Transcripts For SFGTV Latino 20240703

Im the advisor board president for the American Indian cultural district, as well as a member of Mission Destino and other committees and councils here in San Francisco. So i am ariana ortega, peace people of nicaragua. From my mothers side and the seneca nation on my fathers side. I was born and raised here in San Francisco and retired in 2020 from a senior manager position with the sfmta to after 32 years of service. But as i mentioned and what im doing now is important work that i am many of you are doing on behalf of our community is that work is never done and should be reflected in all the work you do and all aspects of your lives. We are brought together by our ancestors is to fulfill the prophecy of the eagle and the condor. The prophecy tells of this time when the Indigenous Peoples of the north and the south earth would reunite to renew you and protect our original knowledge, strength and connection to our earth. Mother this is a time of reconciliation. Mission. Reunion education and healing of all the land and all its peoples. In case you dont know the eagles and the California Condors have begun to nest here in the bay area for the they know its time. Im honored to be with you here tonight to celebrate the 2023 latino heritage Month Celebration and Award Ceremony and present the land acknowledgment on your behalf. To the Ramaytush Ohlone people. We that are gathered here acknowledge that we are on the unceded ancestral homeland of the Ramaytush Ohlone, who are the original inhabitants of yelamu, which is now called San Francisco. The ramaytush shiloni are the stewards of yelamu, and in keeping with their tradition as they have never ceded lust or forgotten their responsibilities as the caretakers of this place , as well as for us and all peoples who reside or work in their traditional territory. We wish to honor and pay our respects by acknowledging the ancestors, owners, elders and relatives of the ramaytush community and by affirming their sovereign rights as the first peoples of this land. We are all guests and as such we are to recognize that as visitors, we benefit from living and working on their ancestral homeland. We are reminded that we do not own this land and that our ancestors did not create Land Ownership or borders to separate our people on the land. The land is our mother and we are all relatives as we are to be grateful, all respect and coexist with all the creator has provided for us. Creator we ask for your blessings for all gathered here and all those that we carry in our hearts. We acknowledge that we are unified, tied by our ancestral blood and spirits. That gives us pride and strength and purpose in this gathering here today and every day in all we do. Oh, thank you. Gracias. Mary travis allen for the land dedication. The los pueblos, indigenas del norte de america. Bienvenidos a todos. And welcome to tonights 2023 latino heritage Month Celebration in city hall in San Francisco. Orale, por favor. Before we begin, we just want to take a few moments. It always gets so serious and so quiet when we start. I hope everyones ready for a celebration tonight for extraordinary honorees as we want to make sure that we represent our leaders in labor tonight who are here that i have, that we that we have recognized and some who will recognize a little later on in the program tonight. But, of course, Kim Tavaglione from the labor council, olga miranda from local 87 are elected leaders. Shamann walton, asha safai, aaron peskin and of course, our latina elected city supervisor from district seven, myrna melgar, who our afrolatina District Attorney brooke jenkins. The honorable maria evangelista, thank you for joining us tonight. Leading our elected brass is, of course, our sheriff, paul miyamoto. Thank you to our fire chief and to our police chief for being here with us tonight and serving our communities. Our director of Public Health, grant colfax, george rivas, who leads our office of Civic Engagement and immigrant affairs. Elmi bermejo , who joins us from the Small Business administration. And our consul generals from so many countries that are joining us here tonight from the americas and elsewhere. Supervisor peskin, i think you know that i recognized you. We come here together to celebrate our shared roles in taking care of our home in San Francisco. Mayor joaquin torres. Im your elected assessor recorder here in the city and county. And my name is larissa lugo, executive director of the Central American Resource Center in San Francisco. We are honored to be your co emcees for the celebration of latino power history fauci influence advocacy , arts, culture, cuisine and community. We want to thank the Host Committee for their work in planning for tonight that showcases our strength in unity and diversity. Tonight we celebrate latinos contribution to our city and affirm our rights to dignity, equity and inclusion. Somos San Francisco. So we are San Francisco. As National Political players seem intent on denying the contributions, dignity and rights of our our community deserves, it becomes ever more important to recognize and reinforce our diverse local Latino Community and the work we do right here at home. When San Francisco stands on the right side of her story, we set the course for other cities to follow. Our city values of inclusion, opportunity, Racial Equity and justice are alive and well, but reflected in the work of tonights award recipient. Tonights host, Committee Members and of course, all of you here to join us in celebrating the Latino Community and our beloved city, a city for all we know that our work is far from done and that the equitable recovery we wish to see for our city requires all of us. And that means you to our city administrator, carmen chu. Together, we work to support our Small Businesses, our vendors, our merchants as we continue to navigate this postcovid reality together, expanding our collective work on on the collective work during the pandemic. The Community Hubs offer bring a right to recover, connecting people to good paying jobs, invest in our leaders and organizations, creating opportunity for our diverse latino constituencies to thrive , creating new Resource Centers to respond to the needs, rights and aspirations of our immigrant brothers and sisters, the very people that fuel the economic engine of our city, our state and nation. I want to take a moment to thank mayor breed and the board of supervisors for your support and investment in carsons new home and community Resource Center here at the intersection of the tenderloin, soma and mid market community. And lets highlight some of our National Significance as well. In 2020, latinos came out and voted. We voted for democracy, for equality, for justice, and for the country that we helped shape and vision and are committed to you. And we will do it again in 2020. Four generations of latinx leaders have and continue to shape the environment that we live in from our pivotal role in the civil rights movement, including the landmark case of mendez versus westminster of the 1940s that began to crack those racist walls of segregation to the organizing years of cesar chavez and Dolores Huerta, whose monumental efforts to bring our communities together in nonviolent since black brown, brown native and api in the name of dignity and respect, remains so significant that we etched their names in the awards that we hand out tonight to the journalists who told our stories is brought us information we could trust and educated our communities. When Mainstream Media refused to do so from the posters you can see. Thank you, Ralph Remington that you can see next door the focus on our advocacy and our fight for rights in our community to the murals that brighten our streets in la mission and tell our stories of pan latino unity and solidarity. We all, in the pursuit of social justice. Tonights award, which depicts a Community Treasure in the carnaval mural on 24th and south venice in the heart of la mision to our commitment to saving lives in our community during a global pandemic. An effort replicated nationally and recognized formally by the white house and current administer station. This is how we show up and deliver for our city, a city for everyone. The city we call home. So was San Francisco. We are San Francisco. And this is what we celebrate. And honor tonight. Our shared power, our shared culture, our shared unity may breed has been that ally for our diverse latino communities all throughout her life, recognizing that our needs are San Franciscos needs, investing in our present and in our future , upholding our city values, ensuring that San Francisco continues to be the sanctuary that our communities rely on and a city we can all be proud of. So supporting us in safety, health, education and Economic Opportunity with investment that that move our Community Forward in the most difficult of times is by stepping up, stepping up for us latino migrants. When the federal government would not or could not because she will knows the disparities that our communities of color face, not only in the context of a global pandemic, but in every aspect of our system. Issues that affect us today. Boleros, ladies and gentlemen, please help us in welcoming our mayor london breed. Thank you, larissa, and thank you so much, joaquin. When they make a Great Dynamic duo, dont they . Happy latino heritage month in San Francisco. Sona san fran cisco. We are San Francisco and im so happy to see so many people here. And let me tell you, im really excited about this years honorees. These are three of the most amazing trailblazers in San Francisco. And william, i am so in awe of you two because of the work that you do every single day to uplift and to support start Small Businesses in San Francisco. I know as a native you love San Francisco, but you love San Francisco and you love your Community Even more. And let me tell you, the work that he did is the way of the future for what we need to address food security. He helped during the global pandemic, make sure that we were making a connection between the community and the people who needed the support and the cultural competent grocery stores. The places that sold the item arms that the community needed to buy so that they were able to make their own decisions and take care of their families. And it was a brilliant model that we need to continue to replicate in this city. Thank you so much, william, and congratulations. And i want to say to carson piedra, who is the first latina to lead and to lead the Teachers Union in San Francisco, let me tell you what i appreciate most in everything that she does. Yes, its important that she takes care of her membership and she takes care of the teachers, but she cares so deeply about the students and their success. Yes. And she is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure that she is fighting for teachers and educators as a whole and that our students receive the kind of education that they need. And deserve, especially after the challenges of a global pandemic. The bridges that shes been able to build with parents and with other people whove had challenges in their various communities, have just really made me develop a profound amount of respect for your work. So congratulations and thank you so much. And let me tell you this woman whos getting the Lifetime Achievement award, she is somewhat of a quiet force now. You see her on telemundo. And, you know, shes reporting shes, you know, giving you the facts. Shes providing the information about the community. But you know, when you dont have some times great journalism, you really cant appreciate and respect all the extraordinary work that she does to make sure that this community in particular is well represented, that the fight and the struggles of this community are shown and documented for over 20 years, shes been in the cameras. In your faces, asking the questions , promoting the stories that would never, ever make it to television. If it wasnt for her. She has been doing this for over 20 years, and she took it even further during the pandemic to make sure working with the Latino Task Force, when we needed to make sure people understood the resources that were available for testing and for vaccinations and our rental assistance and all the work that we did together, she she highlighted those stories and made sure that she helped us get the word out in an extraordinary way. So we are so grateful. Three amazing young people who serve the city and county of San Francisco well, who should make us all proud on a daily basis. We are here to honor you and recognize your commitment and your legacy. But i also want to take an opportunity to go a tad bit off script, because i do think its important to acknowledge someone who was a part of the planning of this event, but who has been a part of planning this event for the past couple of years, who continue to work with the committee, who work with my office to deal with the challenges around Job Opportunities and employment, who was always available to work with the Latino Community and the Latino Task Force, who made sure that there was a relationship that existed with labor. And i understood what was happening on the ground to make sufficient changes to address these issues. Some of you may have heard that josh asked at the end of the month will be taking on a new role and i am so proud of him. Im so grateful for his friendship and his service to the city and county of San Francisco. And i just want to say, josh, thank you for everything that you have done for this city and for the people of San Francisco. We love you. We appreciate you so much. And. It is always so important that we acknowledge people for what they do because these individuals who were talking about. Yes they are doing a job to a certain extent, but theyre also doing what they love for the people. Theyre doing what they can to uplift the history and the latino heritage in San Francisco, to make sure that there is a real connection between what is going on in City Government and how were allocating resources and how were being held accountable and how were making that work for the actual average, everyday people that are living the lives in the communities. We appreciate you all so much and we appreciate so many of our leaders and folks who continue to carry the torch to carry on the legacy to remind us of our history and whose shoulders we stand on and what we need to continue to do to make sure that we are preparing and taking care of the next generation. So that those stories are not lost, so that this heritage is integrated into what San Francisco is. We are a truly amazing, remarkable city, but we are not that without the people, our history, our diversity and our culture. So i want to thank you all so much for being here to celebrate latino heritage month in San Francisco. So. So let the festivities begin. Mayor breed, i know we wanted to welcome the Host Committee to come up and join you for a picture. Before we move on with the remainder of the ceremony tonight. So if we could invite the Host Committee to come up to these steps right now and join the mayor for a picture. Okay, come on. Come on up. Come on up. Okay. I pfizer on the thing right. Okay. Ready. Ready one, two, three. One more round of applause for all the members of the Host Committee who have put in so much time together with a very incredible model. Later. And josh arce, to ensure that we could celebrate the strength of our diversity in unity here tonight. Cesar chavez not only championed the principles of nonviolence in organizing for the dignity of farm workers across this country, but also illuminated the importance of educators in addressing the poverty that lived not only in our pocketbooks, but in our hearts and in our minds. He believed that the loving touch of this most precious Community Resource s a teacher could educate a young heart better than a book could alone, and that they had the power to the advance the lives of our children, our families, us, our communities, and our collective future. Thats why its my honor to introduce our first awardee for this evening, an advocate who has shown true strength in shining a light on what our teachers and para educators need for the benefits of our schools and our students and our communities. Cassandra curiel. You heard it from the mayor, the first latina president of the united educators of San Francisco. For our community, the opportunity gap is no stranger. We saw its disproportionate impact most starkly during the pandemic, and we see it widen when our schools do not have access to the resources that we need for our community. We understand the value of organized labor and having someone at the helm who is not afraid to fight for fair wages, safe working conditions, stable jobs. We know teachers dont choose this profession because they were promised a big paycheck or a short workday. We know they do this for something more for love for the children that they serve. And with respect for how important this role is in molding, shaping and educating all of us, we understand the importance of substantial and significant representation in the classroom in our union halls and in our elected offices and how inspiring is it knowing that in our community and our Educational Needs are represent with a powerful latina in charge. A latina who is a bridge builder, unapologetic in her fight to support those in our city who need our care the most unapologetically latina, unapologetically union to all of our labor leaders in the house, we thank you. And we recognize you together with cassandra for all of your accomplishments. And to you, cassandra, our 2023, cesar chavez labor awardee. We congratulate you. Bienvenido those. Thank you very much. Thank you for the honor of this award. I am a teacher. I am a president. But i am an eldest daughter and a Second Generation Mexican American raised during a time raised during a time in our States History when there was a war on spanish and it hit our schools and impacted my own upbringing. And like that period , our community has had to struggle for every recognition we have won in our city, in our state and in this country, we are in a critical moment now for Public Education and also for the working people, the immigrant and latino people of our city. As just one example, it was heart wrenching today to hear that our sfusd families are sfusd students who were at a press conference are facing homelessness. And i know that this is a serious issue and a long standing issue from personal experience working at Visitacion Valley middle school for 11 years without the available spots or vouchers or support system. We have to draw attention to this particular issue because it affects our work as educators in our classroom and in our schools. Our students learn best when theyre housed, when theyre fed, when theyre cared for. And its just one of the many reasons why were fighting for community schools. If we prioritize the wellbeing of our whole communities, then we will all thrive. I am deeply committed to advocating for these needs and for the rights of our community and all marginalized communities in building unity, we need to build solidarity. We organize, resist science. We defend our rights. And my role as a labor leader and as an educator is in that tradition, in the same tradition as cesar chavez and Dolores Huerta and the thousands of other Community Leaders named here and those in this room who do this work day in and day out. And it is part and parcel of a larger tradition of the Labor Movement and of educator unions that usf led the way in Getting School level access to testing and high quality masks for students. During the 20 2122 covid waves. When we were back in person again when we donated our stimulus checks in an effort initiated by our now executive Vice President , frank lara, when he recognized that our undocumented families and School Community were getting hit hardest during this pandemic, we are proud of our heritage, our heritage of resistance, our heritage of collective strength, our heritage of community, a community built building to be part of the solution. And in accepting this award tonight, i reinstate my commitment to be part be part of that community, be part of our efforts for social justice. Somos San Francisco. Thank you. Frame. This year. Right . Yes, please. Yes please. Yes. Its yours. I have the honor of introducing somebody from my barrio. Our next honoree is a recipient of the Rosario Anaya community award. This award honors an individual who has committed their career and lifetime to the betterment of our Latino Community. The work of commissioner will ortiz. Cartagena will m ortiz. Cartagena. Truly embodies the spirit of this award and the spirit of our beloved carissima Rosario Anaya, whos watching us arriba hes a native San Francisco, an a leader in the mission district, the excelsior and latinos, San Francisco and is the founder of cartagena council, which focuses on uplifting latino businesses, specifically those who were hit hardest during the pandemic. He has a long history of working in Hospitality Industry and, more importantly, of service to the community. Atty. William represents the best of San Franciscos creativity and ability to get the job done. His contribution options are immeasurable. Thank you, william, for your dedication. Muchas gracias and tremendous impact as we embark on the hard job of recovery and making sure that latinos are not left behind , it is an honor to ask you to join us on stage as a recipient of this years Rosario Anaya community award. Hi. Como estamos mi gente woo. I am humbled to represent this. This is a culmination of generous actions of people that stood before me. Rosario herself. I remember running around nlds as a little kid. Venmo borrero and i used to hate being in that building, right . My mom needed a job. Wed be out there. You know . Rosario always give us a snack. So so were all 360. But pero Nuestra Gente in the pandemic, we were the hardest hit. And we put all our pettiness aside and we got together and we helped community. No matter where we rich, poor , it doesnt matter. We were at the Mission Food Hub serving that food in the thick. We ran towards the fire and now our population is actually the only population in San Francisco that actually has grown. Esto es Nuestra Gente. And im here just to thank people, my beautiful family, the sacrifice of the hours i give for community. My mom, may she rest in peace. The homeboys from the streets that keep me always grounded. Love you guys. My team and family at gallica. I love yall. Love yall. All diana, josh, joaquin. I know you an assessor now, but love yall. Roberto. My godmother tracy. Val ill see you. The office of Small Business. Madam mayor. Frisco baby galileo alum. We doing it right. Board of supervisors. And thats the city, the media. The National Media can paint what they want. Or we might not get along. Sometimes but this is frisco. This is San Francisco. And lastly, lastly, i want to give a special shout out to the city of San Francisco herself. She birthed me. She raised me. She nurtured me when my mom was fleeing el salvador, she embraced my mom, undocumented and all. When people didnt believe in me, she did. She gave me second, third, fourth, fifth chances. She introduced me to culture, to she was my economics professor. She instilled in me empathy and compassion in and gave me life lessons that at the time i probably didnt understand. And but she was always just and always fair for that. I appreciate her and i will never stop defending her and i will never stop contribute to her. And if you could ask my kids that were born and raised here, kids say aloud, whats the best city ever. There you go. I appreciate. Thank you, everybody. All right. The recipient of the Dolores Huerta Lifetime Achievement award embodies the principles that dolores taught us that every minute is a chance to change the world, that every moment is an opportunity to organize, is the recipient of this award. Respects the integrity of their profession and leverages the power of their voice and the focus of their storytelling for the benefit of communities. Be our next honoree, pilar nino. Has been and is that trusted voice in San Francisco and the bay area for the immigrant and Latino Community. His through her Spanish Language reporting, she uses her platform to amplify issues that matter the most to us. As a trailblazer in her field, she spent ten years as a sole San Francisco reporter for telemundo and has received multiple emmys for her journalism. But shes not just a reporter. Shes a leader, a leader who knows that a trusted voice matters, that a trusted voice can save lives. Immigration in health care, politics, local and national, lgbtq plus rights, domestic violence. These are just some of the issues that shes tackled so many stories that can and should be celebrated. But id like to take a moment to focus on her coverage of the global covid pandemic working, collaborate safely with our city and our latino leaders in community and at large. Pilar knew intimately that the Latino Community, many of which were essential workers on the front lines, needed information, needed it fast, needed it correct. Needed it right. It needed it from someone they could trust in the dark, early and uncertain days of 2020, when things were real bad. Pilar was right there with us. She saw us. She saw you. So many of you here today in this room. Who stepped up and helped save lives as grandparents, fathers, mothers, daughters, sons, our loved ones. As she brought our stories to the forefront of everyones minds to show that our collective experience and our trauma demanded vital support from government at every level and our greater community. She brought light to the heroic efforts of the ecosystem of latino organizations, leaders and the essential role that migrants played and so much more. The stories of how, again, the very people in this room made it so that San Francisco had one of the highest vaccination rates and the lowest death rates across the country. She. Threw everything that you do, pilar. You put Community First in your coverage in your stories, in your life at home. Pilar were so proud to invite you up to accept the 2023 Dolores Huerta Lifetime Achievement award. Thank you for representing the best of our strengths, integrity and perseverance in all that you do. Good evening. Buenas noches. A todos es tambien. One day when i was about 13 years old and living in my native bogota, colombia, for who . My father asked me. What do you want to do when you grow up . I remembered that i quickly replied. I want to change the world. He smiled at me and said, yes, pilar, at your age, we all want to change the world. What i never imagined is that years later i would end up here in San Francisco. Chico, a city that has in its dna that same objective of to change the world for the better. Some of the stories i have covered during these 23 years in the San Francisco bay area are a good example of that. Lets start with a struggle to allow the matricula consular to be used as a valid form of identification for immigrants. That happened in 2001. You remember today is a reality across the nation. The driver license for undocumented people, the gay marriage. How many times workers want on a strike asking for 50 more cents per hour or 1 after the occupy movement, we saw increases of 3 per hour. The Latino Task Force , a National Model and nationally recognized model of how to serve our community. All these movements that i have covered, if they were not born here in San Francisco, they certainly received plenty of attention, energy and fuel in our area. So a major breed, dear friends and family, the honor has been mine and keeps being mine to be able to witness and report on these issues. In fact, it is San Francisco that saved me from becoming cynical about reality. San francisco gave me hope and more importantly, keeps giving me hope that we can work on the root of our collective problems and find real solutions. Premium. Miss padres estan aqui presentes. I want to dedicate this to my parents here present with me. Gracias. Gracias por las fuertes para volar to my parents. Thank you for giving me strong wings to fly to my brothers, my familia me, my brother, my sister. Thank you for your unconditional support, your love and your patience. Believe me, its no fun to have a sister who is a reporter always asking for contacts, for interviews. Thank you for your patience to my second home, telemundo. Thank you for your trust and for allowing me to be me. Para la Comunidad Latina de San Francisco de la guia de la bahia. Gracias. Gracias por confiar durante todos estos anos sus historias in me. You give me a reason every day to keep fighting to my friends. Where are my friends . This is also for you because we all share the dream of trying to improve the lives of others. To my partner in life, this is for you too. You are my rock to the other life of my life. To the other love of my life. My sweet son mateo, who is currently serving in the us army. Im so grateful to be your mom. Thank you all for this amazing honor with a renewed spirit. I will keep trying to change the world. One story at a time. You know why . Porque si se puede. Thank you. Thank. If i could invite all the honorees to come up, please, and join the mayor for a photo, and then well invite all of the Host Committee members. Our elected officials, and our Department Heads and consul generals to join as well. If i could invite all of our elected officials to join the honorees. And if we could invite up the Host Committee. If everyone could stay, if someone could stay, and we can invite the Host Committee up. And of course, all consul generals. We have mexico in the house, japan in the house, peru in the house, italy in the house. El salvador. In the house. Mas, por favor. Bienvenidos was. And if our Department Heads would not be shy and please join us. Dont be shy. Dont be shy. Come and join. Yeah. Well take a moment to settle. Well take a moment to settle. I am looking at my co emcee to join me up here. Por favor. So now its our honor to invite to members of this years Host Committee with whom, without doubt this event would not be possible. Thank you for our sponsors, Roberto Hernandez and Anne Cervantes will recognize the sponsors of this years latino heritage month awards. Yeah surprised . So you want to start off, whos here for wells fargo. So um, so ill start with wells fargo. Yeah tonight were thanking wells fargo for the sponsorship for this event. What do we have . Wells fargo here. Lorenzo. Lorenzo lorenzo, come. Lorenzo. Lorenzo, come on up. And this is a special mural. Its about to be landmarked. Oh, thank you. Thank you. Appreciate it. Okay your next up. Nice okay , cool. Ill do it. Ill do. Ill do. Josh, go ahead and do. Okay this is special because as my mom and i are really be great fans and i want to just thank the Golden State Warriors for sponsoring this event. From them, from the warriors here. As for vanessa, mr. Velasquez, vanessa, vanessa. No. Oh okay. Mayor oh, there she is. There she is. Oh, there she is. Vanessa. Thank you. Okay now, you know, thats a special. And this is special. And this is special because this award is important because its going to be one of our first history. Latino assets from the mural movement. That will be landmark. And we want to thank all the support and the board of supervisors, but especially mayor breed. So we have a little. Thank you. Can you come up and get the. Thank you . Yes. Welcome. Whats really important is on your seats because it talks about the fiesta de la maricas when it was celebrated and a lot of you know is that i document a lot of our history. Its mostly not from books but from oral histories. The native american tradition in first voice and also know from the spanish newspapers that were here when the borders changed. And a lot of our history is documented in these papers as well as Current Events and poetry. I the next ones is special to so thank you an lets give a big round of applause for ann cervantes. Under her leadership tip is why this carnival mural is becoming a historical landmark in San Francisco. And its appropriate that here in the 45th anniversary of carnival San Francisco, its happening. So thank you. And i really person we want to tell you muchas gracias and you know i love you dearly we have something very, very special today for somebody that that we love dearly, somebody that. For me and its real hard for me to bear with me is somebody that i admire. I respect. Ive learned to love seeing him as a family man in growing his children and a man that. 24 over seven is going and going and going, you know, and theres just a certain amount of people that will do that that will just give and give and give and give and so at this moment, id like to ask my brother, joshua, ask from another mother to come up here. Ahead and to stay up here. I didnt know how long you are. Is lisa here picking up the kids . Shes picking up the kids. And then here and then here. Okay. But i also wanted to recognize your wife. Yes. You know, because it takes a lot from a partner to understand hand to be able to do to the other half of whats needed in a home. And i also want to recognize and appreciate your children because i know the sacrifice is sometimes they make no in the sacrifices ive made my children, you know, at times. So we got a couple of Little Things for you, but thank god they have their Public School teachers. Oh, thank god. They have their Public School teachers. So first we want to give you because as for carnival, you youve been an angel to us because theres always something that comes up and you know, and theres certain people that i can go to and count on that are not going to say no. Theyre not going to say why. Theyre not going to say what what theyre going to say. How do we get it done . And so for carnival, on behalf of our family of 45 years, thank you for all the times that youve been there, problem solving and getting things done for us when we need it. You on the low riders . No, no, no, no. Dont go away. Dont go away. Dont go away. Go, go. I like the behind the scenes mayor. No, no, no. Get you stay here. Youre going to stay here. And im going to tell you something. And. And i not only call him on carnival, but for the San Francisco Lowrider Council. You know, we have an annual king of the street event, and were having a hopping contest. And there was some dispute one year about who jumped higher. And so the following year, i called brother josh arce and i told every member of the Lowrider Council i got the biggest mexican man, the tallest mexican man that will make sure that hes right. Heads. How high your car hop. And so he has become the official tallest mexico man for the San Francisco Lowrider Council annual hopping competition. And theres no undisputed arguments no more because of this brother. Wait, wait. Im not done. You know, ill tell you when you can go. Okay, folks want a party. Thats the thing. We are want to eat and drink. And the last guest on behalf of the Latino Task Force. 24 to 7, madam mayor, i want you to know that he was there for us. 24 over seven, 9 00 at night, 11 00 at night. We one in the morning, six in the morning, seven days a week. When ever we needed something. He was there for us. So we do not normally give these out because theyre theyre very special. And theres only an event that we do this annually. But collectively we decided that wed go out the box and give this special award that we give out in the mission district, which is called el corazon award. Thank you, salma. So on behalf of the Latino Task Force, we present this honoring your corazon alma espiritu, and dedicate mission to advocate and empower the Latino Community through workforce force cultura and health. The Latino Task Force of San Francisco, october 20, 23. And id like to ask all the members of the Latino Task Force to come up and grab and lets do a selfie, come on. Thank you. Gracias. Roberto. Gracias. And if we could have the Host Committee come up for a final picture with mayor breed and her proclamation in honor of latino heritage celebration and brother josh, these are for your wife. Maybe shes here right now. Thats a thesis name. Yes. Yes. One an last picture with the Host Committee. If you could all come up, please. Okay looking this way, were. Felicidades a todos y muchisimas. Gracias may we have another round of applause for all of our honorees as i want to make sure that we recognize some additional members who are in the house tonight. I see. All is well. All is well. I see our deputy chief, daniel perea, in the house tonight. I want to recognize the work around Racial Equity that Claudia Flores is doing the work of the Community Economic Development Division with the anna ponce de leon. I see another Department Head here , Sarah Dennis Phillips from the office of economic and workforce development. And to anyone that i missed lo siento lo siento to you and to you, roberto. Gracias. Otra vez. Thank you for all of the work to ensure that the carnival mural one of the most important murals in our cities history for our community, has been represented and etched into the awards that our honorees receive tonight. This marks the end of our speaking program. We have some wine, we have some refreshments. And congratulations again to our honorees. Now is the time to break bread and celebrate food, refreshments and good music over here with dj juan love in the northlight court. We want to thank all of our sponsors who are joining us tonight. We want to thank all of our electeds, the Host Committee and all nlds mission, language, vocation school, cafe de hoya amellivora for helping us set up and clean up chavez winery, who youll find inside for food and refreshments and all the other amazing vendors who have made tonights special muchisimas. Gracias a todos, a disfruto. Buenas noches comienza a la fiesta. De. I dont think you need to be an expert to look around and see the increasing frequency of fires throughout california. They are continuing at an everincreasing rate every summer, and as we all know, the drought continues and huge shortages of water right now. I dont think you have to be an expert to see the impact. When people create greenhouse gases, we are doing so by different activities like burning fossil fuels and letting off Carbon Dioxide into the atmosphere and we also do this with food waste. When we waste solid food and leave it in the landfill, it puts methane gas into the atmosphere and that accelerates the rate at which we are warming our planet and makes all the effects of Climate Change worse. The good news is there are a lot of things that you can be doing, particularly composting and the added benefit is when the compost is actually applied to the soil, it has the ability to reverse Climate Change by pulling carbon out of the atmosphere and into the soil and the t radios. And there is huge amount of science that is breaking right now around that. In the early 90s, San Francisco hired some engineers to analyze the material San Francisco was sending to landfill. They did a Waste Characterization study, and that showed that most of the material San Francisco was sending to landfill could be composted. It was things like food scraps, coffee grounds and egg shells and sticks and leaves from gardening. Together reecology in San Francisco started this Curbside Composting Program and we were the first city in the country to collect food scraps separately from other trash and turn them into compost. It turns out it was one of the best things we ever did. It kept 2. 5 million tons of material out of the landfill, produced a beautiful nutrient rich compost that has gone on to hundreds of farms, orchards and vineyards. So in that way you can manage your food scraps and produce far less methane. That is part of the solution. That gives people hope that were doing something to slow down Climate Change. I have been into organic farming my whole life. When we started planting trees, it was natural to have compost from reecology. Compost is how i work and the soil biology or the microbes feed the plant and our job as regenerative farmers is to feed the microbes with compost and they will feed the plant. It is very much like in business where you say take care of your employees and your employees will take carolinas of your customers. The same thing. Take care of the soil microbes and soil life and that will feed and take care of the plants. They love compost because it is a nutrient rich soil amendment. It is food for the soil. That is photosynthesis. Pulling carbon from the atmosphere. Pushing it back into the soil where it belongs. And the roots exude carbon into the soil. You are helping turn a farm into a carbon sink. It is an interNational Model. Delegations from 135 countries have come to study this program. And it actually helped inspire a new law in california, senate bill 1383. Which requires cities in california to reduce the amount of compostable materials they send to landfills by 75 by 2025. And San Francisco helped inspire this and this is a nationleading policy. Because we have such an immature relationship with nature and the Natural Cycles and the carbon cycles, government does have to step in and protect the commons, which is soil, ocean, foryes, sir, and so forth. Forest, and so fors. We know that our largest corporations are a significant percentage of carbon emission, and that the Corporate Community has significant role to play in reducing carbon emissions. Unfortunately, we have no idea and no requirement that they disclose anything about the carbon footprint, the core operation and sp360 stands for the basic notion that large corporations should be transparent about the carbon footprint. It makes all the sense in the world and very common sense but is controversial. Any time you are proposing a policy that is going to make real change and that will change behavior because we know that when corporations have to disclose and be transparent and have that kind of accountability, there is going to be opposition. We have to provide Technical Assistance to comply with the state legislation sb1383 which requires them to have a food donation program. We keep the edible food local. And we are not composting it because we dont want to compost edible food. We want that food to get eaten within San Francisco and feed folks in need. It is very unique in San Francisco we have such a broad and expansive Education Program for the city. But also that we have partners in government and nonprofit that are dedicated to this work. At San Francisco unified school district, we have a Sustainability Office and educators throughout the Science Department that are building it into the curriculum. Making it easy for teachers to teach about this. We Work Together to build a pipeline for students so that when they are really young in prek, they are just learning about the awe and wonder and beauty of nature and they are connecting to animals and things they would naturally find love and affinity towards. As they get older, concepts that keep them engaged like society and people and economics. California is experiencing many years of drought. Dry periods. That is really hard on farms and is really challenging. Compost helps farms get through these difficult times. How is that . Compost is a natural sponge that attracts and retains water. And so when we put compost around the roots of plants, it holds any moisture there from rainfall or irrigation. It helps farms make that corner and that helps them grow for food. You can grow 30 more food in times of drought in you farm naturally with compost. Farms and cities in california are very hip now to this fact that creating compost, providing compost to farms helps communities survive and get through those dry periods. Here is the thing. Soil health, climate health, human health, one conversation. If we grow our food differently, we can capture all that excess carbon in the atmosphere and store it in unlimited quantities in the soil, that will create Nutrient Dense Foods that will take care of most of our civilized diseases. So its one conversation. People have to understand that they are nature. They cant separate. We started prowling the high plains in the 1870s and by the 1930s, 60 year, we turned it into a dust bowl. That is what ignorance looks like when you dont Pay Attention to nature. Nature bats last. So people have to wake up. Wake up. Compost. It is really easy to get frustrated because we have this belief that you have to be completely sustainable 24 7 in all aspects of your life. It is not about being perfect. It is about making a change here, a change there in your life. Maybe saying, you know what . I dont have to drive to that particular place today. Today i am going to take the bus or im going to walk. It is about having us is stainable in mind. That is it is about having sustainability in mind. That is how we move the dial. You dont have to be perfect all the time. San francisco has been and will continue to be one of the greener cities because there are communities who care about protecting a special ecosystem and habitat. Thinking about the history of the ohlone and the native and Indigenous People who are stewards of this land from that history to now with the ambitious Climate Action plan we just passed and the goals we have, i think we have a dedicated group of people who see the importance of this place. And who put effort into building an infrastructure that actually makes it possible. We have a long history starting with the gold rush and the antiwar activism and that is also part of the Environmental Movement in the 60s and 70s. And of course, earth day in 1970 which is huge. And i feel very privileged to work for the city because we are on such a forefront of environmental issues, and we get calls from all over the world really to get information. How do cities create waste programs like they do in San Francisco. We are looking into the few which you are and we want innovation. We want solutions. Still a lot of people wonder since the trees have a lot of issues, why did we plant them in the first place . Trees are widely planted in San Francisco. With good reason. They are workhorses when it comes to urban forestry. We have begun to see our ficustrees are too big and dangerous in San Francisco. We have a lot of tree failures with this species in particular. This is a perfect example of the challenges with the structure of the ficustrees. You can see four very large stems that are all coming from the same main truck. You can see the two branches attached to one another at a really sharp angle. In between you cant it is a lot of strong wood. They are attached so sharply together. This is a much weaker union of a branch than if you had a wide angel. This is what it looks like after the fi c. U. Resolution s limb l. We see decline. You can see the patches where there arent any leaves at all. That is a sign the tree is in decline. The other big challenge is the root system of the tree are aggressive and can impact nearby utilities, and we can fix the sidewalk around the tree in many cases. We dont want to cuts the roots too severely because we can destabilize the tree. In a city like San Francisco our walks are not that wide. We have had to clear the branches away from the properties. Most of the canopy is on the street side and that is heavyweight on those branches out over the street. That can be a factor in tree limb failures. A lot of people wonder since these trees have a lot of issues. Why did we plant them in the first place . They provided the city with benefits for decades. They are big and provide storage for carbon which is important to fight Climate Change and they provide shade and really i think many people think they are a beautiful asset. When we identify trees like this for removal and people protest our decision, we really understand where they are coming from. I got into this job because i love trees. It just breaks my heart to cut down trees, particularly if they are healthy and the issue is a structural flaw. I have also seen first hand what happens when we have failures. We have had a couple of injuries due to tree failures. That is something we cant live with either. It is a challenging situation. We hate to lose mature trees, but Public Safety has to always we spoke with people regardless of what they are. That is when you see change. That is a lead advantage. So Law Enforcement assistance diversion to work with individuals with nonviolent related 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 Francisco Sheriffs 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. What say a nice day to build housing in San Francisco. Good evening, everyone. Im london breed where we are going to build over 500 units of housing. [cheers and applause] man, i dont think i have ever signed a piece of legislation supporting housing that has made me happier than the one im about to sign today. You know, president peskin, i want to take us back a tad bit because when you came back to the board of supervisors, the work that