Transcripts For SFGTV Government Access Programming 20240713

Public comment. Please come forward feel free to line up and every speaker will have two minutes. Feel free to get us started. Im a me member of a volunter organization of psychiatrists, therapists, attorneys, family members and others on behalf the severely mentally ill. Demanding treatment before tragedy and i find it encouraging that attention is finally focused on improvement but both bills right now failed to tang int take into accounts y aspects of why our system is dysfunctional. Theres less visible severely mentally ill who live with family members and attempt to ward off disaster for their loved ones and bear the brunts of death threats, visible and physical abuse and disruption of their entire lives attempting to protect their family members. Yet, we have advised by representatives of the department of health to let our loved ones to be destitute to they qualify for services, that is evident. In the 1990s, there were over 100 beds in sanfrancisco and now there are 22. There were four psychiatrists, five primary care doctors and 30 nurses that had a 90 success rate at being able to place people in long. Term stable housing. The entire staff was laid off in the facility and repumped in 200repumped in2004 and these bi, have no mention of numbers or a timeline for how to restore acute, sub acute and pes beds and those who get hundreds of millions in tax breaks. Thank you so much, next speaker, please come forward. Im concerned about the weakest in the system, similar to the woman on the street. This woman on the street, waiting for somebody. As a resident board member, ive also been a consumer Mental Health service this is San Francisco. So, several months back, even before Mental Health sf was announced, i was working with the treatment on demand council and a small group of us met with hilary to tell her about treatment on demand, why it was so important and why she should support it. And she said, oh, you like treatment on demand . Have i got good news for you. Dont tell anyone yet. We have this idea for a universal Mental Healthcare program in San Francisco. We were thrilled to hear about it and weve been on board since. I was part of a group that hilary and others and matt consulted with for in put. Ive been a strong voice asking for more mobile outreach. I was listened to and thats been part of the program and the navigation component is a crucial park. I want to see this passed. Because i want to see this passed, id like to make the following recommendation. Im really afraid that you are going to be coming headtohead with urgent care sf and the Mayors Office. Because i want to see this passed, i hope you will consider possibly bringing it to a vote with the board of supervisors. Thank you so much for doing this, supervisors. Thank you. Thank you, next speaker. Good afternoon, i am a member of the senior disability action and i was the first promoter peace and creation. Where should i start. Maybe ill start with me. I went to the previous for confession and i said should you go to someone for counseling so i went to kaiser to try to get an appointment and i got the application and i got there. You are not psychotic. Were not going to see you. Im still waiting. Im here to support you because everyone knows its a San Francisco and hugged and kiss a leper too and we should too. I said thats everyone. So i am supporting you guys and also, not always with senior disability so there are 4,000 people on that email plan so i can tell them. I would go back and i had a social welfare background but if i would go back and be a case worker too. I know my housemate has an 18yearold son and im encouraging her to get him into the healthcare field. It branches where theres a will theres a way. Outside you have the nurses and the sheriff help that poor lady who fell down. We have a way. We have to have the will so include everyone exclude no one. Include everyone, exclude no one. Healthcare now Mental Health. San francisco. Hi, my name is veronica forbes. Ive been a social worker for nine years. I am a Community Behavioral Health Specialist homelessness expert and the original Program Manager of the navigation center. In San Francisco, my clients waited one to throw months in jail or decompensating in the streets or shelter from Mental Health and drug abuse services. When someone seeks help and is put on a wait list, theres a very narrow window of time to make a difference and when missed, it takes months to years until the theyre ready or able to seek help again. All the while, theyre spiraling downward in their ability to function yet San Francisco makes cuts to the Mental Health rehab center, Residential Care facility and acute diversion units and im here to tell you all to support Mental Health sf because living people with Mental Illness and drug addictions in the streets or criminal enforcement system is ineffective and its dangerous and its wrong. Hi, my name is wind could haveman and im Vice President of aft2121 at the city college of San Francisco. And we are grateful you have crafted this legislation and we support it and i want to talk as a mother of a child that has severe meth illness. She is doing well today. Shes 37yearsold and shes had four episodes such that she was 5150ed. She has chemical dependency issues and schizophrenia diagnosis. Today shes leading a healthy, full life with friends and a meaningful job and shes a social justice advocate for climate change. The reason is because she had the resources that she needed. She had the when she was in crisis she had them after she was in crisis and before she was in crisis. She was lucky because she had a tiger balm and the mom that had resources. When i pass young people on the streets or even not so young and in their 30s or late 30s, and i see my daughter could have been that if it werent for the resource thats she had available. Thank you for this legislation. Dont compromise. Hi, my name is victoria and i represent a compassionate day. We are activists working on animals and environmental issues. Although Mental Health is not our area of expertise, we all have members touched. It is in compassionate and dignity for all and a snub of membera number ofmembers wantedr support. Thank you so much for your work. My name is liz, ive been working with homelessness and Mental Healthcare for the past nine years. For the past five years here in San Francisco including at places like tenderloin housing clinic, Progress Foundation and saint anthonys. When i was contacted by caro lena from ronens office and she asked me to i had a experience with my friend who was in San Francisco very depressed, not bad enough to need to go to the hospital but struggling and he was staying wit staying with med shuffling around to get access to services. He worked in an acute diversion units that provide residential treatment of and connect them in care so we knew the system and i knew the system and we made every effort to get him connected to care he needed to get back on his anti depresents. Like said, he wasnt bad enough to go to the hospital but most days he was too afraid to leave the house. He was dead by my second meeting. This is the system were in. Most people do not have those resources. They do not know the system as well and they do not have people who will fight as hard. If someone like that cant get access to care under the system we have, we need oversight and we need over tight outside of the d. P. H. System in order to ensure things like this dont happen. Thank you very much for doing this. Hi, everyone, my name is Jennifer Steen and im here today to say some things that initially i said i wasnt going to say. I wasnt going to say that we need Mental Health not handcuffs. During the rally someone fell on the steps and it was nurses who rushed to her aid. When the deputies came they said dont move her, how was she supposed to get help sitting in that place. Nurses make an assessment because were trained clinicians and we were able to decide it was medically safe for her to move. We had noise outside these doors of this chamber and the deputies went too far. In the psychiatric emergency room, i have seen police and sheriffs and Highway Patrol men and bart police and any other Law Enforcement who might touch someone in the city of San Francisco come in and ask us to do our jobs, which is to serve in a crisis and help people with their Mental Healthcare. In those moments when they enter our room, they know we are the right people on the job. In the streets, in peoples homes, in the neighborhoods that we serve, our clinicians arent there. One of the tenants of Mental Health sf is to make sure that trained clinicians are responding to peoples psychiatric emergencies. Trained clinicians, not people who are trained to kill. We have to make sure that as we work with the Mayors Office that trained clinicians are sent out every single day to save people and to respond at the appropriate manner and the appropriate care. Not rough, fast, over zealous because they are never going to hurt someone by accident or on purpose. Hi. My name is cheryl shang and i work with team dc organizing. My story my story. Couple years ago, i was homeless in the street addicted to drugs. I got psychosis and i was 5150 eight times. When i was in the hospital i would plead with the doctor in the psychiatric ward to please keep me. They would let me out within 24 hours. Had there been treatment on demand it wouldnt have occurred over and over and over again. Theres people out there and they need help. They need help. They need treatment on demand. They have a right to live again. They have a right to recover theyre human beings. I am a human being. I went back to the dock or to thank him and also ask questions, why do you keep letting me out and the doctor said because there was no place to put you. There was no place to put you and when a bed did come available, i kept you because you kept coming back. You people are one of the lucky ones he told me. People shouldnt have to get Mental Health by luck. By luck. We should be treatment on demand for all. Every individual perso single p. I thank you so much. I thank all of you so much for doing this. Look at me. [applause] were not throw aways, we can thrive when we get the treatment that we need. Thank you. Good afternoon, supervisors. My name is Curtis Bradford and im cochair of the tenderloin people congress. So, im here today obviously to speak in favor of Mental Health sf. Thank you for hearing our input and incorporating that in the version that we see before us today and we have the the right solution for the crisis. I want to say that i agree with David Elliott that i think theres prefer able action options goinactions tothe ballo. If we want to go to the ballot we will fight and win. And were willing to do that. I would call on the other supervisors now and the mayor to think about that. They need to work on that and we need to pass it as legislation not only because its a better way to govern but also because the crisis on our streets demands action now. People are dying now. March 2020 is a long way off. Im calling on all the supervisors to sign onto the sf legislation now. Sign on as cosiners now. Lets pass it on the board of supervisors with unanimous consent and im heard to hair the mayor is having conversations with us. I call on her to continue that and work with the board to get the best version possible but i also want to say it needs to pass the board with enough that we can make sure it gets implemented and makes a difference and theres oversight because i dont trust the system to implement it without that so thank you for doing this and lets get it done and pass it now. Thank you. My name is cw johnson and i just want to applaud all your efforts. This is the most progressive proposal i have seen in a long time that supports meth health so let me get down to it and i speak as someone who lived with meth Health Challenges most of my life. I believe having two proposals does not make sense and the Mayors Office and the board of supervisors cannot continue to operate in the world of provision. We know people who are struggling with Mental Health challenges that are homeless and need help right now. Im support Mental Health sf because its comprehensive and it doesnt address all the needs of the people. Thank you. Good afternoon, supervisors, my name is judith and i work for the San Francisco department of publichealth for 20 years. I was the founding director of homeless connect and im a member of the Moment Health board and today im speaking as a mother of a son who three and a half years ago ended this system empty and he was beaten by eight Police Officers during his first psychotic event. Since he has been in the system he has had seven placements and he has been 5150 three times and this is the child of someone who knows this system and can help him access this system. This system is really broken and i appreciate so much that you guys are moving forward quickly on this legislation and if someone said earlier every second makes a huge difference in not only someones lives but whether they continue to trust the system. As i was waiting on mine, i received a text from my sons intensive case manager and he, for the first time in three years, formed an attachment to tell me that theyre moving him to another intensive case manager and this is what we do in this system theres a program in 2003 they did away with their Mental Health institutions and committed to keeping people in the community no matter where they are in the Mental Health spectrum. I urge you to look at this model and i thank you. We cannot wait a moment more. Thank you. [applause good afternoon, tar from the executive board of harry milk club. I want to thank the supervisors here and the people in this room that brought this proposal to the place it is right now. I think its important to reflect on the fact on how government reacts to crisis. When our countrys attacked, the government responds with full force. Will we endure an earthquake here in the city, the government responds with full force. What we learn from the aids crisis was that populations that are disenfranchised are left to the cold and it takes a ground swell of support to get the response of the government. Were also explaining the same thing here and populations that are facing to address and we have to go full force. My own father spent his 70s as a homeless alcoholic in new york city. Despite the fact he didnt want the family to help him it was frustrating to see what he was going through. A city with a resources like new york not delivering a solution. San francisco also has the resources. We have billions of dollars transacted in these this is eye crisis that we have to put full support behind and Immediate Response to. Thank you. Hi, my name is general he will holland and give been a practitionepractice tishpractit. Im representing myself as a practice nish tepractitioner an. In the 80s we had two years in a halfway house. We have maybe three months. This is a psycho social issue. The Mental Health that i see with people has to do with the race, classification or identity in the world and how theyre seen and how theyre recognized for what they suffer with. I dont believe its just a medical condition but it is very disabling and we need this sf Mental Health right now. I do want to tell a story about board and cares. I dont know if people know what theyre. Theyre part of the Mental Health system and theyre going away. They have 23 beds and theyre closing december 1st. I have a client though has to go to antioch. She was at Napa State Hospital for 15 years. She gets really psychotic and she hits people and shes isolated. Shes done really well in intensive Case Management services and the Mental Health system since she left locked. I dont know what is going to happen. Antiok is supposed tantioch ise services than here. I want to thank everybody who worked on this. Good afternoon, my name is fatty anfatima and im part of e treatment on demand coalition. The majority of the clients that i work with are incarcerated, poor and working class, black and non black people of color, with histories of systemic and interpersonal trauma and im here to share my support for Mental Health sf. Which was collectively informed by both front land workers and people and communities with lived experience. Its clear theyre relying on the current Mental Health system and Law Enforcement doesnt work. Otherwise we wont need Mental Health sf to address this crisis but we do. Continuing to rely on Law Enforcement as urgent care Mental Health<\/a> service this is San Francisco<\/a>. So, several months back, even before Mental Health<\/a> sf was announced, i was working with the treatment on demand council and a small group of us met with hilary to tell her about treatment on demand, why it was so important and why she should support it. And she said, oh, you like treatment on demand . Have i got good news for you. Dont tell anyone yet. We have this idea for a universal Mental Health<\/a>care program in San Francisco<\/a>. We were thrilled to hear about it and weve been on board since. I was part of a group that hilary and others and matt consulted with for in put. Ive been a strong voice asking for more mobile outreach. I was listened to and thats been part of the program and the navigation component is a crucial park. I want to see this passed. Because i want to see this passed, id like to make the following recommendation. Im really afraid that you are going to be coming headtohead with urgent care sf and the Mayors Office<\/a>. Because i want to see this passed, i hope you will consider possibly bringing it to a vote with the board of supervisors. Thank you so much for doing this, supervisors. Thank you. Thank you, next speaker. Good afternoon, i am a member of the senior disability action and i was the first promoter peace and creation. Where should i start. Maybe ill start with me. I went to the previous for confession and i said should you go to someone for counseling so i went to kaiser to try to get an appointment and i got the application and i got there. You are not psychotic. Were not going to see you. Im still waiting. Im here to support you because everyone knows its a San Francisco<\/a> and hugged and kiss a leper too and we should too. I said thats everyone. So i am supporting you guys and also, not always with senior disability so there are 4,000 people on that email plan so i can tell them. I would go back and i had a social welfare background but if i would go back and be a case worker too. I know my housemate has an 18yearold son and im encouraging her to get him into the healthcare field. It branches where theres a will theres a way. Outside you have the nurses and the sheriff help that poor lady who fell down. We have a way. We have to have the will so include everyone exclude no one. Include everyone, exclude no one. Healthcare now Mental Health<\/a>. San francisco. Hi, my name is veronica forbes. Ive been a social worker for nine years. I am a Community Behavioral<\/a> Health Specialist<\/a> homelessness expert and the original Program Manager<\/a> of the navigation center. In San Francisco<\/a>, my clients waited one to throw months in jail or decompensating in the streets or shelter from Mental Health<\/a> and drug abuse services. When someone seeks help and is put on a wait list, theres a very narrow window of time to make a difference and when missed, it takes months to years until the theyre ready or able to seek help again. All the while, theyre spiraling downward in their ability to function yet San Francisco<\/a> makes cuts to the Mental Health<\/a> rehab center, Residential Care<\/a> facility and acute diversion units and im here to tell you all to support Mental Health<\/a> sf because living people with Mental Illness<\/a> and drug addictions in the streets or criminal enforcement system is ineffective and its dangerous and its wrong. Hi, my name is wind could haveman and im Vice President<\/a> of aft2121 at the city college of San Francisco<\/a>. And we are grateful you have crafted this legislation and we support it and i want to talk as a mother of a child that has severe meth illness. She is doing well today. Shes 37yearsold and shes had four episodes such that she was 5150ed. She has chemical dependency issues and schizophrenia diagnosis. Today shes leading a healthy, full life with friends and a meaningful job and shes a social justice advocate for climate change. The reason is because she had the resources that she needed. She had the when she was in crisis she had them after she was in crisis and before she was in crisis. She was lucky because she had a tiger balm and the mom that had resources. When i pass young people on the streets or even not so young and in their 30s or late 30s, and i see my daughter could have been that if it werent for the resource thats she had available. Thank you for this legislation. Dont compromise. Hi, my name is victoria and i represent a compassionate day. We are activists working on animals and environmental issues. Although Mental Health<\/a> is not our area of expertise, we all have members touched. It is in compassionate and dignity for all and a snub of membera number ofmembers wantedr support. Thank you so much for your work. My name is liz, ive been working with homelessness and Mental Health<\/a>care for the past nine years. For the past five years here in San Francisco<\/a> including at places like tenderloin housing clinic, Progress Foundation<\/a> and saint anthonys. When i was contacted by caro lena from ronens office and she asked me to i had a experience with my friend who was in San Francisco<\/a> very depressed, not bad enough to need to go to the hospital but struggling and he was staying wit staying with med shuffling around to get access to services. He worked in an acute diversion units that provide residential treatment of and connect them in care so we knew the system and i knew the system and we made every effort to get him connected to care he needed to get back on his anti depresents. Like said, he wasnt bad enough to go to the hospital but most days he was too afraid to leave the house. He was dead by my second meeting. This is the system were in. Most people do not have those resources. They do not know the system as well and they do not have people who will fight as hard. If someone like that cant get access to care under the system we have, we need oversight and we need over tight outside of the d. P. H. System in order to ensure things like this dont happen. Thank you very much for doing this. Hi, everyone, my name is Jennifer Steen<\/a> and im here today to say some things that initially i said i wasnt going to say. I wasnt going to say that we need Mental Health<\/a> not handcuffs. During the rally someone fell on the steps and it was nurses who rushed to her aid. When the deputies came they said dont move her, how was she supposed to get help sitting in that place. Nurses make an assessment because were trained clinicians and we were able to decide it was medically safe for her to move. We had noise outside these doors of this chamber and the deputies went too far. In the psychiatric emergency room, i have seen police and sheriffs and Highway Patrol<\/a> men and bart police and any other Law Enforcement<\/a> who might touch someone in the city of San Francisco<\/a> come in and ask us to do our jobs, which is to serve in a crisis and help people with their Mental Health<\/a>care. In those moments when they enter our room, they know we are the right people on the job. In the streets, in peoples homes, in the neighborhoods that we serve, our clinicians arent there. One of the tenants of Mental Health<\/a> sf is to make sure that trained clinicians are responding to peoples psychiatric emergencies. Trained clinicians, not people who are trained to kill. We have to make sure that as we work with the Mayors Office<\/a> that trained clinicians are sent out every single day to save people and to respond at the appropriate manner and the appropriate care. Not rough, fast, over zealous because they are never going to hurt someone by accident or on purpose. Hi. My name is cheryl shang and i work with team dc organizing. My story my story. Couple years ago, i was homeless in the street addicted to drugs. I got psychosis and i was 5150 eight times. When i was in the hospital i would plead with the doctor in the psychiatric ward to please keep me. They would let me out within 24 hours. Had there been treatment on demand it wouldnt have occurred over and over and over again. Theres people out there and they need help. They need help. They need treatment on demand. They have a right to live again. They have a right to recover theyre human beings. I am a human being. I went back to the dock or to thank him and also ask questions, why do you keep letting me out and the doctor said because there was no place to put you. There was no place to put you and when a bed did come available, i kept you because you kept coming back. You people are one of the lucky ones he told me. People shouldnt have to get Mental Health<\/a> by luck. By luck. We should be treatment on demand for all. Every individual perso single p. I thank you so much. I thank all of you so much for doing this. Look at me. [applause] were not throw aways, we can thrive when we get the treatment that we need. Thank you. Good afternoon, supervisors. My name is Curtis Bradford<\/a> and im cochair of the tenderloin people congress. So, im here today obviously to speak in favor of Mental Health<\/a> sf. Thank you for hearing our input and incorporating that in the version that we see before us today and we have the the right solution for the crisis. I want to say that i agree with David Elliott<\/a> that i think theres prefer able action options goinactions tothe ballo. If we want to go to the ballot we will fight and win. And were willing to do that. I would call on the other supervisors now and the mayor to think about that. They need to work on that and we need to pass it as legislation not only because its a better way to govern but also because the crisis on our streets demands action now. People are dying now. March 2020 is a long way off. Im calling on all the supervisors to sign onto the sf legislation now. Sign on as cosiners now. Lets pass it on the board of supervisors with unanimous consent and im heard to hair the mayor is having conversations with us. I call on her to continue that and work with the board to get the best version possible but i also want to say it needs to pass the board with enough that we can make sure it gets implemented and makes a difference and theres oversight because i dont trust the system to implement it without that so thank you for doing this and lets get it done and pass it now. Thank you. My name is cw johnson and i just want to applaud all your efforts. This is the most progressive proposal i have seen in a long time that supports meth health so let me get down to it and i speak as someone who lived with meth Health Challenges<\/a> most of my life. I believe having two proposals does not make sense and the Mayors Office<\/a> and the board of supervisors cannot continue to operate in the world of provision. We know people who are struggling with Mental Health<\/a> challenges that are homeless and need help right now. Im support Mental Health<\/a> sf because its comprehensive and it doesnt address all the needs of the people. Thank you. Good afternoon, supervisors, my name is judith and i work for the San Francisco<\/a> department of publichealth for 20 years. I was the founding director of homeless connect and im a member of the Moment Health<\/a> board and today im speaking as a mother of a son who three and a half years ago ended this system empty and he was beaten by eight Police Officers<\/a> during his first psychotic event. Since he has been in the system he has had seven placements and he has been 5150 three times and this is the child of someone who knows this system and can help him access this system. This system is really broken and i appreciate so much that you guys are moving forward quickly on this legislation and if someone said earlier every second makes a huge difference in not only someones lives but whether they continue to trust the system. As i was waiting on mine, i received a text from my sons intensive case manager and he, for the first time in three years, formed an attachment to tell me that theyre moving him to another intensive case manager and this is what we do in this system theres a program in 2003 they did away with their Mental Health<\/a> institutions and committed to keeping people in the community no matter where they are in the Mental Health<\/a> spectrum. I urge you to look at this model and i thank you. We cannot wait a moment more. Thank you. [applause good afternoon, tar from the executive board of harry milk club. I want to thank the supervisors here and the people in this room that brought this proposal to the place it is right now. I think its important to reflect on the fact on how government reacts to crisis. When our countrys attacked, the government responds with full force. Will we endure an earthquake here in the city, the government responds with full force. What we learn from the aids crisis was that populations that are disenfranchised are left to the cold and it takes a ground swell of support to get the response of the government. Were also explaining the same thing here and populations that are facing to address and we have to go full force. My own father spent his 70s as a homeless alcoholic in new york city. Despite the fact he didnt want the family to help him it was frustrating to see what he was going through. A city with a resources like new york not delivering a solution. San francisco also has the resources. We have billions of dollars transacted in these this is eye crisis that we have to put full support behind and Immediate Response<\/a> to. Thank you. Hi, my name is general he will holland and give been a practitionepractice tishpractit. Im representing myself as a practice nish tepractitioner an. In the 80s we had two years in a halfway house. We have maybe three months. This is a psycho social issue. The Mental Health<\/a> that i see with people has to do with the race, classification or identity in the world and how theyre seen and how theyre recognized for what they suffer with. I dont believe its just a medical condition but it is very disabling and we need this sf Mental Health<\/a> right now. I do want to tell a story about board and cares. I dont know if people know what theyre. Theyre part of the Mental Health<\/a> system and theyre going away. They have 23 beds and theyre closing december 1st. I have a client though has to go to antioch. She was at Napa State Hospital<\/a> for 15 years. She gets really psychotic and she hits people and shes isolated. Shes done really well in intensive Case Management<\/a> services and the Mental Health<\/a> system since she left locked. I dont know what is going to happen. Antiok is supposed tantioch ise services than here. I want to thank everybody who worked on this. Good afternoon, my name is fatty anfatima and im part of e treatment on demand coalition. The majority of the clients that i work with are incarcerated, poor and working class, black and non black people of color, with histories of systemic and interpersonal trauma and im here to share my support for Mental Health<\/a> sf. Which was collectively informed by both front land workers and people and communities with lived experience. Its clear theyre relying on the current Mental Health<\/a> system and Law Enforcement<\/a> doesnt work. Otherwise we wont need Mental Health<\/a> sf to address this crisis but we do. Continuing to rely on Law Enforcement<\/a> as urgent care San Francisco<\/a> suggests will only continue to escalate the crisis. However, Mental Health<\/a> sf will give people like our clients the easily accessible, comprehensive curlilily appropriate. We call upon the rest of San Francisco<\/a> elected leaders to trust Front Line Work<\/a>ers, people with lived experience and support Mental Health<\/a> sf. Thank you. Good afternoon, im ryan with the National Union<\/a> of healthcare workers. On behalf of the 15,000 members of the nuhw including 4,000 Mental Health<\/a> clinicians im here to express our strong support for Mental Health<\/a> sf and in particular the office of private insurance accountability that supervisor haney mentioned earlier. We know that having private Health Insurance<\/a> does be mean the same thing to having access to adequate Mental Health<\/a>care and appreciate the opportunity for the city to take a role in ensuring that those folks receive the care they need and deserve. Thank you. Jennifer freedom with the coalition of homelessness. The coalition on homelessness is standing behind and standing up for members healt Mental Health<\/a>y supervisor and the mayor needs to do as well. You can just walk around San Francisco<\/a> and see with your own eyes that our system is completely broken. And this fallacy that w that wea system thats working well and instead its the fault of the person who is experiencing Mental Illness<\/a>es has got to stop. I mean, lets look at what were doing to people. They dont have housing for many folks or theyre thrown out and they dont have access to care, theyre basically left on the streets have everything fall apart to them and go into crisis again and again and our response is a police response. Our response is a situation where you are either locked up and brought to pes and spit backout to the streets or you are locked up and brought into jail. You know what, from our experience, folks, when they get to that point have already been locked out of treatment when theyre trying to get care. There are more choices than being locked out or locked up in fact, theres a whole ocean in between those and this notion that we socalled let people disintegrate on the streets and its not compassionate, were not letting anyone, were forcing them there. Were forcing them there through neglect and our policies, thats what is actually happening. So, we need to turn this around. We need to rebuild our system. Mental health sf is going to give it a good, hard shake. And really make sure that people have the care that we need. I also want to mention that them being arrested was not ok. That was stupid. No warning about know chance and they arrested them and ive been here in a lot of protests and ive never seen that. Good afternoon, supervisors. The reality is clear that when you see on the street and theyre screaming and they need Health Treatment<\/a> you get arrested and that is the response and if you are in city hall and you are treatmenting and chanting we need healthcare, you get arrested. Thats why its so important because we dont need changes because if the system is broken and you are telling the people who are effected by the system the most, that we just need a little tweak here and a little change there, then that is a slap in the face. And the only way that we can fix this system is through a vision where the system functioned for the people that it serves. And so i really just want to thank supervisor haney and supervisor ronen for having that vision and having the guts to use the power that they have to empower the people in their communities and then San Francisco<\/a> as a city so we can be, again, on the cutting edge of the country and show people a better system and a Better Future<\/a> is not only possible its on the horizon. Thank you, very much. Good afternoon and thank you very much for your leadership and were a member of treatment on demand. I know it took over 100 drafts and maybe we need a few more and we need to move to legislation as this has been heard. We hope that can be true. Because you get better accountability that way and we can go beyond reports and hearings and structural accountability and across sigh. Its a structural problem the way we govern. I wanted to mention that. And i really want to appreciate the deepest part of our being as a community that you have included the incarcerated population where it is the largest homeless shelter facility and its the largest mental ill facility in our community and the largest Substance Use<\/a> disorder in our city. That has tob to be eliminated. You have included more than one phrase in the legislation and i truly appreciate it the other specific thing is the office of private insurance and its a creative way to include universally and we need that clearly and i hope that you can legislate. Thank you, very much. Public Heath Justice<\/a> collective. Were very glad to see a program of universal and particularly multi level meant healthcare being proposed and thats a cause for celebration. I want to talk about a gathering danger of a law and order approach to both homelessness and methal health. One is the mayors urgent care Mental Health<\/a> plan and it includes enforcement of drug laws on Homeless People<\/a>. And if you read the legislation, it talks about foot and bicycle patrols of homeless areas for aggressive enforcement of drug laws that cannot be. The second example is that the mayors jail plan which includes a Justice Center<\/a> with new jail cells and the Mental Health<\/a> jail plus this is supposed to happen in 2028. In the meantime it brings up the responsibility of transfer centers to jail which has so many deaths. Mental health San Francisco<\/a> has to go through the board of supervisors right now to prevent it from going onto the ballot because if it goes on the ballot, the mayor has a plan with all its drug wars and all its emphasis on just a few people will go on. So, all supervisors need to pass this right now. Hello my name is hyas. I am someone who is born right here in San Francisco<\/a>. I am a homeowner and i am a Mental Health<\/a> services consumer. Unlike a lot of the people who will be served by Mental Health<\/a> sf, i have an incredible support system. I have a wonderful family and i dont want for material things. I have kaiser and i have been waiting for three months to access Mental Health<\/a>care that i need. And id like to address the concerns i believe are held by the Mayors Office<\/a> and proponents of urgent care sf. It may be hard to draw the line between Holding Public<\/a> insurance accountable and what that means for the city. We are the answer that we seek today. You are creating something amazing putting structure to action. Hope for people being a voice for those who dont have as voice. I work in with a lot of tenants and we see a lot of fear and now were seeing tenants maybe lost their homes or theyre going through construction as a form of harassment and were seeing people, for the first time in San Francisco<\/a> saying were going to make San Francisco<\/a> great again. Were going to make San Francisco<\/a> great because were taking radical changes and a radical approach for both our Mental Health<\/a> issues and our homeless issues. So thank you so much. Hi, im a volunteer organizer at Housing Rights Committee<\/a> and like i said earlier in the ral rally, i have developed some anxiety panic attacksment im having a little one right now. And i never had that before until the largest landlord bought my building. Its also that i dont have Health Insurance<\/a> and its really hard to find the right one for me. For anyone and thank you for everything that you guys are doing. I appreciate it. Lets get this bill passed. Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is vivian. Im president of the Mental Health<\/a> association of San Francisco<\/a>. First, id like to draw everyones attention, i hope you look up an article that the examiner ran. Mental health sf is a full spectrum of services, interventions that can prevent the need for expensive and traumatic urgent care. The premise is simple. Appropriate care at the appropriate time. The mayors competing plan urgent care sf has an extremely limited focus that lacks in sight and sensitivity people dont present with overwhelming systems and early battle of depression or psychotic foot can be treated for staal the needs for urgent care. And it was incumbent on this city to provide the proper level of care at the proper time. Hi, im a Community Organizer<\/a> with Community Housing<\/a> partnership. Our mission at Community Housing<\/a> partnership is to provide Affordable Housing<\/a> and help formally Homeless People<\/a> achieve selfsufficient see. In order to do that, we have to help people heal from the homeless trauma that starts from the very moment that peoples housing is unstable. Most of the people that we work with including myself who is experienced homelessness, and poverty, survived through homeless travel on a daily basis and its crucial we recognize workers helping people achieve stability from coming indoors and recognizing the labor of the nonprofit workers that are in support of housing that are really doing some of the Front Line Work<\/a> around Mental Health<\/a> and bringing people back some times from the brink on an hourly basis. Sorry, i lost my train of thought here. We appreciate also that housing is a crucial component to comprehensive solutions. If were going to address member health, it starts with people having a home. Lastly, i also want to say that its important to understand the race cultural and linguistic and people have to understand the therapy and care theyre getting. When has real systemic change happened without exercising Community Power<\/a> through civil disobedience. My name is sarah larson and i worked in San Francisco<\/a> dhp for 40 years and almost 25 now. I was very encouraged by the fact that the current head of Human Resources<\/a> has resigned. Im thinking we would have a fresh start. Someone new from someone outside. Instead the job was less than like a week later it was handed to someone who had been the head of hr and has been the head of other things and is kind of just another permanent ride on the San Francisco<\/a> merry go ground of bureaucracy. I would like to see some fresh blood. I mean, every time i hear someone say oh it takes two years to hire someone, thats just ridiculous. I mean, that really needs to change. Theres no reason it should take that long. Theres no reason that management should be lying about hiring people when dph is 20 understaffed and we need some fresh blood up there at the top. I think the city missed a really great opportunity to bring Something Like<\/a> that in. Because, as i said earlier, we need a lot of new clinicians and that being said, i would like to say also that laguna honda hospital, 1600 beds or 1200 beds whatever, is still empty and its a fabulous asset to be ignored. I dont know why its there deteriorating except for a few redecorated offices whoa need a facility where people can stay until theyre stabilized and i would like to see option there. It would be really great. My name is june bug and im with the Health Justice<\/a> academy and the San Francisco<\/a> heath plan advisory and aim a poor magazine and a former San Francisco<\/a> commissioner and because im someone that cares and i experienced trauma in my life and i have Mental Health<\/a> issues. All my issues have a lot of issues that go down to my basic needs being met. And so, im someone who needs Wraparound Services<\/a> in my life. Im at the mercy of the handout to survive and its still not enough. We have a crisis in my city. This is my city and my home. What i see daily disturbed my heart and what i go through disturbs my mind. Its a challenge to stay focused and not give up because i live a hard life. Mental health sf offers Wraparound Services<\/a>. And that is something that we need. We need wrap around services because the issues in our life are intersected with the needs that we need to be met. Instead of that in place, what we have right now is incarcerating, criminalizing and killing us. My friend was killed by San Francisco<\/a> police at the theater who suffered from Mental Health<\/a> issues. If wrap around services and Mental Health<\/a> sf was in place my friend making alive today. So i just want to say we are suffering and we are waiting so we need Mental Health<\/a> sf now. Thank you. Hi. Im Colleen Rebeca<\/a> and i am managed a Community Organizing<\/a> department at tenderloin neighborhood corporation. We want to say that San Francisco<\/a> needs to reform its Mental Health<\/a> and Substance Use<\/a> Treatment Service<\/a> delivery because too many Vulnerable People<\/a> are falling through the cracks and not getting the help they need. And this is an issue thats urgent and we need to address it now. What we need to do is we need to address it in a way that treats people who have Mental Health<\/a> issues and who treatment people who use drugs with dignity and respect and is our members of our community. And i say that as a concern who has had issues with Mental Health<\/a> for more than 35 years. Im part of this community. And other people like me who have Mental Health<\/a> issues are part of this community and people who use drugs are part of this community and we deserve to be treated with dignity and respect. San francisco must respond to our communitys Behavioral Health<\/a> needs without stigmatizing people who use drugs and people who need care. Lets move hefford holding that basic tenant of dignity and respect for all of our community members, especially those suffering and in need of help at the forefront. Thank you. Im a resident of d8. I applaud your vision and your plan to put together a new system for a Services Including<\/a> people who are on the front lines of this crisis my colleagues serve families on the front line of the homelessness crisis and we operate the central city access point and were seeing in our programs across our programs residential childcare, more families with more and greater needs and greater acuity levels and we need a system that is capable of providing them with access to low Barrier Services<\/a> that meet their needs. For families, its not just about meeting the needs of the individuals its meeting the needs of the individuals so the Little People<\/a> in their lives can get what they need. If parents dont get the service thats they need, then the entire family suffers. And that perpetuates longterm cycles of sickness and poverty and homelessness. Its very important from our perspective that we put forward this bold solution so that people can get access to what they need so we can act now but also take the longterm view towards breaking these cycles so thank you for your vision and your boldness. Thank you. Good afternoon. Jordan Davis District<\/a> 6 resident. Thank you to supervisor ronen and haney for spearheading this and thank you for the Community Health<\/a> that will help meth health sf a reality. Except for the deputy sheriff, fuck them for arresting my comrades. Im sick and tired of seeing walking by the crisis on the streets and im tired of the false solutions such as conservatives and in jails. I was that person on the streets but i stabilized. Now as you know all know, i am nuts. I swear on board chambers, i got so depressed i got so drunk at a event i was honored at i puked in the toilet and ive had more suicide that you can count and i dont think i will see services and may be compensating further but i want to make sure everyone in this city that ive adopted and i know and love has voluntary services on demand. I want to say to room 200, stop being the bullshit mayor, stop opposing and continue the conversations but we have standards and we all go to the ballot if this thing is legislative process. So fuck urgent car their actualg this at another meeting. This is really historic moment and i just had to say my peace. Let me get out of here because the sheriffs try to arrest me for bashing them. My name is john mccormick. Im honored to share the mic with people like jordan person is that has spoken her. Im tiret europe. Im tired about hearing how Good Services<\/a> are in europe. Someone got on the mic and talked about how great the services are in spain. I wanted to talk about how good the services in San Francisco<\/a>. I want for our city and hear about what happened in San Francisco<\/a>. Did you hear about what theyre doing in San Francisco<\/a> . We can do that. That can be us. That can be this proposal. I want to get behind David Elliott<\/a> louis and Curtis Bradford<\/a> person is else today bradford and everyone who spoke. Not let it to go to the ballot. I dont want for the rest of the country did you hear about that dogfight about meth healthcare in San Francisco<\/a>. I want this to pass. I want this to go through and i want to stop seeing people suffer. Its not something that just happens in the tenderloin or just happens in bay view it happens all over. It happens in the sunset and it happens all over the city and we can fix it. So, thank you to the people who worked on this. Everyone in this room has not worked on this who is not here anymore. Thank you to the supervisors. Thank you. Good afternoon. My name is annabell. And im the political united representing behalf of 6400 teachers and staff stand in support of Mental Health<\/a> sf. It is San Francisco<\/a>s not only experiencing inaffordability crisis that sim pacting all of us but were also experiencing a Moment Health<\/a> crisis. Its clear that it needs a overhaul change thats why Mental Health<\/a> sf is the answer. Thank you supervisor ronen, supervisor haney, and all the other supervisors that are supporting this. We need a change and we need it now. Thank you. Kim, San Francisco<\/a> labor council. If i could rely on the 200 thref you to pass jobs i wouldnt need my job. To all your colleagues who labor council, is there for Mental Health<\/a> sf and we know San Francisco<\/a> needs to do better. We know what San Francisco<\/a> needs, San Francisco<\/a> needs Mental Health<\/a> sf and if any of your colleagues have this is repaired. Thank you. I am the chair for sciu local 10 1 and im proud that we are working together and what i wanted to speak with you about is to say that i work at San Francisco<\/a> General Hospital<\/a> and this is not just a matter of a fame because Zuckerberg Facebook<\/a> and experiments to see if they could spread emotions like a disease and that has worked so well that now we have genocide that is occurring because of that and its worked so well that zuckerberg is taking in millions of dollars from trump and saying that you can lie as much as you want to and we are facing that and our leadership is blaming the people that work there for the problems that take place and blaming the clientele. I received a message when during the rainy season that there was a fire that broke out on campus and no one was hurt and they wept out of their way to say they knew it was caused by homeless female and the and ite because theres no money to be made in Mental Health<\/a>care but, we are not in the business and the publichealth of making money. Hello, since i worked on all your campaigns and i love the work, thank you for doing what you do and my name is. Catherine and im a member of asp2121 but im here as someone who was very close to someone who lives with unrecognized middle Health Issues<\/a> and we are all on this spectrum. I fluctuate hour by hour myself and im usually the one that helps her to do it. Because she refuses to recognize that she has a problem and she was beaten in foster care and she didnt chose to be the way she is and so she also doesnt chose to think that anything is wrong and i would like to have a special meeting tonight and pass this and roll it out really big and really loud so it dough stigmatizing meth health that it doesnt make people assume Mental Health<\/a> people are criminals so there is so much to be done in this campaign and she doesnt live in","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"archive.org","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","width":"800","height":"600","url":"\/\/ia903102.us.archive.org\/18\/items\/SFGTV_20191106_140000_Government_Access_Programming\/SFGTV_20191106_140000_Government_Access_Programming.thumbs\/SFGTV_20191106_140000_Government_Access_Programming_000001.jpg"}},"autauthor":{"@type":"Organization"},"author":{"sameAs":"archive.org","name":"archive.org"}}],"coverageEndTime":"20240716T12:35:10+00:00"}