Month. I thank you for your service and your advocacy and i would like now to turn the floor over to an officer and the pride alliance. [applause] on behalf of the pride alliance, i would like to thank you for this recognition. It means the world to us. A little history on the pride alliance, it was created in 2001 when a group of courageous San FranciscoPolice Officers who identified as lgbtq establish an organization because they felt the department needed to change and that the relationships between the lgbtq officers and the department needed to be flourishing and needed to change for the better. I dont think those officers would have thought we would have had a rainbow s. U. V. Rolling around the streets of San Francisco or that Police Officers from the department, lgbtq, straight, allied, members of the command staff and the chief himself will be Walking Around the month of june wearing pride patches, which we would like to thank the commission and the command staff for allowing us to do this to begin with. We created this project for two goals mainly. First, to shed light on the Youth Homeless crisis within the city of San Francisco, into support larkin Street Youth Services and their fight to end Youth Homelessness within the lgbtq and people of color community. And to really show that San FranciscoPolice Department is moving to become the forefront for lgbtq relationships and change with Law Enforcement as a whole. We want to show people in the community that if you have a problem, that we will take it seriously. We are there to serve the community, not just lgbtq, but people of color, straight people , everybody in the community who we serve, and we want to make sure members feel comfortable coming to us, and like pastor meghan said, we want to be that friend to you and we want to be that person that you run to when you have a problem and not be afraid of us. That is our goal. We would like to thank you guys again for allowing us to come up here and be recognized for the efforts and show the support that San Francisco gives us and the support we give the community. Thank you. [applause] okay. Next up is our supervisor from district three, supervisor peskin. Thank you. I would like to invite shane watson and donna graves up to the podium. When our office is all received notice of this years pride month special commendations, we immediately thought to honor the brilliant coauthors of the Citywide Historic context statement for lgbtq history in the city and county of San Francisco. Theres a lot to say about this monumental effort and how it started, but let me start by speaking in my own personal role as somebody who has championed Historic Preservation and advocated it in the Northeast Corner of the city. Long before i came into elected office in the 1990s, i was Community Advocate and helped save the colombo building at number 1 columbus avenue. I became acquainted with the history of the black cat and the paper doll that this board of supervisors has landmarked today , and we ultimately saved one columbus avenue from the wrecking ball. That was right at about the same time that the Carmel Fallon house was on the chopping block, and the story of the context statement, i think begins in that effort to save that 104 yearold victorian design by castro descendent Carmel Fallon at the intersection of market octavia and paige, led by a brave group of folks, the friends of 1800 market, that included luminaries like alan martinez, who later on joined the Historic Preservation commission, vincent marsh, denise lapointe, and many others i think commissioner martinez is here in the audience. That effort ultimately led to the preservation and land marking of that edifice that we recognize today as the building that houses the San Francisco lgbt center. That preservation effort was informed by an understanding of the historic historical sites is not just simply about the geography and physical structure , but more importantly, about the cultural significance of the communities that inhabit that space and geography. I think that is what we are celebrating and honoring today. Out of that effort, grew the first Historical Context statement of its kind in the entire country, pioneered by the friends of 1800, one that focused specifically on the history of lgbtq communities and the spaces they inhabit in San Francisco. Fastforward a number of years, and along came shane watson and donna graves with an idea to expand upon that 23 page document, and in concert with the lgbtq historical society, and funding from the citys Historic Fund committee, which was money from the settlement of a lawsuit on the old emporium, the fantastic document that we and the authors, the brilliant coauthors of that document, is now the Citywide Historic context statement for lgbtq history in San Francisco. It is an astonishing 365 pages of Indepth Research that chronicles the history of San Franciscos Lgbtq Community from the 19th century, and leading all the way up to the 1980s. I should say, normally we think of history as something as half a century or more, but the history of aids and the aids epidemic in San Francisco is really part of the history and is included in that context statement. Donnas reputation in Academic Circles is renowned and includes a host of publications on california landmarks, california s japan to town and rosie the riveter. Shanes more recent resume is no less impressive, specializing in the chronicling of lgbtq history , but extended to historic evaluations of ocean avenue, and a number of sights across the state of california. With respect to the rest of their bodies of work, it is difficult to imagine a project more impactful than this context statement. It is rightfully earning them the governors Historic Preservation award, and the california preservation foundations trustee award for excellence in Historic Preservation. It was the inspiration and foundation for the National Park service is lgbtq themed study, the first lgbtq history project in the world to be commissioned by federal government. It is significant because our history, and even our planning process in the city should really be driven by much more then the share ear physicality of the urban environment. The context statement stands for principles that i think that are far more significant, that our history and understanding originates with the people. It is about the people who form vibrant communities, families, chosen or otherwise, and come together to be selfsufficient communities. It is an old principal, reiterated maybe back to the days of aristotle, but reiterated by jane jacobs in the middle of the last century, and all too easily forgotten. The lgbtq context statement as a reminder of the humanity of our history, of the Critical Role that the Lgbtq Community plays historically and currently in San Franciscos fundamental identity. Theres a lot more that i could say, but with that, i want to thank ms. Graves and ms. Watson for their outstanding contribution to the movement and the advisory committee, which include some of our here used heroes. Congratulations and im delighted that your parents are able to join you here all the way from houston, and with that, i will turn the microphone over to you. And i only have one bouquet of flowers, so the two if you will have to fight over that. The floor is yours. Thank you and congratulations. [applause] thank you very much, donna and i are grateful, especially to you, supervisor peskin and lee hepner for recommending us, also for your ongoing support of lgbtq preservation and Historic Preservation in general. Thank you for that. As you mentioned, this project was funded by the Historic Preservation fund committee. We would not be here without that group of people. They were incredibly supportive throughout this project. Thank you to those people. Thank you. I would just like to share something that shows the surprising impact of this work. The citywide lgbtq Historic Context statement for San Francisco is on a website called academia edu where i placed some of my writing. That site sends me frequent notices when people from all over find, read, and download the report. Just since the beginning of pride month, people from the following places have found it in hanoi, pretoria, salon, lagos , shepherds bush, part of the u. K. , brazil, lyons, mexico, sacramento, addis ababa, brooklyn, washington, d. C. , new jersey, samoa, minnetonka, and reading, california. I dont know whether that makes you tear up, but every time i get one of those messages, i am a little bit for clumped, and i hope that knowing that this work on our lgbtq plus history that everybody has supported is providing sustenance and inspiration around the world. It makes shane and i incredibly grateful to all of our partners and to the Historic Preservation fund committee, the city of San Francisco, the board of supervisors, for ensuring that this document was created in the first place and is now being shared so widely. Thank you. [applause] up next is our supervisor from district five, supervisor brown. Thank you. Thank you supervisor mandelman and your staff for organizing this today. Today, in honor of pride month, i would like to commend gary mclean, many of us know as a legendary marlena of marlenas bar in hayes valley. Unfortunately, gary was unable to make it today due to an illness. His dear friend is here to accept the commendation on his behalf. Marlena is one of San Francisco s and district fives greatest icons. He has done a lot for this community. Over the years, he has uplifted voices and showcased queer art in district five. He has selflessly taken many people into his home, making them feel safe and welcome in the city by the bay. When i imagine what San Francisco values would be like in a person, i think of marlena. He is someone who truly embodies the open to all philosophy. Always opening his home and his heart with a kind word and a positive outlook on a changing city. For close to two and a half decades, marlenas helped space lgbtq people in hayes valley. It was a place to celebrate queer art and culture. Before the freeway was torn down , it was also a place for black and brown lgbtq folks from the surrounding neighborhood to have a place to feel accepted and welcome. The bar itself was an outlier in the hayes valley, but that is what made it so special. Many of us who visited and remember how the bars electric decor, history, and culture it made us feel like we were being transported into a magical world anybody who had been in there, if you were down, marlena would give you a kind word to bring you up, and if you were a little saucy, she would actually make sure she put puts you in your place. Now as a proud mother to many, marlena continues to be a legend in San Francisco. Im so happy and honored to commend a true San Francisco hero, gary mclean, a. K. A. Marlena, and im hoping that she is watching this on t. V. Today. I know you have a few words. Yes. Thank you. First of all, marlena, i know you are watching, i love you. On behalf of gary mclean, better known as marlena to his friends, i would like to thank the supervisors, especially vallie brown from district five, and the community for this honor. Marlena would have liked to have been here in person, but it is in ill health, yet good spirits. On the 50th Year Anniversary of stonewall, it is with great pride that i repeat marlenas mantra. It is easier to love than it is to hate. Thank you. [applause] okay. That brings us to supervisor from district seven, which is me [laughter] first of all, i want to congratulate everyone of the honourees today for pride month. It is a really great selection of people that we have chosen, especially that we the one i am going to be choosing. My 2019 pride month honouree for district seven is dr. Steven tierney. Come on up. [applause] theres a long list of accomplishments attached to my honourees name, but let me just start by underscoring the most important ones because not dr. Stephen turney, multiple generations of lgbtq youth are alive today, not just surviving, but flourishing and paying for the gifts of another chance to live a healthier, happier life. Dr. Stephen tierney began his career after graduate school and continue to dedicate his lifes work on caring for youth for decades while in boston, he founded the sydney Burnham Health centre for lgbt and homeless youth, which is a fully licensed primary care and Mental Health clinic. As well as the boston gay and lesbian adolescent social services, or even what we call the boston glass, which would provide safe space, education, and housing employment services. When we were lucky enough to have dr. Tierney join us in San Francisco in 1996, he became the executive director of the Health Initiatives for youth, also known as hifi, which was an Innovative Program that served as an incubator for new programs in services for San Francisco transitional aged youth. He worked with former supervisor and current bart board member, devon duffy, to lead to the mayors task on San Francisco response to the crystal meth epidemic. His forward thinking and understanding of this epidemic is the reason that there are programs and services, to this day, to address meth addiction here in San Francisco. He spent the last 15 years training the next generation of communitybased adolescent psychotherapists as professors as a professor at the California Institute of integral studies, and we could use every single one of them to make sure our children and our youth are living lives that are healthy, stable, and peaceful as possible now in his spare time, dr. Tierney volunteers and performs suicide intervention and prevention training, as a response to the alarming trend of Youth Suicide in california. On top of all this, dr. Tierney is also an ordained weakest priest and serves as the c. E. O. Of the San FranciscoMindfulness Foundation and is a full facilitator of the meditation for people in recovery groups have the San Francisco zen center, providing access to recovery and wellness through meditation for hundreds of youth and young adults each year. Dr. Tierney, it is my immense honor to have you as our district seven resident honouree for this years lgbtq celebration. Thank you for your service. Please give us some wisdom. [applause] thank you. I came to this work and dedicated my life to working with young people when my 17 yearold brother died by suicide because he had been impacted by the heartbreak of a slick of exclusion and being in systems where there was no reasonable and safe and accessible Mental Health services for young people who were going through that search for self self that he was going through. I decided then, and have worked ever since, to have services that would make a difference, and so in boston, and here in San Francisco, with the Mayors Task Force that led to the creation of the castro youth housing that opened the dimensions clinic for youth and a number of programs such as that, we have the opportunity to really change the lives in the Life Expectancy of young people who are dealing with exclusion and violence, and the other things that young people deal with. And all of the programs that you mentioned are still in operation today. Some including the ones in boston that have 35 that are 45 years old. To be able to be here, again, the last time i testified here, i was the director of h. I. V. Prevention for this city, and when i took that job, the number of new infections a year was 1150, and when i left that job, the number of new infections was 480 a year. What i said then, and what i say now, is all of the things that we talk about today, all work done by collaboration. The youth housing in the dimensions clinic were done with young people at the table. When we created the magnet clinic for folks in the gay community, that was done with people from the community, and each of the things that i have done, i believe has worked to the degree that it has because it was never about who was in charge of who might end up having such a wonderful honor as today, it was alwa