. R. 360, r. T. I. , everyone who has been a part of this movement to deal with this crisis, this epidemic in a way that is evidencebased, that is compassionate, that is effective, and that will save lives in our city. We are facing the most deadly epidemic that this city has seen in a long time, and that is drug overdoses. This past year, in 2019, there were over 330 deaths as a result of drug overdoses in San Francisco. Thats a massive increase over 2018, and actually, the numbers expected to go up even higher than that. You can walk around this neighborhood and the neighborhoods that i represent and see people who are struggling, see people who are suffering, who are in need of support and need outreach and treatment, and above all, need to be in a place where they are inside and live and survive and have people that are there for them. We know that Overdose Prevention sites are not a radical idea. There are over 100 that operate in 65 cities around the world. And in those Overdose Prevention sites, not a Single Person has died from an overdose. Thousands of people have been able to enter treatment and care, and we know we need that in San Francisco. This will actually be able to save money. The task force came out that mayor breed was so effective in championing show that each Overdose Prevention site will actually save the city about 3. 5 million in health care costs. So this is the right thing to do, its the smart thing to do, its the compassionate, effective thing to do, and it could not be more urgent for us as we face this most deadly epidemic. This legislation will provide a permitting process so that Health Care Professionals can prepare to open one of these sites as soon as possible. We dont know what the federal government is going to do, but we know that they dont know, especially this federal government, doesnt know whats right for San Francisco. We in this room, the professionals who are doing this work, the mayor, the board of supervisors, the community, know whats right for San Francisco, and whats right is for us to move forward with these sites now. We were able to, just this past week, get positive news in philadelphia, where they have been in federal court and have won again and again, and theyre going to be moving forward. Its time that San Francisco move forward, as well. So we are going to be introducing this legislation together next tuesday. We are going to continue to push for the state and federal authority to do this, but what we need to do is move forward and prepare and be ready at that moment as soon as possible to open one of these sites because its urgent, its devastating our community, its deadly, and we know that this is a huge part of the solution. Its not the only solution. We also need to do a lot more than this, but it is a part, and its a proven tool that works. I want to thank andre and abbie from my office. Theyve been working on this for months, and this is a collaborative action, and we know that it works. Thank you all for being here. [applause] the hon. London breed thank you. When this idea of doing a safe injection site now, Safe Consumption Services did i get it right . All right. When it first was brought to my attention, it was brought to my attention by laura thomas of the drug policy alliance. She had spent so much time advocating and talking to elected officials, working with the community. She provided opportunities for people like me and others to visit vancouver to get a firsthand experience to understand what this could actually mean and how this could actually work, and theres nothing like seeing it directly to get an understanding and seeing it in use as to how it could potentially help people. I think i was on board before that trip, but i was more determined to get this done here in San Francisco after that trip, and its because of laura thomas and leadership. Shes now with the San Francisco aids foundation, and so lets welcome laura thomas. [applause] yeah. So im laura thomas, director of Harm Reduction policy at the San Francisco aids foundation, and as the mayor said, ive been talking to people about this for a very long time. But im really grateful for the leadership of the mayor in particular both when she was on the board of supervisors, as youve heard, and now as mayor for her willingness to stap up and say this is the right thing thing to step up and say this is the right thing to do. [applause] and im also grateful for the leadership of matt haney who stepped up and said what can we do about this . Lets bring this up now, and who has brought a sense of urgency to the overdose crisis and this issue, as well, so im ra really grateful for their leadership on this issue. Im also grateful to glide and this safe injection mockup that they put on. For people who werent able to travel to vancouver as the mayor did, but were able to come here and see what the concrete reality was, and i think that was a transformational Public Education effort, and im grateful to glide for that. I also want to thank the leadership we had for people who use drugs throughout this entire process. People who use drugs, theyve continued to be involved, showing up at the Health Commission and the board of supervisors to testify in support of this. And what weve heard over and over and over from people who use drugs is we do not want to be injecting on the streets in public view. We want a place where we can be safe, where we can be welcomed, treated with compassion, and where we can be indoors and be able to be out of view. We think thats important for us to remember as we think about this. You know, these are programs that can provide a bit of respite and dignity and compassion for people who often dont experience that in their daytoday lives. You know, i think its very clear that San Francisco meets these programs. When you see the amount of public drug use thats happening, we need these programs. As youve heard, these would save money, save taxpayer dollars. Theyve been shown over and over again to get people into treatment or correct them with sf with services, to reduce drug use. They dont increase drug use in the area, dont increase drug sales in approximathe area. Thats been shown in research in different countries, and i think its been clear from the scope of the Overdose Deaths that we need this. The San Francisco chamber of commerce, dignity, citybeat poll, has shown that well over 40 of people support these here. Other groups see just how useful these sites could be for us here in San Francisco. And finally, i think San Francisco deserves these sites. Weve long been on the front, on the cutting edge of, you know, following where the science leads, following where compassion leads us in order to do the right thing, even in the face of federal opposition. We know how to do these things in San Francisco, we know how to do them well, and im excited to be doing these things in the city, excited to have this legislation. We still need to get our state bill passed, and, you know, we certainly face challenges with this federal administration, but im confident that we have the leadership and the will and the the moral wherewithal to make this happen here in San Francisco. Thank you. [applause] the hon. London breed thank you. So i also want to take this acknowledge to thank the director of the department of Public Health, dr. Grant colfax, and the other folks who are helping spear head this particular process and are very supportive of this next step. They have just been invaluable throughout this process, and i want to thank the department of Public Health and its staff for their work and their willingness to do whatever it takes to help us get to this place. So as i said, we plan to introduce this legislation next week with the goal to prepare so that when we have the opportunity to open one of these sites, we want to be ready on day one. And so again, id like to thank supervisor haney for his leadership in helping to move this through the process as well as so many of the folks who are here, standing behind me, who have been doing this work for many, many years. They are the people on the front line, working with folks who are struggling with Substance Use disorder every single day. And their passion and their love for the clients that they serve is extraordinary and has led to so many incredible break throughs in peoples lives, and thats what this is all about, having a breakthrough so we can save people who are struggling. I want to thank all of you for being here today. Looking forward to the day that we can really get this Program Going once and for all, so thank you so much. [applause] we spoke with people regardless of what they are. That is when you see change. That is a lead vannin advantage. So Law Enforcement assistance diversion to work with individuals with nonviolent related of offenses to offer an alternative to an arrest and the county jail. We are seeing reduction in drugrelated crimes in the pilot area. They have done the program for quite a while. They are successful in reducing the going to the county jail. This was a state grant that we applied for. The department is the main administrator. It requires we work with multiple agencies. We have a community that includes the da, Rapid Transit police and San Francisco Sheriffs Department and Law Enforcement agencies, Public Defenders Office and adult probation to Work Together to look at the population that ends up in criminal justice and how they will not end up in jail. Having partners in the nonprofit world and the public defender are critical to the success. We are beginning to succeed because we have that cooperation. Agencies with very little connection are brought together at the same table. Collaboration is good for the department. It gets us all working in the same direction. These are complex issues we are dealing with. When you have systems as complicated as police and health and proation and jails and nonprofits it requires people to come to Work Together so everybody has to put their egos at the door. We have done it very, very well. The model of care where police, district attorney, public defenders are communitybased organizations are all involved to worked towards the common goal. Nobody wants to see drug users in jail. They want them to get the correct treatment they need. We are piloting lead in San Francisco. Close to civic center along market street, union plaza, powell street and in the mission, 16th and mission. Our goal in San Francisco and in seattle is to work with individuals who are cycling in and out of criminal justice and are falling through the cracks and using this as intervention to address that population and the Racial Disparity we see. We want to focus on the mission in tender loan district. It goes to the partners that hired case managers to deal directly with the clients. Case managers with referrals from the police or city agencies connect with the person to determine what their needs are and how we can best meet those needs. I have nobody, no friends, no resources, i am flatout on my own. I witnessed women getting beat, men getting beat. Transgenders getting beat up. I saw people shot, stabbed. These are people that have had many visits to the county jail in San Francisco or other institutions. We are trying to connect them with the resources they need in the community to break out of that cycle. All of the referrals are coming from the Law Enforcement agency. Officers observe an offense. Say you are using. It is found out you are in possession of drugs, that constituted a lead eligible defense. The officer would talk to the individual about participating in the program instead of being booked into the county jail. Are you ever heard of the leads program. Yes. Are you part of the leads program . Do you have a case worker . Yes, i have a case manager. When they have a contact with a possible lead referral, they give us a call. Ideally we can meet them at the scene where the ticket is being issued. Primarily what you are talking to are people under the influence of drugs but they will all be nonviolent. If they were violent they wouldnt qualify for lead. You think i am going to get arrested or maybe i will go to jail for something i just did because of the Substance Abuse issues i am dealing with. They would contact with the outreach worker. Then glide shows up, you are not going to jail. We can take you. Lets meet you where you are without telling you exactly what that is going to look like, let us help you and help you help yourself. Bring them to the Community Assessment and Services Center run by adult probation to have assessment with the department of Public Health staff to assess the treatment needs. It provides meals, groups, there are things happening that make it an open space they can access. They go through detailed assessment about their needs and how we can meet those needs. Someone who would have entered the jail system or would have been arrested and book order the charge is diverted to social services. Then from there instead of them going through that system, which hasnt shown itself to be an effective way to deal with people suffering from suable stance abuse issues they can be connected with case management. They can offer Services Based on their needs as individuals. One of the key things is our approach is client centered. Hall reduction is based around helping the client and meeting them where they are at in terms of what steps are you ready to take . We are not asking individuals to do anything specific at any point in time. It is a Program Based on whatever it takes and wherever it takes. We are going to them and working with them where they feel most comfortable in the community. It opens doors and they get access they wouldnt have had otherwise. Supports them on their goals. We are not assigning goals working to come up with a plan what success looks like to them. Because i have been in the field a lot i can offer different choices and let them decide which one they want to go down and help them on that path. It is all on you. We are here to guide you. We are not trying to force you to do what you want to do or change your mind. It is you telling us how you want us to help you. It means a lot to the clients to know there is someone creative in the way we can assist them. They pick up the phone. It was a blessing to have them when i was on the streets. No matter what situation, what pay phone, cell phone, somebody elses phone by calling them they always answered. In officebased setting somebody at the reception desk and the clinician will not work for this population of drug users on the street. This has been helpful to see the outcome. We will pick you up, take you to the appointment, get you food on the way and make sure your needs are taken care of so you are not out in the cold. First to push me so i will not be afraid to ask for help with the lead team. Can we get you to use less and less so you can function and have a normal life, job, place to stay, be a functioning part of the community. It is all part of the home reduction model. You are using less and you are allowed to be a viable member of the society. This is an important question where lead will go from here. Looking at the data so far and seeing the successes and we can build on that and as the department based on that where the investments need to go. If it is for five months. Hopefully as final we will come up with a model that may help with all of the communities in the california. I want to go back to school to start my ged and go to community clean. It can be somebody scaled out. That is the hope anyway. Is a huge need in the city. Depending on the need and the data we are getting we can definitely see an expansion. We all hope, obviously, the program is successful and we can implement it city wide. I think it will save the county millions of dollars in emergency services, police services, prosecuting services. More importantly, it will save lives. President yee good afternoon and welcome to the march 10, 2020 meeting of the board of supervisors. Madam clerk, would you please call the roll. [roll call]