There is a Mental Health crisis here in San Francisco and i know that we often times hear that were being thrown around loosely. But the fact is that as someone who grew up in San Francisco and know that we have had challenges in this city, including issues around homelessness, what i see is something that ive never seen in my lifetime of growing up in the city and that is people who are in serious, serious crisis. Serious need. And the fact is, in San Francisco, the frustration is that we have a lot of resources. We have a lot we have a lot of dedicated revenues to help spousht support people, but we have discovered that the coordination has to be better and more efficient to really help people that we know are struggling. So we have people who have, as we unfortunately know, theyre homeless. They have challenges with addiction. They have a number of other ailments, including Mental Illness, and unfortunately have nowhere to go but the streets. We need to make sure were prepared to meet people where they are. We know that people are cycling in and out of our Emergency Rooms and only to be released, to be back right on the streets where they came from. Our jails and theyre having trouble staying stable in our Shelter Systems and trouble maintaining housing. When i was on the board of supervisors, i had a number of clients that i was specifically dedicated to, to have a better understanding of how the system was working and whether or not it could help to reach them and, sadly, those three clients who im still connected with, are still struggle on our streets. We have to end the cycle. We have to do more and we have to be prepared to make the hardest decisions that weve ever made before. Residents like yolanda are amazing Success Stories and she has been a client here since 2009 and has really turned her life around and im really happy to have her here today. The good news is that, you know, when the city focuses and works together to address these issues, we can actually accomplish great things. Back in march, i announced that we were hiring a director of Mental Health reform because that is exactly what we need to do with this system. Dr. Anton will be speaking a little bit later about what hes been doing suns he has taken over this role back in march to get us on track. Today, we are launching an initiative to help those who are the most in need. At those Cross Sections of homelessness, Mental Illness and Substance Use disorder. And our plan is to better coordinate the care. Now i know youve all heard about the numbers. But the fact is the data with the numbers and the information wasnt necessarily clear. And that is a big part of what we want to talk about today. What is actually we see it. We know it is happening. We heard that there was data, but the fact is there wasnt really data in really clear, coordinated efforts. And so the ability to address this issue comes with understanding what is going on with the people and that includes the data. And analyzing the folks who are in and out of our system, understanding if they were offered services or why they refused services and where theyre located after their refused services. Through this analysis done by the health department, through dr. S nagusaplan and the department of Public Health, we have been able to identify 4,000 people with the characteristics of the population who are really in need through these various diagnosis. And of the 4,000 individuals that weve identified who struggle with these particular challenges, 41 are in crisis, which is demonstrated by their high use of the Emergency Psychiatric Services and 95 suffer from alcohol use disorder and the sad reality is what were seeing is there is a real issue of equity because 35 are african american, despite the fact that we have a population of not even 6 of African Americans here in San Francisco overall. This is just the beginning. The first step of this initiative that we are proposing today is understanding the data, analyzing the data, and also making direct impacts on the particular population and really digging deep into those particular issues with those particular individuals. And now as a result, what we plan to do about it, this is just the beginning of several initiatives that we planned to announce to ream get deep into the weeds of addressing Mental Health in San Francisco. I want to be clear. There is not one thing that we will be able to do to address this issue. There are a number of things that we will put forward over the coming weeks to help the public better understand the issue, to help the public better understand and appreciate the people who are working in this industry, the ones who are helping us deal with these issues every single day. To help People Better understand that there are folks that weve been able to help and to support and that many of the programs that we have in place do work. But there is a need for reform. There is a need to increase capacity and to better examine, you know, new ways to address this issue. The first step in the initiative that were proposing today is to expand individual care coordination for those we have identified. So of the 4,000 and doctor bland will go into a little bit more detail, but to just really center in on those who are most in need and that population and to really target them with individualized coordination. We also will definitely need to get them stabilize and stream the housing and health care process. Because we have to have a safe place for them to be, to recover, to go through whatever process they need to go through to get back on their feet. And we also need to understand that this challenge is not a 9 00 to 5 00 issue. Were going to expand the hours of our Behavioral HealthAccess Center so people can access these services on nights and weekends. Let me be clear that the three elements of the initiative are just the beginning. And so we know we have more work to do to improve transparency and the efficiency of our system and to enhance our services and improve what we need to do for the most vulnerable of our city. We are committed and we are ready to roll up our sleeves and to do the work. Because this is not a political issue. This is about peoples lives. And this is about understanding this population so we can get to the root causes and to help people. It comes with a number of various layers of things that we have to do. And i know some of you are familiar with whats happening with our conservatorship legislation and how its gone through the board and how that is going to hopefully help individuals who are refusing treatment, but in desperate need of services. That is one approach. This is another approach. Weve already opened a new 100 Mental Health stabilization beds and our goal is to open 100 more by the end of this year and focusing on specific things to target this population in a way thats going going to help turn around what we know we see on our streets every day is something that is so important. Im sure you have this same example. You may see this same person on the corner every day, screaming and yelling. And i have a particular individual who removes his clothing and when i see him, i cant help but think this could be my father. This could be my grandfather. This could be my uncle. This could be my family member. And i want to help him. I want to make sure he gets the support he needs. It is not humane to continue to allow this to occur on our streets and that is why we have to move forward with a number of initiatives to help address this. Now what were proposing will not n many ways, be able to solve the issues that we know everyone is facing. Were not going to be able to force everyone into treatment. We know that locally the laws make it difficult to do something of that nature. But we do need to try. We do need to kaord nate our services and we do need to make sure that we are better prepared to meet people where they are. We cant assume that when they walk into the doors of a place like this that they know what to do. We need people who are going to be able to help them understand people who are going to understand what the challenge is and be able to address the challenge and that doesnt include, here, fill out this paperwork and take care of this and bring your i. D. That is not the way we are approaching this particular issue. Its about getting the kind of results where you can see and feel a difference on our streets every single day. So we have work to do in here to talk a little bit more about what were proposing and what hes discovered since hes taken on this role as of march of this year is dr. Nagusabland. [applause] thank you, mayor breed, for your support as we embark on this multiyear effort to transform Mental Health and Substance Use care for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco. Thank you, dr. Colfax, for embracing the scale of the change we need in order to make a difference for this population and for the entire city. Thank you also jessica for your partnership in this important work as we endeavor to trace safety and civility for our neighbors. I also want to acknowledge the communitybased providers and philanthropists, clinicians and researchers, advocates and clients who dead indicate themselves to improving and saving lives in San Francisco. We will need everyone working together if were going to make the kind of impact that this population in San Francisco needs. Heres what we found out about our population. We looked very closely at who used San Franciscos health care and social services in the most recent fiscal year. And as the mayor pointed out, out of nearly 18,000 people experiencing homelessness, we found that close to 4,000 of them also have both a history of serious Mental Illness and of Substance Abuse disorder. We found racial inequity in the population. 35 are black or african american. When just 5 of San Franciscos population is. 41 of these individuals are high users of urgent and emergent Psychiatric Services and 95 suffer with an alcohol use problem. Now we have seen other large cities analyzed our high use of Emergency Services usually from a cost perspective. But as far as we know, San Francisco is the first to [inaudible] health diagnoses of people experiencing homelessness to identifying a population and tailing solutions to that populations needs. This is how we solve problems in medicine. When a patient comes to us with a complex set of issues, we are not haphazard in our approach. We test. We collect information from collateral sources. We diagnose and we treat. We use data to precisely target our problems. We inknow vaitz and, most important of all, we persist. We are here to solve problems for the entire population and confront a crisis for our city. These are the people who need help the most. Helping them will make the biggest difference for them, for our health system, and for the entire community. When we talk about Behavioral Health, we mean Mental Health and Substance Use. We know that when someone is suffering from a Mental Illness or addiction, it is a lot like a Chronic Health condition such as diabetes or even hypertension. When people are in treatment, they do better. When they have a setback, we dont give up. And when 4,000 san franciscans find themselves in the intersection of Mental Illness and Substance Use disorder, business as usual does not work for them. We have to find ways to use the system to bend in their direction. Im happy to say that this work has begun. As we rolled out the first in what will be a series of recommendations we can say we are entering a new era of collaboration with the department of homelessness and supportive housing. Jointly identifying the people in greatest need and relentless about getting them on a path to civility and wellness. With other city partners, we will be able to keep track of these individuals and wherever they touch our system a Care Coordinator will respond. When we say were increasing access to Behavioral Health care and we can promise, we promise that were going to focus on these 200 most Vulnerable People in this group right now. And Work Together to get them connected to housing, treatment and care. We will be meeting weekly to discuss each of these individuals and tracking their progress. We will outreach to them wherever they are. We will problem solve and remove barriers to accessing care and the lessons that we learn will ultimately help us improve the system of care for more people. Going forward, the recommendations i will continue to deliver to mayor breed will be driven by clinical expertise, by data, by evidence and by the most innovative and best practices we can find or imagine. They will promote equity and transparency in our system of care, that they will advance Harm Reduction and lower barriers. They will build on the legacy of addressing problems that might seem intractable and of making stability, wellness and recovery possible. The clients and staff here at the south of the Health Clinic show us that perseverance every day. With that, id like to introduce Yolanda Morris et. [applause] about 15 years ago, i came to San Francisco because i was being abused and i fled that relationship. I didnt know anyone in San Francisco, i left my clothes and i didnt look back. I was also an au addict and i was an alcoholic and i was homeless. I came here and slept in the alley. Ive been every street out here that you can name and through the years i did want to get help. I didnt know how. And so after more abusive relationships, i finally got a good guy and it was his choice for us to get clean. He said we gotta get clean in order to make it here in San Francisco. Im going to stop doing what i can do so that you can get your act together. And so i decided because ive been in all the shelters out here. I know how the shelters work. I decided to stay next door. I stayed there for a year. And i behaved. From there, i went into an s. R. O. They placed me in a singleroom occupancy is what it is called. A room with a bathroom and i stayed there for five years and prior to me when i first moved into the s. R. O. , my mother was dying of cancer and she didnt tell me because she knew it would take me out. I had a year of clean on me and i didnt look back and thought thats not what my mother would want. Im going to stay clean and im going to fight. Soy went out and found everything that i could find. This is one of first places that i came to because i had a lot of stuff going on mentally and physically. They were able to help me get on medication. They were able to help me get therapy, to get to the root of the problem, what was going on because i had a lot of stuff going on and after doing that, i had a lot of anger issues, depression, suicidal thoughts. I had to do anger management here twice and i finally got it right and i started doing other programs. Glide was out there. Sage was out there. It is not out there anymore. I went to the womens reentry center. I didnt feel comfortable at first because they walk you over there. Ive also been incars rated out here in San Francisco for drug possession and other things of that nature due to my drug use. And so i just slowly said im going to build myself up and started doing things for women against rape and violence. I got an award from the d. A. I like the write. I started writing here. I found out that im a pretty good poet and i do i do poems here every year for the black history month. They embrace me here. Ive been coming here since 2012 getting support and getting help. And i graduated from a lot of programs out there and i started doing peer mentorship through San Francisco state. Ive graduated from ram, ive graduated from nami. I expunged my record. I got my drivers license back. Five years into my s. R. O. There was a program called brilliant corners. They came and gave out vouchers to people who are willing and ready to move out of the tenderloin and i had two weeks left and i fought hard and found me a onebedroom and i got out of the tenderloin. But i still come to the tenderloin because this is an ish yaoufm i know a lot of people here. I always want to do anything that i can to disclose support and help the people in the community. So i continued. Im still with my guy. Were getting married this year. And [applause] thank you. And also i want to say that i was able to get a really good job through help rights 360th called maps and its mentor and peer support. They give you a job and they give you schooling for that. So i was able to do that. And now i teach groups in jail. I teach groups to the men in san bruno on domestic violence. I teach groups to the deputies about crisis intervention training. I go out and volunteer. I do anything and everything that i can to support anyone. We work in all the collaborative court. Now i was an addict nine years ago and this is what im doing now. Through all the help that started here at south end market. You know . They really helped me out an awful lot. They were very patient. I went through several therapists and psychologists. But finally got it right and ill be flying away and graduating from here soon because i am moving on to other things. I have a nice fulltime job now. So, yeah. Thats about it. [laughter] [applause] well, thank you, yolanda, for sharing your story. Its amazing. It is an inspiration to us all. And we wish you the very best as you get your certification in drug and alcohol counseling. Amazing work. Also, by the way, were hiring. [laughter] just putting that out there. Were looking for right people. Im the director of health for the city and county of San Francisco. I would like to thank the mayor and thank you, dr. Bland, and thank you to our host today, Natalie Henry berry and the hardworking staff here. This is one of the places in the citys system of care where people can get their medical care, dental and Behavioral Health care needs met under one roof. Ive seen what the staff here, with persistent compassion have been able to do by partnering with their clients on journey to stability and wellness. They are psychiatrists, pharmacists, Behavioral Health clinicians, nurses and support workers who go out into the community and meet people where they are. Many clients are experiencing homelessness when they enroll in services here and most are diagnosed with both Mental Illness and Substance Abuse disorders. But the work makes a difference. And on my last visit here, i went out with the team. And this is a client, whos now housed, but was ton street for many years. Wheelchairbound, had chronic controlism, refused treatment for many years. But the team continued to engage him, continued to bailed relationship. Helped him when he was ready to get healthy. Helped him when he was ready to get treatment for his alcoholism. And this client, living in the tenderloin, is a valuable member of the community. Is actually continuing to move that forward just like yolanda. Hes now volunteering at the San Francisco aids clinic providing Harm Reduction materials for people who need them. He is moving the work forward and this is the kind of model of peers helping peers in a system that meets people where they are and does whatever it takes to help get them off the street w. This new data and focus on the 200, we can make a difference. I think when people are ready for treatment and volunteer for treatment, that is key. I also think we need to recognize that one of our challenges on the streets that some people will refuse treatment. Some people in the most dire needs of treatment will refuse treatment. So we need to be there when people are ready to go into the services and meet them. When theyre ready. But we also need laws like the conservatorship law to provide people with the support for shorttime conservatorship to help them save their lives. These are lifesaving interventions. And that persistent compassion is what we have seen here and what weve come to expect from our director of Mental Health reform in. A few short months, hes transformed the way many of us think about caring for people experiencing the intersection of homelessness, serious Mental Illness and Substance Abuse disorders. This is a population, as youve heard of 4,000 people who require specialized solutions. Kit take a while. It can take time for them to achieve their goals. But we know that wellness and recovery is possible, as youve heard today. And with our partners at the department of homeless systems and supportive housing, thank you, jeff, for being here today and the Human Services agency. We have agreed for the first tomb on ways to identify, treat and house the most vulnerable population in our city. And mayor london breed to spark the champion of Harm Reduction, someone who understands the inequities that lead to core Health Outcomes and that we must continually push harder to overcome. Under her leadership, San Francisco continues to invest in health care and housing that our city needs. Thank you, mayor breed. And thank you all for being here today. Thank you to the team and lets move forward together. [applause] thank you. Again, thank you so much, yolanda, for sharing your story. And stories like yolandas is why we do the work. It is what we care about the most because the fact is, you know, people go through challenges. People go through struggles. And nine years being clean and sober takes a lot of work. It takes a lot of courage and to get up here and tell your story will have such a tremendous impact on so many other peoples lives and hopefully encourage them to get the help and the support that they need. And i think that is important to remember in having the conversation about the struggles and the Success Stories. Because we are not going to give up. And i know that people in San Francisco are frustrated by what they see on our streets. Im frustrated. But im not going to give up. I think it is important that we have ways to help people. That with our additional 53 million in investment and Behavioral Health program that our additional 100 million in investment, the Homeless Supportive Services indicates that were willing to make investments. Now it is time to put those investments to good use. And to understand that every dollar we spend on this issue is a dollar that can change someones life. And so we have to be deliberate in our approach to really focus on this and make sure it is not a political issue. This is a longterm plan of action that will deliver the kind of results that will help people, like yolanda, get really a Second Chance at living a healthy, productive and thriving life. So thank you for all of you for being here today. And again, i want to express my appreciation to the team and the folks who are working with so many of the clients that i know things can be challenging, but the fact that youre here, i know that youve not given up. This work is rewarding, especially when youre able to get the kinds of results that show that supporting people like yolanda do yield and so it really means a lot to have so many incredible, dedicated people doing this work every single day because it is not easy. And ill tell you that, you know, because you all know that i spend a lot of time walking the streets and having the conversations and going out there with some of our teams and having the conversation. Within two hours of walking just four blocks, i was mentally exhausted with the conversations that i had and also trying to get people the help and the support that they needed and just work that the energy and the emotion that goes into trying to help people every single day is something thats admirable and i want us to really appreciate the folks who are part of, you know, our mental teams and our nonprofit organizations and our homeless out reach workers and even Law Enforcement and the work that were out there doing to help change and save peoples lives. This is the first of many steps that we plan to take and, again, this is, i know, a very complex issue. Its not wraped in the usual political package that the press, i know, wants to see it wrapped in. But this is actually what we need to do. Get into the nuts and bolts, make the right decisions and get out there and make the changes that will help impact the people that we are here to serve. So thank you all so much for being here today. And dr. Colfax and dr. S blanlz dr. Bland will be here to answer any further questions that you might have. Thank you. We spoke with people regardless of what they are. That is when you see change. That is a lead vannin advantage. So Law Enforcement assistance diversion to work with individuals with nonviolent related of offenses to offer an alternative to an arrest and the county jail. We are seeing reduction in drugrelated crimes in the pilot area. They have done the program for quite a while. They are successful in reducing the going to the county jail. This was a state grant that we applied for. The department is the main administrator. It requires we work with multiple agencies. We have a community that includes the da, Rapid Transit police and San FranciscoSheriffs Department and Law Enforcement agencies, Public Defenders Office and adult probation to Work Together to look at the population that ends up in criminal justice and how they will not end up in jail. Having partners in the nonprofit world and the public defender are critical to the success. We are beginning to succeed because we have that cooperation. Agencies with very little connection are brought together at the same table. Collaboration is good for the department. It gets us all working in the same direction. These are complex issues we are dealing with. When you have systems as complicated as police and health and proation and jails and nonprofits it requires people to come to Work Together so everybody has to put their egos at the door. We have done it very, very well. The model of care where police, district attorney, public defenders are communitybased organizations are all involved to worked towards the common goal. Nobody wants to see drug users in jail. They want them to get the correct treatment they need. We are piloting lead in San Francisco. Close to civic center along market street, union plaza, powell street and in the mission, 16th and mission. Our goal in San Francisco and in seattle is to work with individuals who are cycling in and out of criminal justice and are falling through the cracks and using this as intervention to address that population and the Racial Disparity we see. We want to focus on the mission in tender loan district. It goes to the partners that hired case managers to deal directly with the clients. Case managers with referrals from the police or city agencies connect with the person to determine what their needs are and how we can best meet those needs. I have nobody, no friends, no resources, i am flatout on my own. I witnessed women getting beat, men getting beat. Transgenders getting beat up. I saw people shot, stabbed. These are people that have had many visits to the county jail in San Francisco or other institutions. We are trying to connect them with the resources they need in the community to break out of that cycle. All of the referrals are coming from the Law Enforcement agency. Officers observe an offense. Say you are using. It is found out you are in possession of drugs, that constituted a lead eligible defense. The officer would talk to the individual about participating in the program instead of being booked into the county jail. Are you ever heard of the leads program. Yes. Are you part of the leads program . Do you have a case worker . Yes, i have a case manager. When they have a contact with a possible lead referral, they give us a call. Ideally we can meet them at the scene where the ticket is being issued. Primarily what you are talking to are people under the influence of drugs but they will all be nonviolent. If they were violent they wouldnt qualify for lead. You think i am going to get arrested or maybe i will go to jail for something i just did because of the Substance Abuse issues i am dealing with. They would contact with the outreach worker. Then glide shows up, you are not going to jail. We can take you. Lets meet you where you are without telling you exactly what that is going to look like, let us help you and help you help yourself. Bring them to the Community Assessment and Services Center run by adult probation to have assessment with the department of Public Health staff to assess the treatment needs. It provides meals, groups, there are things happening that make it an open space they can access. They go through detailed assessment about their needs and how we can meet those needs. Someone who would have entered the jail system or would have been arrested and book order the charge is diverted to social services. Then from there instead of them going through that system, which hasnt shown itself to be an effective way to deal with people suffering from suable stance abuse issues they can be connected with case management. They can offer Services Based on their needs as individuals. One of the key things is our approach is client centered. Hall reduction is based around helping the client and meeting them where they are at in terms of what steps are you ready to take . We are not asking individuals to do anything specific at any point in time. It is a Program Based on whatever it takes and wherever it takes. We are going to them and working with them where they feel most comfortable in the community. It opens doors and they get access they wouldnt have had otherwise. Supports them on their goals. We are not assigning goals working to come up with a plan what success looks like to them. Because i have been in the field a lot i can offer different choices and let them decide which one they want to go down and help them on that path. It is all on you. We are here to guide you. We are not trying to force you to do what you want to do or change your mind. It is you telling us how you want us to help you. It means a lot to the clients to know there is someone creative in the way we can assist them. They pick up the phone. It was a blessing to have them when i was on the streets. No matter what situation, what pay phone, cell phone, somebody elses phone by calling them they always answered. In officebased setting somebody at the reception desk and the clinician will not work for this population of drug users on the street. This has been helpful to see the outcome. We will pick you up, take you to the appointment, get you food on the way and make sure your needs are taken care of so you are not out in the cold. First to push me so i will not be afraid to ask for help with the lead team. Can we get you to use less and less so you can function and have a normal life, job, place to stay, be a functioning part of the community. It is all part of the home reduction model. You are using less and you are allowed to be a viable member of the society. This is an important question where lead will go from here. Looking at the data so far and seeing the successes and we can build on that and as the department based on that where the investments need to go. If it is for five months. Hopefully as final we will come up with a model that may help with all of the communities in the california. I want to go back to school to start my ged and go to community clean. It can be somebody scaled out. That is the hope anyway. Is a huge need in the city. Depending on the need and the data we are getting we can definitely see an expansion. We all hope, obviously, the program is successful and we can implement it city wide. I think it will save the county millions of dollars in Emergency Services, police services, prosecuting services. More importantly, it will save lives. Hello, everybody. I am london breed, mayor of the city and county of San Francisco , and im really excited to join you here today, but i tell you that no one is more excited than the parents of the kids who will be returning to school on monday. And today is an opportunity to us to really get the word out to people all over San Francisco that we have thousands of kids who are returning to school on monday. We will see kids walking, we will see them by king, we will see them on buses and yes, some of them will get dropped off by parents in their car. But ultimately, we want everyone will get around this city safely because there will be more people out on the streets now than ever before as a school began on monday. So a part of today is really about highlighting the awareness that we need people to slow down we need people to be aware. We need people to do better. We have had sadly a number of tragedies that have occurred on our city streets and we know, unfortunately, that has a lot to do sometimes with speed. We need to slow down. Yes, i have asked the chief to increase citations, and to be aware in this high injury corridors, the need to make sure that there are consequences for people who are speeding, which sadly can cause tragedy. If a pedestrian is hit by a driver at 20 Miles Per Hour, their risk of fatality is 5 , but if that is 30 Miles Per Hour , their risk jumps to 45 . What we dont want to continue is sadly what we see happening on our streets where we are losing far too many lives, and our most precious assets are our children, so we want to make sure that when they are moving around San Francisco, going back to school, that they are safe. When i was a kid, i went to School Across the street from where i lived. It used to be called but the name is now rosa parks elementary school. What was so cool about that is we would all just walk to school someone would walk up to my window, yell my name, there would already be three or four kids. We would get to the corner on eddie and buchanan, and then there was a crossing guard right there to make sure that all cars stopped so we could safely get across the streets and move on our way to get to school. I never realized how valuable that was until i became an adult and i see so many kids that are out there trying to get to school. We were also taught to look both ways before crossing the street. We also have to get back to some basics. This year we have hired more crossing guards and we want to thank the folks who are joining us here today for your service and for your commitment to making sure that people get around our streets safely. We also, as i said, we have the chief here. We will be placing additional enforcement in certain areas, and so i just want to also ask drivers to do better to stop texting, to stop making phone calls, to stop making looking at your phones when youre driving on our streets, to slow down, and to look both ways and to be very careful when you are navigating the streets of San Francisco to follow the laws. The stop signs, the crosswalks, and all of those things are there for a reason. It is to keep all of us safe. The protected bike lanes are there to make sure that by his bicyclists are safe, the people walking across the streets are safe, that people are moving. This is all about safety. This is all about highlighting the need for us as a safety to do much more than we have in the past so that we can truly realize the goals of vision zero , and that is no fatalities of any kind in this city because of traffic or cars or what have you. At this time, i would like to introduce the supervisor that represents this district, represents marine at middle school where there will be a lot of kids here first thing monday. Supervisor catherine stefani. Thank you. I love the middle school. It is so beautiful. I want to thank everyone, especially mayor breed and the students, parents, and city leadership who were able to make it out today as well as crossing guards. The most important people in the morning when were dropping our kids off at school who really did the important work of making sure our students are safe in our communities. My son just started high school on wednesday and my daughter is starting fifthgrade next week and i dropped dominic off at high school on his first day. I insisted i did it. And besides saying to me, mom, dont say anything weird when you dropped me off, this people around, i said to him, look both ways. It is on a busy street. He is still 14 years old and still telling my child, be careful when his crossing the street considering how dangerous our streets can be. As we kick off the new school year, as we all know, hit and runs and collisions between pedestrians and bicyclists and be at vehicles are way too common in San Francisco. Nearly every Community Meeting i have been to recently, neighbors have voiced support force crating safer streets and sidewalks and i definitely share this goal. It is our collective responsibility to make sure our streets and sidewalks are safe and secure for families who are walking, for those who are driving, and for those who are riding their bikes to school. We know we all have work to do when it comes to making sure our kids are safe. I know i can always do better out there when you get to a stop sign, count to three, dont open a door before looking before for a bicycle and always be aware, dont take calls when you were driving, just like mayor breed said. We can all do much better. I am so proud to join chief scott and his department who performed a Traffic Safety enforcement list earlier this month. I am grat glad i didnt get a ticket. Interim director mcguire who continues to work with their communities and crating safe and Sustainable Transportation options, and marine, who has been an advocate for students and pedestrians across our city. And of course, again, mayor breed was continue to shine a light on transit safety and has worked towards creating a safer San Francisco for all of our students. As we begin our school year, lets all recommit ourselves to making our commute to and from school safer. I look forward to working with mayor breed and my colleagues on the board of supervisors, our department heads, and families and all of our School Communities to further our shared vision for a safer San Francisco. Thank you so much. [applause]. Thank you, supervisor. At this time, i would like to introduce our police chief, bill scott. [applause]. Thank you, mayor. Thank you. Good morning, everyone. First of all, let me say thank you to the mayor and supervisor stefani for their leadership on traffic and pedestrian safety. Backtoschool is an exciting time. It is exciting, it is a lot of work and we want to start with this. Slow down a little bit. Slow down. The mayor mentioned it earlier. Speed kills. In terms of the focus of the violations that we concentrate on the most, we are trying to get people to slow down. As the mayor stated and supervisor stefani stated, we are going to be out doing enforcement. I want to also think the mayor and the supervisor because what allows us to get better at this is the generous support of our budget this year. Last year the mayor signed a budget, and this year she signed a budget that included continuing our hiring plan. What that has allowed us to do is increase the size of our Traffic Company and our motorcycle officers. We have at least ten more motorcycle officers then we do this time last year thanks to the mayors leadership on the budget and the supervisor stefanis leadership on the budget. What that means is we are able to do more enforcement and get people to slow down and save lives. What that looks like in the First Six Months of 2019, we have had 19 light armed forces operations, we have head sting and decoy operations, pedestrian sting and decoy operations, we have had a bike lane enforcement operation, we have initiated over 2301 vehicle traffic stops through the office of Traffic Safety grant operations, we have issued almost 100 citations just for holding a cell phone in your hand. I mentioned this at last years press conference, that is a big issue for us. People driving in our city while theyre talking on the cell phone or texting or distracted otherwise, and that is a big issue. Will be focusing on that as well we sighted almost 75 of these operations just for citations for texting while driving, which is very dangerous. The bottom line on this is enforcement is only one part of the puzzle. We have tom maguire up here with this with us, we have crossing guards, this is really a Community Effort and a community event. We really need the communitys support and your support to get the message out. Slow down, pay attention, be careful because our kids mean so much to us. Save lives. Thank you very much, mayor and supervisor stefani for your leadership, and thank you all for being here. [applause] thank you, chief. Another important part of making our streets safer is improving our infrastructure. Now i know that sometimes this can be a bit of a tugofwar because we have protected bike lanes that we need to install, and sometimes that would require the removal of parking, and we have changes to the way that we need to develop our city moving forward to because because when you think about it, you know, 20 years ago, you didnt see as many people cycling, and now you have people using that as a primary mode of transportation. That is not only protecting our environment, but it is also keeping people healthy and it is also making sure that the buses are less crowded and less people are driving. So as we make these improvements to our infrastructure, the goal is safety. It is about making sure that everyone knows where they should be when theyre on the road in order to keep people safe. So the m. T. A. Is charged with the responsibility of helping us to reconfigure San Francisco as a place that used to focus mostly on developing our streets for cars, and now it is time to develop the streets for the future and that includes cars, walking, busing, and biking in all of those things in between, his the person who is leading the m. T. A. At this time is the acting director, tom mcguire. [applause] thank you for drawing the connection between the changes we see on our streets and the choices that all of us make every day about how we get around San Francisco. Our goal is to make everyone feel like it is safe for kids to be able to walk to school or bike to school or get to school on the bus. The 190 crossing guards will be out on the street this week. They are here with one thing in mind, that is the safety of the children of San Francisco. We have been doing a lot of work this summer to prepare the city for a safe start to the school year. We read striped 90 of the crosswalks around schools around the city. Weve got troopers, we got transit assistance staff who ride the bus with her high school and medicals middle School Students to make sure they are safe as they navigate the city, and we are ready for a safe start to the school year however you get around. The m. T. A. Has got something for you to keep you safe. We are grateful for the support of the mayor and supervisor stefani. All the citys elected officials for the goal of vision zero to end traffic fatalities in the city. Thank you. [applause]. Thank you. We have a very special guest. The ladies of the westside waves are here today and speaking on behalf of the team is maureen. [applause] hi. My name is maureen and i am here today because five months ago on march 15th, my friend was struck by a car and died ten days later, so i have normal memories of eighth grade. I remember my eighth grade play, spending iron hours on my science fair project and studding from a big math test, but i also remember coming in late to my homeroom when i saw my teacher crying. I remember my team and i knew madeline was in the hospital because she was 14 and of course, she was going to wake up i clearly remember spending my eighth grade graduation holding in my tears after her memorial because i didnt want to ruin my mascara. When someone dies, especially such a bright light like mandelman, a community suffers. And knowing she died in a way that is utterly human and utterly preventable makes it so much more heartbreaking. Our city has a problem and it is killing people. With all the statistics and initiatives going around, this is easily the site of the real impact madelyns parents, or siblings, your parents and her teammates were left behind, trying and failing to move on. I am so grateful we have the support of so many of our city leaders. We got some of the change we asked for, but it is not enough. It will not be enough until this stops happening. We cannot lose sight of what happens of what matters. We have to remember what we as a city lose. We can end this. We will end this. Thank you. [applause] thank you for really putting it into perspective of why we need to do better. So thank you to everyone who is here today. Please keep in mind this is a changing city, it is a growing city. We have a lot more people who are out there on the streets, on the roads walking, so please be careful. So we also will be out there and enforcing the rules of the road, and just keep in mind that there are a lot of people out there on the streets and your kids are out there, your mother is out there, your family members are out there, so just think about that when you are out there driving around and you get distracted by a phone call. That phone call can wait. What is so what is so pressing that you have to reach for your phone, which could risk the possibility of an accident, and the importance of today is really to shine a light on our need to be back here in San Francisco, to make sure that not one more tragedy happens on the streets of our city. Thank you all for getting the word out, thank you for being here, lets do better so that kids that are going to school on monday can have a great day and they can enjoy themselves and laugh, and play, and smile, and make it home safely to tell their parents about what an amazing first day of school they had. Thank you so much for being here [applause]