Transcripts For SFGTV Government Access Programming 20240713

Supervisor mar yeah. I make a motion to excuse supervisor walton. Chair ronen and without objection, that motion passes. [gavel]. Chair ronen first, let me thank jessie and maya from sfgovtv for staffing this meeting, and our clerk today is victor young. Mr. Clerk, do you have any announcements . Clerk yes. Please make sure to silence any phones and electronic deviced, a devices, and be sure to submit any speaker cards to the clerk. Items today will appear on the october 27 board of supervisors agenda. Chair ronen thank you. Will you read item number one. [agenda item read]. Chair ronen thank you. And i will open this up for Public Comment. Any member of the public wishing to speak, please come forward now. Good morning. Im a district eight tenant, anastasia manopolous. Currently, the policies offer a bare minimum and safety nets for tenants being displaced, and some owners and landlords abuse the right for evicting for repairs. I believe these proposed in these proposed amendments. However, you have to acknowledge that the relocation payments are not sufficient to cover the first and last months rent, moving expenses, and the cost of moving at market rate. The relocation amounts need to be revised, and if landlords cannot provide relocation funding, because reconsider because it not on impacts the tenants, it impacts the wellbeing of the citys neighborhoods. Thank you. Chair ronen thank you. If anyone else would like to speak, please lineup so we can take Public Comment one right after the other. Thank you so much. Im holly richardsbabcock. Im a resident of district five. Im speaking on behalf of tenants that are trapped at home during the construction of a. D. U. Units and the construction of units around them. Its utterly unconskionable that tenants have to endure this. Corporations own thousands of units in the city, no doubt some of which are vacant and can be refitted for those who are disabled or always at home. Dur during the a. D. U. Construction below my unit i applied for and received a small rent reduction. I cannot make plans for my grown children to visit in a construction zone. Since last january ive been plagued by the din of demolition. There are bob cats, drills, and generators that crack and shake things off the walls. We need to start a discussion on how to expand the existing temporary relief to enable tenants to apply for temporary respite. Theres no way to overstate the held subject hell endured by tenants who are subjected to this abuse. Chair ronen thank you. Anyone else wishing to speak, come on up. Don fujioka. I wanted to thank the comments of supervisors in previous hearings as well as working with the rent board on these amendments. We agree theres still work to be done on this issue. Thats why the file was duplicated and well continue to work with you and your staff on looking at how we can deal with both the inadequacy of Relocation Assistance and also the need to work with longer term displacement when its code required, so thank you. Chair ronen thank you so much. Thank you. Hello, miss landers. Good morning. I just want to reiterate what dan fujioka just said as well as the other two speakers. Yes, i am in support of this and there is more that could be done and should be done, but there is a really great start. This will mean so much for so many, so thank you very much. Chair ronen thank you very much. Seeing no more Public Comment, Public Comment is closed. Supervisor mar, did you want to make any comments . Supervisor mar well, i just wanted to thank the Community Advocates for working on this. I think from all the discussion weve had about this legislation over the past sever make a motion that we pa the current amendment. Chair ronen and that motion passes without objection. [gavel]. Chair ronen and would you read the next item, please. Hearing to consider appointing seven members, terms ending november 18, 2020, to the urban Forestry Council. Chair ronen thank you. And everybody that were going to hear from, if you would lineup. Good morning. Good morning. Id like too reup. As youll id like to reup. The fact that the nexus between Climate Change and trees is becoming more and more in focus, and so i do think the urban Forest Council Going Forward is going to be extremely important as we try to influence not only you folks but also the mayor of the importance in not only protecting street trees, but our back yard and apartment trees. I want to speak on behalf i dont think that Andrew Sullivan is here. He has been an amazing member of the urban Forest Council. Actually, i dont think hes missed any meetings, so id like to strongly reinforce that he be reassigned, and also, Michael Sullivan that is the author of trees of San Francisco. He knows more about trees than probably anyone in this courtroom, and thats why hes so valuable on the council. I think there was a mistake. Michelle loyatalamantas has just pulled her name and she worked in poder, and she was trying for seat number seven. I would hope that edgar flores could be considered for that seat, seat number seven, because we really do need the representation from that part of the city, and thats it. Thank you very much. Chair ronen thank you so much. Next applicant. Good morning. Good morning, supervisors. My name is name is zah zahra ghayourkelly. My work as policy coordinator and project manager for nature in the city, a local nonprofit, has involved in greening the city spaces. If youre not familiar with it, greening the city is a great local nonprofit in helping the residents restore the canopy and the habitat. Im also currently serving a fouryear term on the San Francisco bay restoration committee. You might wonder why i want to serve on the urban Forest Council. I would like to help enhance the health of the San Francisco urban forest street tree canopy. I believe better informed residents can be great asset and partners in a mission to have healthy citywide tree canopy. I would also like to find solutions to have needed resources to have reliable and systemic maintenance for the citys trees. My daughter and i both have planted over 20 trees in the city. We think its a joy that can be enjoyed by so many, including by birds and animals. Friends of urban forests has given me rich experiences, and reminds me of the diverse work thats being done to build a sustainable city. I have an economics and management background with a masters in environmental management. With all that background, i hope to contribute to the San Francisco Forest Council. Thank you for considering my application. Chair ronen thank you so much. Next speaker. Good morning. My name is pamela nagle. I am applying for seat number three on the urban Forestry Council. This position requires certification by a professional tree management organization, and i am an i. S. A. , International Society of arborists certified arborist. I am a certified architect in the state of california, and i am in construction. This is my 23rd year in San Francisco. I started planting by putting a purpleleaf plumb in front of my house in 2002. I really enjoy working with neighbors and volunteers over the last 17 years, and having them see what a difference that makes to just plant one tree in a space on the sidewalk. Im interested in serving on the council to help further their role in assisting the assist with care and development of the urban forests of San Francisco. Very interested in education on the trees in our parks, streets, and back yards, and id like to increase Public Awareness of their benefits as well as challenges and what a tree needs to survive in a tough urban environment. Id also like to assist this council on their current agenda to increase street Tree Planting, planting in general, and to help offset Climate Change, enlarge the overall canopy of the urban forest as well as diversity of species. And thank you for your consideration. Chair ronen thank you so much. Next speaker or our next applicant, i should say . Good morning. Good morning. Thanks for having me. I am ildiko polony. One thing that id like to bring to this council is not only my years of experience in this but also a unified vision for recognizing that the city already is a habitat for people and for wildlife, and that what we need to do is expand that in ways humans have a really beautiful opportunity to engage with local nature, become a part of local nature, and watch it fluorish, and that is something gran orientifying to who are six months old up to 60 years old. It is something thats available to everybody, and its something that can othuni us in San Francisco. Ive been involved in climate restoration. Im excited to learn from everybody on this council, im excited to learn from pending members. Im excited to learn from those of you in front of me today, including all of you and really work towards a unified vision. I see conflict and an opportunity for greater understand, and i dont shy away from it, and i really listen to all voices because i think everybody has something valuable to say, and especially if we really listen for that. And sort of come out of our boxes. I guess in conclusion, i just come with a tremendous amount of hope, that in a time when things seem dire, speaking of Climate Change and increased costs of living, there are things we can do, and the urban Forest Council is definitely part of that. And i would really like to play a role that engages citizens, that isnt sort of a myopic view but really connects with people where were at, to educate, to inspire, to motivate them to also bring their vision. So i really appreciate my time speaking with you today, and thank you. Chair ronen thank you so much. Im applying for seat five. I dont know if i said that. Chair ronen okay. Good morning. [inaudible] chair ronen good. How are you . My name is David Christopher kerby. For the last two to three years, ive been an urban canopy and Climate Change activist in San Francisco. As far as what i can offer this committee, im going to highlight three specific areas. I think theres a whole lot of areas that i can offer, but im going to highlight three. One is as a Community Activist protesting the citys whole sale removal of trees rather than alternative actions, including strategic pruning or phased removal. What i want to bring to your attention is as to everett middle school, which i live near, i was walking by, i saw a removal sign and was shocked to see there were going to be ten beautiful 50yearold trees that were slated for removal. I then filed a protest, spoke with the bureau of urban forestry, said what are you doing, and discussed possible solutions. Ultimately, we negotiated with the d. P. W. S bureau of urban forestry. We negotiated a oneforone replacement, in other words, take one tree, put another back. We also negotiated they would plant trees larger than a sapling. These would be larger trees. We also have a threeyear commitment by the School District to hand water those when theyre being established. And also, at the same time, we negotiated with the School District to plant six red maples. Theyre gorgeous trees on the campus groups. So i think that highlights some of the very specific things that i can offer. The second is im an executive member of the San Francisco n. A. G. Or neighborhood action group. We are bounded by Church Street on one side, castro on the other, Market Street up to 19th street, so thats our footprint. And we try and solve a lot of problems in that particular footprint. And every i would say every other month, we hold monthly meetings with supervisor mandelman, and within n. A. G. , as its called, i am essentially the tree person and tom temprano and supervisor mandelman call me the tree man affectionately because im an expert in tree issues. Through n. A. G. , weve gotten a couple of things. We now have supervisor mandelman, i think has committed 90,000 of his discretionary funds for sidewalk gardens, so i think its a san francis its a terrific weve had terrific opportunities. I see dan flanagan has also spoken today. Ive arranged for dan to come to our january meeting, on january 26 to address urban Climate Change. And the three questions that ive asked dan to address are number one, in this era of Climate Change, how is the city changing the way it addresses our urban canopy, if at all . Second, what are city officials doing to improve tree canopy and watering . And third, what can i, you, city officials, what steps can i take to improve our urban canopy . The third issue id like to address which is indicative of my qualifications, i am in the n. A. G. Footprint, lets say, a key role in motivating people to plant sidewalk gardens. And as a result of that, the neighborhood had the largest sidewalk beautification project to date. We greened 2,500 square feet of sidewalk square garden, versus the typical projects, which are on 1,000 square feet. And i put in my packet, and id love you to read the article, it takes a village to raise an urban forest which highlights our gardens. A couple of small things which i will want to mention, obviously, the board passed the client emergency proclamation, and i was an advocate of that. And at the same time, i urge the board of supervisors to include in that a reforestation efforts provision to limit Climate Change. Unfortunately, that provision wasnt added, but none the less, i was an advocate for that. Im also a Community Advocate for increased city funds for Tree Planting and in the face of extensive removals, as you know, trees are being cut down all along. Ive been working with supervisor mars office, hoping we will have a hearing on the nature of urban canopy and expansion, as well. Like some of the others, ive worked with friends of the urban forest doing Tree Planting as well as sidewalk planting as well as being a team leader, as well. One of the things that i do want to emphasize is i am a regular member or attendee of the urban Forestry Council representing communities. I offer their Public Comments, which i think is very useful, and hopefully, the council agrees. Id now like to switch gears a minute and talk about the urban Forest Council itself and talk about its roles and responsibilities. And as described, the urban Forestry Council advises all the city departments, including the board of supervisors and the mayor and its tasks are fourfold, which id like to mention briefly. One is to develop an urban forest plan and to educate the board and the public. Second is to develop tree standards, identifying and funding programs for urban forest programs. Third, obtain resources for urban forest program, and facilitate urban forest responsibilities among the different agencies. And among part of that, one of those is to present a report on the state of the urban forest, and that is presented to the mayor as well as the board of supervisors. Now i hope that you know the urban forest plan that weve talked about and the city has adopted calls for an increase of street trees in the population for an additional 50,000 trees going to the year 2035, and thats an extensive expansion of Tree Planting in the city which is necessary. As im sure you know, the city has absolutely no many to do that. The city needs, even to maintain a removal planting ratio of 1 1, a minimum of 2 million. Even with that, the city has the smallest urban canopy of many of the cities in the country. Now many of tus know that tree sequester Carbon Dioxide and release oxygen into the environment. One of the things i do want to mention is ive looked at the annual urban forest report from last year and essentially given the removals and the planting, there was an increase of one tree to the city. Ive looked at last years number, and essentially, there was a net loss of 2,781 trees. So essentially given the plantingremoval, which i think we need to focus on, there was a net loss of almost 3,000 trees, and thats appalling in this era of Climate Change. So what id like to do is kind of jump start the education process not only the board but city officials and the public about the need for more money. You may know, in the recent budget fights, they were initially, the mayor started with zero funds, and through some push and pull, it finally got up to 2 million, which clearly, its not nearly enough. I think the urban plan, if im not mistaken, calls for, to meet its goals, 14 million. Dan knows the numbers better than i. But i think part of what i would like to see with the urban Forest Council is it seeks to educate the moy i cant remember mayor, the board, and the public about the huge deficit of trees in the city, the huge needs to grow the citys canopy and talk with the council about how it and we can take a stronger advocacyeducational role. Now hopefully and i know it will be in your packets, there have been, i think, at least eight emails providing me with references supporting me because of the efforts that ive taken, and i want you to know that im very honored and appreciate those reference recommendations. I also know i got a text from tom temprano, whos supervisor mandelmans legislative aide. And he committed to me he would be meeting personally with each of you, supervisor ronen, supervisor mar, and i see that supervisor walton is not available today, but they will also give their full support to me, knowing that i have the experience, dedication, and in closing, quite frankly, i would be honored to serve on the urban Forestry Council. I think i have a lot to offer, and for that reason, i would like to submit and i would also like you to read your packets about me. Theres a lot of information in there, and id really love you to read that material and as a result accept my qualifications as a nominee. Thank you. Chair ronen thank you so much. Good morning. Im morgan vaissetfauvel. I am currently the manager of the grounds for ucsf. Im currently providing all the management plans that we have for the urban Forest Management that we put together a year ago. It was part of a Community Based plan we put altogether. It took about five years to put together. So what im offering is just im a forester, an arborist. I have a longer experience in professional tree care specialties, and what im offering is just i would like to have more connection between glen park, the urban forestry, and the city and really complete and finish that link and introduce a real green belt into the city, all interconnected with all trails and and all the latest trails. The ridge trails, for example. And i work at for the urban forestry and the community. Yeah, thats all. And i work with actually the community and work actually to make things happen in this kind of environment is to have the community involved. So thats something thats that i believe that they help with friend of the urban forests, and all those other kind of audubon society, and all those different type of groups and Community Groups in the city that create the chain link that we need to keep everything green in the city. So this is very complex. Theres a lot of issue between concrete building constructions and also its really hard to grow trees. Always find a way to grow the canopy into the city and to keep it healthy. Were going to keep it for many, many years and help us with Climate Change, droughts, and pest invasion that we keep having every year. So im really looking forward to work with everybody and really get involved and try to find solutions on some of the major issues that we have in the city. Chair ronen thank you so much. Thanks for applying. Thank you. Chair ronen next speaker or applicant. Good morning, supervisors. My names mike sullivan, and im applying for reappointment to seat six in the council. San franciscos trees are my number one priority since 1989, when i first started serving on friends of the urban forest. In 2003, i was lucky to have a book published, trees of San Francisco, and its a book that introduces people to whats amazing about the trees that get planted in our city, and at the end, 12 different walking tours of trees in our city. This has been a really strong interest of me for a really long time. What i would do if i were to be reappointed, id like to make sure the street canopy doesnt shrink. The department of public works now has the funding to remove trees when its right to remove them, when theyre old and sick. Thats a good thing, but what is not good is the rules have changes around what can be replanted. So youd think if a tree is removed in bernal or cole valley, it can be replanted if the homeowner is interested in replanting, but the rules for the department of public works has for what you can plant and where has been adopted i dont know the timing of the rules, but they have tightened so that a tree maybe cant be replanted because its too close to another tree or its too close to a utility underground utility. And these are all adopted for the right reasons, i think, but now given i think the desire of widely of almost everybody to plant more trees and increase our canopy, i think we should take a look at those rules, see if they can be adjusted. And if not, people should know that at least if we go with the status quo, that our tree canopy is going to shrink, and that just means we have to find other places to plant trees around the tree. Ive loved my time on the council and i believe im qualified for reappointment, and i would love a reappointment. Thank you. Chair ronen thank you so much. And i believe thats all the applicants that are present. Now ill open it up for Public Comment. If anyone is here for Public Comment, please come up. Hi. My names eddie bartly. Im a district ten resident, and im a researcher, golden gate researcher, golden gate audubon society, all these birdie groups. We strongly support the city goals of restoring our local native biodiversity that was endorsed through the biodiversity recommendation. We endorse clients that have a greater ecological review. In that, we support, for seat one, morgan vaissetfauvel, for seat four, daniel flanagan, for and for seat six or seven, zahra gayourkelly. The grasses that are here sequester carbon at a greater rate over their lives, as to marshes. And thank you for Public Comment. Chair ronen thank you. Next speaker. Hi. Bob hall from district five. I just want to echo some of eddies comments. Last week, 3 billion birds have vanished since 1970. A new study came out, so i was also hoping that the urban Forestry Council take more of an ecological point of view because the forest definition is not only the canopy, but the understory, so theres a lot of interactions between the canopy, the insects, the understory, and it is a greater story and great understanding that the past arborists have been great, and dans leadership is supreme. But im hoping that you add some biodiversity to the city and also some diversity by accepting ildiko, zahra to the council and also adding morgans perspective who does some fine management on sutro. So please accept what dan recommended, and hopefully, we can tackle some of the biodiversity issues that the city faces. Thank you. Chair ronen thank you so much. Jake sigg. I am retired from 32 years with the Recreation Park Department in the garden and gardening supervisor and 29 years of volunteering for the department, taking care of the natural areas for the city and recruiting volunteers. We work every wednesday and have been for 29 years. I would like to speak in favor of the candidacies of three applicants to the council. My reason for wanting them on the council is because of their history and their philosophy and experience. Ildiko polony and zahra kelly have long experience with Community Organizations. In this time, they understand the need for fresh thinking. In this third densest city in the united states, it is a challenge how to preserve and enhance the biological systems that contain the diversity of life so essential for providing a climate that human civilization can thrive on. Morgan vaissetfauvel shares these traits and his position as arborist with the university of california on mt. Sutro is strong recommendation for his appointment to the council. Thank you. Chair ronen thank you so much. Next speaker. Hello. My name is paul buscal, and im here to support ildiko polony for seat five. Ive worked with her on San Bruno Mountain right next door here to San Francisco, and her experience that ive had a chance to experience with her has been to inspire and encourage groups of all ages, youth in particular with her work out at ledge in the southeast portion of San Francisco growi francisco, growing plants to do restoration to Candlestick Park and Treasure Island in particular. And her understanding of not just the forest but the understory and the coastal scrub, which is important factor in supporting habitat for pollenators and birds and other invertebrates and vertebrates is really critical. So id hope youd consider her for that position, and i thank you for your time. Chair ronen oh, mr. Flanagan, you had already spoke. [inaudible] chair ronen is that possible . Even though you already spoke clerk thank you. As a party to, i dont think Public Comments are allowed for applicants. Chair ronen its just ive never confronted this situation, so im learning. Deputy City Attorney jon givner . Mr. Givner the practice of the rules committee over the last public years has been to not allow Public Comment by people who are applicants. At least for the past few years, you treated Public Comment as youve not allowed applicants to speak in Public Comment. Chair ronen okay. And since you already spoke, im just going to follow that policy, that informal policy. Okay. Is there any other members of the public who wish to speak . Seeing none, Public Comment is closed. [gavel]. Chair ronen well, supervisor mar, we have our Impossible Task again. Its almost punishment to be on the rules committee because theres so many fabulous san franciscans who want to serve on our councils, and its hard to choose. Im going to make a couple proposals, and then well hear from supervisor mar. For me, i really would when individuals are doing a wonderful job on the committee and seek reappointments, i like to support that reappointment. I think the consistency is important. I think important who have had an opportunity to serve on a commission and can sort of bring people in, teach them, give them the history, it provides the sort of continuity thats important. So for seat two, Andrew Sullivan. Seat four, dan flanagan. And seat six, Michael Sullivan. Are you related . We are not. Chair ronen okay. I just realized. I am inclined to support your reappointment for those reasons. And then, we are lucky to have very qualified, wonderful candidates who are applying to seats one and three, which are uncontested. So i just really want to thank both morgan and pamela for being willing to serve in these highly expert seats. Very much looking forward to it. So that leaves seats five and seven, you know, where we have an abundance of overqualified, amazing candidates. I would like to propose well, first of all, i want to say as a supervisor that represents the east side of the city and the portola neighborhood, particularly, its a neighborhood that weve worked very closely with dan flanagan to try to get more urban canopy in that neighborhood, especially given the air quality on the east side and the need to mitigate the impacts of the freeways and the historical pollution on that side of the city. And so i think that idilkos work in the bayview is extremely important. And to have that connection to a Community Organization in the bayview thats doing that work is a deciding factor for me, and so im going to be supporting idilko. I will say, zahra she might have left already, but if she watches at home later, incredibly impressed by her. And if it doesnt work out for her today, being put forward to rules, i would really love to forward her on to the Mayors Office because i know the mayor has some appointments to make, and i i very much believe in that. And then for seat seven, i am im going to be supporting edgar flores. And the reason for that is, he wasnt here today but sent a note for us and had a work conflict, and theres many reasons why im supporting edgar flores. One is that he currently works with poder at the Hummingbird Farm in the excelsior, one place that could benefit from increased urban canopy. And also as someone who is, you know, both queer and a person of color, connected to a communitybased organization that works in the black and brown communities with youth. I think that that is an extremely important voice of diversity in that discussion and one that isnt doesnt always jump to the forefront of these types of issues that i think are are so important. I would also say that mr. Flores very much has an Environmental Justice framework which he conducts his work, and thats a very important perspective. Having said that, that means that mr. I wouldnt be recommending mr. Kerby, who is beyond an exciting candidate for this seat. And so i will also hope, if you dont mind if i forward you know, again, if it doesnt work out today, if i forward your name to the Mayors Office, with the help of tom temprano and raphael mandelman, because id love to see you on this commission. So thats my suggestion, supervisor mar. Again, our job up here is impossible, but its a good situation to be in when it is impossible because theres so many good people willing to serve. Supervisor mar, i dont know if you have any thoughts. Supervisor mar yeah, thank you, chair ronen, for that. Actually, i wanted to thank everyone in Public Comments and everyone who spoke for your commitment to urban forestry issues whether its Climate Change, injustice, neighborhood issues. Thank you for all that you do. These are all issues that are very important to me personally. And as a lifelong environmentalist and as a representative of district four, its one of the areas of the city that has a lot more work to do to expand our urban canopy or tree canopy and actually having just finished reading the overstory by richard powers, which really sparked a lot more deeper thinking in me personally around these issues. So as mr. Kerby briefly referenced, i actually am going to be convening a hearing at the board of supervisors on the citys urban canopy and our existing policies and really as a step towards looking at what we can do to make those issues a hire priority at city hall and gravely expanding and protecting our urban canopy. Thats going to be on november 14, and i look forward to working with all of you on that and the work to follow. And i also did want to finally mention that in looking at our an analysis that the city the most recent analysis on the demographics of our different commissions and advisory bodies, the urban Forestry Council is one of our important advisory bodies that has a very low percentage of women and people of color currently, and thats not no fault to the great leaders that are on the council and the folks that are working on these issues, but i think thats an important issue to kind of look at. So im really happy, i think, with these appointments that were making to the urban Forestry Council, were going to be able to take a step towards experiencing diversity on the council, and that will help make these issues a higher priority for everyone. So im in agreement with chair ronens proposal on some of the more difficult decisions we had to make on the contested seats. Do you want me to make it why dont you make it . Chair ronen sure. Ill make an official motion, then. I make a motion to appoint morgan im going to butcher your last name. Im so sorry. How do you pronounce your name . Morgan vaissetfauvel. Chair ronen morgan vaissetfauvel. And i will take that without objection. That motion passes. [gavel]. Chair ronen mr. Clerk, are there any other items today . Clerk before i make that statement, i just want to confirm that item number one was recommended as a committee report, just for my chair ronen yes, thats right. Clerk and that completes the agenda for today. Chair ronen thank you so much. The meeting is adjourned. [gavel] [ ] homelessness in San Francisco is considered the number 1 issue by most people who live here, and it doesnt just affect Neighbors Without a home, it affects all of us. Is real way to combat that is to work together. It will take city departments and nonprofit providers and volunteers and companies and Community Members all coming together. [ ] the product homeless connect Community Day of Service Began about 15 years ago, and we have had 73 of them. What we do is we host and expostyle event, and we were the very force organization to do this but it worked so well that 250 other cities across the globe host their own. Theres over 120 Service Providers at the event today, and they range anywhere from hygiene kits provided by the basics, 5 to prescription glasses and reading glasses, hearing tests, pet sitting, showers, medical services, flu shots, dental care, groceries, so many phenomenal Service Providers, and what makes it so unique is we ask that they provide that Service Today here it is an actual, tangible Service People can leave with it. I am with the hearing and Speech Center of northern california, and we provide a variety of Services Including audiology, counselling, outreach, education, today we actually just do screening to see if someone has hearing loss. To follow updates when they come into the Speech Center and we do a full diagnostic hearing test, and we start the process of taking an impression of their year, deciding on which hearing aid will work best for them. If they have a smart phone, we make sure we get a smart phone that can connect to it, so they can stream phone calls, or use it for any other services that they need. San francisco has phenomenal social services to support people at risk of becoming homeless, are already experience and homelessness, but it is confusing, and there is a lot of waste. Bringing everyone into the same space not only saves an average of 20 hours a week in navigating the system and waiting in line for different areas, it helps them talk, so if you need to sign up for medical, what you need identification, you dont have to go to sacramento or wait in line at a d. M. V. , you go across the hall to the d. M. V. To get your i. D. Today we will probably see around 30 people, and averaging about 20 of this people coming to cs for followup service. For a participant to qualify for services, all they need to do is come to the event. We have a lot of people who are at risk of homelessness but not yet experiencing it, that todays event can ensure they stay house. Many people coming to the event are here to receive one specific need such as signing up for medical or learning about d. M. V. Services, and then of course, most of the people who are tender people experiencing homelessness today. I am the representative for the volunteer central. We are the group that checks and all the volunteers that comment participate each day. On a typical day of service, we have anywhere between 40500 volunteers that we, back in, they get tshirts, nametags, maps, and all the information they need to have a successful event. Our participant escorts are a core part of our group, and they are the ones who help participants flow from the Different Service areas and help them find the Different Services that they needs. One of the ways we work closely with the department of homelessness and Supportive Housing is by working with Homeless Outreach teams. They come here, and these are the people that help you get into navigation centers, help you get into shortterm shelter, and talk about housing1st policies. We also work very closely with the department of Public Health to provide a lot of our services. We have all types of things that volunteers deal do on a day of service. We have folks that help give out lunches in the cafe, we have folks who help with the check in, getting people when they arrive, making sure that they find the services that they need to, we have folks who help in the check out process, to make sure they get their food bag, bag of groceries, together hygiene kit, and whatever they need to. Volunteers, i think of them as the secret sauce that just makes the whole process works smoothly. Participants are encouraged and welcomed to come with their pets. We do have a pet daycare, so if they want to have their pets stay in the daycare area while they navigate the event, they are welcome to do that, will we also understand some people are more comfortable having their pets with them. They can bring them into the event as well. We also typically offer veterinary services, and it can be a real detriment to coming into an event like this. We also have a bag check. You dont have to worry about your belongings getting lost, especially when that is all that you have with you. We get connected with people who knew they had hearing loss, but they didnt know they could get services to help them with their hearing loss picks and we are getting connected with each other to make sure they are getting supported. Our next event will be in march, we dont yet have a date set. We typically sap set it six weeks out. The way to volunteer is to follow our newsletter, follow us on social media, or just visit our website. We always announce it right away, and you can register very easily online. A lot of people see folks experience a homelessness in the city, and they dont know how they can help, and defence like this gives a whole bunch of people a lot of good opportunities to give back and be supported. [ ]