We recovered . Yes, we are on our way. Our staff stepped up big time during the pandemic to respond to the health emergency. Since last may, we have been able to steadily increase in person access to library facilities. Currently we are at 95 of our precovid hours of operation. In the coming weeks we are going to fully restore all of our hours. We have four branches that we are going to bring back to seven day service. They are currently operating at 5 days a week and we are going to go to every tag line and i know all the foot traffic has not returned to San Francisco, but our library is seeing a resurgence coming back. Can we talk about programs after covid . Absolutely, that is part and parcel of our mission. We were doing that work precovid and certainly the library stepped up during the pandemic. We doubled our level of programming for personal finance, Small Business help, jobs and careers. We have a dedicated Small Business center here at the library. There is a wide suite of programs that our librarian led. We have a Financial Planning day coming up in october and we have financial coaches that members of the community can come to the main library and take advantage of their expertise. I understand the mission is in the middle of a renovation. How is that going and are there other Construction Projects in the horizon . Yes, we have Major Projects in the pipeline. The Historic Mission branch library, Carnegie Library over 100 years old and we are investing 25 million to restore that facility. We are going to restore the original entrance on 24th street, the staircase from the lower level up to the grand reading room. We are going to push out on the orange alley side of the library and expand space for teens and children, we are going to create a Robust Community room, a multipurpose space. We are also investing 30 million in the chinatown branch, we are going to upgrade the mechanical systems to the highest level of filtration as we increasingly respond as cooling centers and air Respite Centers and open access to the roof. It has some unique views of chinatown to create the inspiring space it is. I believe you have programs for families that have free and low cost entries for museum and zoos, is that correct . Yes. Its a fabulous resource. Go to our website. With your library cart, patrons, our residents can go to the Public Library and get passes to the museums, all of the incredible cultural institutions that we have in San Francisco all for free with your library card. How are these great Free Services paid for . How is the Library System funded . We are so fortunate in San Francisco. We are funded for by the library fund and those that taxed themselves just for library services. We also get a dedicated portion of the general fund. That together allows us to be one of the most well supported libraries in the nation. We have the third most library outlets per square mile of any municipality. All of our Branch Libraries have professionally trained librarians onsite. Service that we are able to provide, the collection, we are a leading library in our country. That lead know ask about your biggest annual event in the city. How does the event work and whats happening this year . We are excited for this years one city one book. This is our signature annual literature event. We have everybody in the Community Reading the same book. This years title is this is your hustle named after the Pulitzer Prize nominated and pod taste. This is about the population. One nice thing about this selection is that they are both local. We are going to have several weeks of programming, kicking off next month. It will culminate here in the auditorium november 3rd. So our Library Patrons will get to meet the authors, hear from them directly, and one other important aspect about this years selection, we have our own jail and Reentry Services department. Recently the Foundation Awarded the San FranciscoPublic Library 2 million to work with the American Library association to shine a light on our best practices here in San Francisco, and really help our peers in the industry learn how they can replicate the Service Model that we are doing here in San Francisco. Thats great. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming on the show, mr. Lambert. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you, chris. Thats it for this episode, we will be back shortly. You are watching San Francisco rising. Thanks for watching. Youre watching San Francisco rising with chris manner todays special guests im chris youre watching San Francisco rising the rebuilding and reimaging and our guests the executive director of the Homeland Security and today to talk about the city and solutions and welcome to the show. Thank you an honor to be here. Lets a start by talking about people traeld dont consider that much the business programs what does the city need to have that. Most people think of homeless they think of people they see on the street in the tenderloin and many people experiencing homeless have not visible to the average person and a lot of those people are children or older adults and families that is what we see at the department of homeless on top of homeless among the black community we dont realize there. 40 percent of our homeless populationist with the africanamericans and only 5 percent of the population today the with the africanamerican and the same thing about the communities that over represent and we we try to make sure there is equity in the system and reaching the goals not seeing by the public as much we know that housing is essentially what Everyone Needs to thrive in the community. Quite correct some of the solutions often vulnerable or smaller scale how do we expand those solutions as we go about. A attended in the homeless he roman numerals seeing none, three interventions need presentation for the people experiencing homes in the first place and pouting are ways for people to get to permanent housing on their own and need shelter so really need all three of the intefrjz for people to assess one the things we often dont understand meet people where they are and sometimes did have the documents or other things to move into housing. They maybe waiting on Disability Income or themes so we have to be prepared to have things ready to use the sheltered are reality important. We know that ultimately preservation ask one of the most important toltz we can put into our systems if people dont have that mri better off for many reasons but way cheaper to have someone out of homeless in the first place and the permanent housing is a wonderful tool for many people cant get housing on their own and needed Case Management or other services to be able to assess the other part of their life employment and things. So the home by the bay plan can you explain the basics and how to address the needs . Sure the home by the bay the Strategic Plan the 5year plan to prevent homelessness i want to do what at mayors said homeless is not just owned by the department of 40e789s but the responded didnt has to include a number of stakeholders what that requires is really a collaborative approach were really continuing to work very close with the 0 department of Public Health and Law Enforcement or the department of aye. By linking to the voices of people exercising homelessness need to create programs without listening to the people experiencing and finding what is like for them to go through the system were not going to make that better and ultimately will not be successful. Your first goal really to produce inexacerbated in our system remarkably equity and also want to reduce the number of people experiencing unsheltered homelessness in 5 years and over all address homelessness by 15 percent your offer arching goals for us and some people said that didnt seem like enough or didnt seem bold enough to given where we are not just a a city but country wiring proud of that goal and look forward to implementing the work that it takes to get there and hoping will be can he have in 5 years. We are here the property interrupt trip to the lovely agreement can you talk about that and then maybe talk about how Public Housing will be a solution . One of the very exciting things about that building it accommodates names families in a neighborhood with Grocery Stores and transportation a little bit out of the tenderloin when we think of families with children finding places in the area that are enacted by homeless. So very again Community Space and actually have a partnership with the Housing Authority the Housing Authority has different kinds of vouches they have available and in case with the vouches we use those vouchers with the unit and help to cut the cost we have homekey dollars that provide money to the counties our acquisitions and able to leverage that. Can you you, you talk about the voucher programs how they help Public Housing and help landowners into the whole thing. Sure we have a few voucher emergency vouchers from the federal government during covid and dispersing those with the Housing Authority and the programs one they can help prevent people from 0 becoming homeless and people are in danger of becoming homeless with a necessity they can stay in the place they have and people are experienced homeless and in a shelter and kwobtd with the system the best way for them to find it themselves with the help of a case manager or a housing locate our that makes sense in San Francisco we will have a number of buildings in certain neighborhoods in San Francisco and a number of places in San Francisco we find people experiencing homeless across the decide but dont have an easy option with a number of neighborhoods so Emergency Housing Voucher Program we partnered in bay view and been successful in making sure that people from that neighborhood and that neighborhood kind of a proximity for people who have experienced homelessness with born and raised in bay view and, you know. Instead of putting them in a place across town a unit available able to work with them to find their units in the neighborhood eventually and we hope when lvrndz will see the value got a number of landowners buildings with a lot of vacancies we think that it is really um, helpful for them and hopeful for us we can Work Together and see the number of units in partnerships we can get people housed with a steady income from the rent. Thank you i appreciate you coming into here today. You know. This is great. Thank you chris appreciate that. Thats it for in episode and for sfgovtv im chris thanks for youre watching San Francisco rising with chris manners. Todays special guest is katy tang. [ ] hi. Im chris manners, and youre watching San Francisco rising, the show thats focused on rebuilding, reimagining, and revitalizing our city. With us today is katy tang, and shes talk to talking to us about assistance and Services Provided to local businesses. Can we talk about the role of the office of Small Business . Many Small Businesses are struggling to help. How can you help . Director tang we are here as the citys Central Point of information for all things Small Businesses, so we can help people start, stay, and grow in the city. If you want to start a Small Business, we can pair you up with Small Business advisors, who can talk you through your business plan, help you develop it, whether its regulatory requirements, business permits, and just help you understand the journey that was up ahead. And if youd like to stay in San Francisco and perhaps your business is facing challenges, we can also pair you with a business advisor who can assess your Business Needs and figure out whatside that would best help you. So for example, perhaps you need more marketing assistance or you need to be connected to a loan, a low interest loan or a grant program, if thats available. Those are services we can provide to you, whether youre starting out or trying to stay in San Francisco. And of course, if you want to expand and grow into a new space, we can help assist you with that and help prepare you for the journey ahead. We have a Team Dedicated to assist you you with all the Small Business needs, all the requirements needed to help you establish your Small Business in San Francisco. Do you have an e. S. L. Program for people who want to start Small Businesses . Director tang we have staff that can speak spanish and mandarin and cantonese, and we understand if english is not your first language, it can be difficult, so we want to be as helpful as possible. Excellent. I know that s. F. Shines was created to help with restoring and improvement. Can you tell us more about that . Yes. Its run out of a sister development and its much needed in the Small Business community. If you are trying to improve your storefront, whether its outside, perhaps you want to make some interior improvements, a lot of times, that involves a lot of cost and resources to be able to do so. For example, you may need to hire an architect to submit drawings so you can get your work done. Currently, s. F. Shines is offer a pairing of business sign services. You can be paired up with an architect to get your drawings done to help you start to do the actual work. We hope that people will stay tuned, and you can find out more information on our website. Thats sfgov. Org osb. Lets talk about the shared spaces program. Its been a huge success, and Outdoor Dining spaces are very popular. The shared spaces program, especially during the pandemic, really helped spaces survive. To have an outdoor space where people could safely gather was critical, and the office of Small Business has been working with these shared spaces during the pandemic. Some may or may not have been up to the citys code regulations, so department of public works and other departments have been trying to figure out what violations are and help businesses come into compliance. The Planning Department and the city have decided that theyll give businesses until 2023 to come into compliance. Also in the meantime, for businesses that want to start new shared spaces, new parklets, that is still an on going program, a new program, so people can always submit their applications for shared spaces regardless whether they started one during the pandemic or not. Do you anticipate there being other shared spaces programs in the future and how do Small Businesses go about finding out about them . Small businesses can find out about it by visiting our website, sfgov osb or you can call 4155546134, and we can connect you with the Planning Department and other agencies that would be connected with the shared spaces programs. Over the pandemic, businesses have been victimized by vandals and other crimes. How can you help them . The city offers a program called the vandalism relief fund, and this would allow businesses suffering from graffiti or broken windows to apply with the city through our Neighborhood Services division, and you could get up to 1,000 or 2,000 if you submit certain documentation, such as a photograph of the damage or a copy of the receipt or document showing the amount you paid for to correct the incident. We are so excited that the city now has a centralized permit center, where people can come and get their business done, hopefully, in the same day where there are several different agencies, ranging from department of building inspection, Planning Department, Public Health, fire department, all here to help people, whether youre building a new business or even new construction, to be able to, again, fit all of your appointments in one day and get things done quickly. So starting in may, our office of Small Business has actually started working out of 49 south van ness at the permit center, and we have a team of two staff who are dedicated to helping Small Businesses through their permitting journey. So we do encourage people, you can come to the permit center or you can email us at sfosb sfgov. Org, and you can communicate with our staff dedicated to helping you with your permitting needs. We hope that people will consider consulting with us before you even sign a lease so that we can help you on the path to success and understanding the journey of setting up a Small Business in San Francisco. Well, thank you so much. I really appreciate you coming on the show, miss tang. Thank you for the time youve given us today. Director tang thanks for having me. And thats it for this show. Well be back shortly. Youve been watching San Francisco rising. For sfgovtv, im chris manners. Thanks for watching. indiscernible i just know it. Excuse me boys, but does anybody have sun block to block this skin from the sun . Yes. Thats right, i need to get my indiscernible many of us last summer indiscernible reapplying sun screen is like getting the second dose of mpox vaccine. Wait, two doses indiscernible isnt it too late to get my second dose . Girl, it is like sun screen, never too late to put more sun screen on. Thats right, i need to get my second dose of mpox vaccine before the summer starts. Lets indiscernible 21201 to find the closest location to get the vaccine or go to sf. Gov mpox. Thank you for the information indiscernible excuse me boys, do you mind checking please . Sure. That doesnt look like a sun burn, you might want to getd it checked out. What do you mean clecked out . Checked out. I was told if i got my second m pox vaccine i would have less severe symptoms. indiscernible maybe i schedule the second dose just to be safe from mpox. Most vackeens offer you a level of protections, just like sun block. Sometimes you need to reapply for more protection. The m pox vaccine is based on two shots several weeks apart to provide the strongest level of protection. Visit sf. Gov mpox to get yours. Thank you boys for that reminder make sure your are fully vaccinated for m pox this summer. Text summer vibes to 21201, to get happy Second Annual transgender history month. [applause]. It is an absolutely pleasure to be here with you all. And welcome this very special moment here in San Francisco. I have the great honor to be your mc for this ocean im jupiter per asa. An occasion that is personal to me and close to my heart. For some context why that is, back in 2021 i wrote the initial draft proclamation that