Investment in the arts, investment in resources to make sure that we as a city arent just talking about what we support, were putting our money where our mouth is, and weve seen record numbers of investments. Im excited about the future of San Francisco, and im excited to be here with each and every one of you today, and yes, i wore the deliberate colors of the flag. I wore my pink on my shoes and my white on my ears to let you know how proud i am to be here in San Francisco at this moment, celebrating a resilient community, one that represents San Francisco so well in how we continue to push the envelope on policies that really not only support this community but support all communities that continue to be left out of what prosperity should be for all citizens of this city. And so i want to thank you all for continuing to shine a light on issues of equity that need to be addressed in San Francisco, and i want to really thank claire for her leadership and her hard work and commitment. And i also want to acknowledge that we have other elected officials here today to support this incredible occasion. Thank you so supervisor matt haney for joining us as well as treasurer jose cisneros. I think i were not only funding trans programs, but that were doing it in an equitable way. So you know, San Francisco has really had a long history of championing the community, and weve been a beacon of hope. So this morning, when i was thinking about what i wanted to share it wasnt that i was reminded of a quote by robert f. Kennedy that says each time were asked to standup for an ideal or strike out against injustice, we send forth a tiny ripple of hope. And i see that San Francisco in these times where folks are under attack, black folks are under attack, immigrants are under attack, trans folks, lgbtq folks are under attack, San Francisco can be a beacon of hope. So if we want to have better investments, it starts with recognizing and creating awareness. So we kick off this month filled with wonderful events. We have the amazing trans Film Festival, spear headed by shawnna thats been a prominent fixture in our city, and well get to hear from her today. We also get to kick off our trans home, which is a 2. 3 Million Investment in our community, which will include rental housing and subsidy for our community. [applause] and also through the leadership of supervisor mandelman, well be doing the board of supervisors first trans leaders recognition and accommodation day this month through city hall. And lastly, you know, theres a lot of events to share, so i wont go into all the detail. But we have our trans day of remembrance, which, you know, is often a very sad day. This year specifically, weve lost more and more black trans women. I know for many of us in this room, weve been going to these events year after year, and we continue to see the same challenges. So today, i want to commit my office, with the support of the mayor, to really focus on how we can end violence in our communities. We are grateful that San Francisco has done incredible work on this, but we know that we need to do more. And as we look out to the rest of the country where we continue to see such loss of life, its important that we remember that we can be that change. So as we move forward, i really want to recognize, and ill bring her up later, nicky colma, whos been leading the charge. Nicky . [applause] wow. I have a lot of notes here. I dont know how i thought id get through them all. You know, so as the mayor mentioned today, trump again came out against lgbt health care. It seems like he has something against fridays and trans people. Its like every friday, theres something else. And so i just want to remind folks, because i think this can be a scary time, that outside of even november, that San Francisco and california will continue to protect our community. And so regardless of what happens in washington, you will be protected. We will stand together, and we will make change together. [applause] so in closing, you know, i really want to encourage us all to get involved and encourage our allies to be a part of this change. We know that being open about your love and respect and value of trans coworkers and friends and partners is key to shifting the landscape of violence that our community faces, and that also starts with policy and our elected officials. So as kennedy said, well move forward with a ripple of hope, and i hope today is just one moment of that, and i really appreciate you all for being here. And with that, i would love to introduce our first speaker whos going to share a little bit more about our trans home and has been a leader of change, miss tony newman from st. James infirmary. [applause] i am so excited to be here. I wrote a book in 2011 called i rise, and it was in mind that transgender people can get power and rise. And i see that San Francisco is the only city in the country whos financially supported trans home and safety and housing, and that deserves a round of applause. [applause] i would like to thank mayor breed for your support, the supervisors for their support, especially rafael and matt. Matt has been very supportive to st. James, and were thankful to him. And i would like to thank larkin and their team. I want to announce that weve hired the trans home team. The social worker is matthew peda. Would you stand, please . [applause] the housing navigator is camden carter. [applause] my bilingual navigator is jessie santos. [applause] were also in touch with john mckinley, whos the Housing Project manager at t t. G. I. Justice manager project. We can help you immediately or with your own apartment. Were here to serve you with the community, so come to st. James starting december 1. Were not quite ready. We have to train these folks. They just got hired yesterday, so come to st. James starting december 1 with your needs, and we will do the very best we can to serve you in the capacity as your ambassadors. Thank you. [applause] are we ready to get our community housed . Yes. I also want to do a shoutout to aria saheed whos leading our cultural district. Aria, thank you for all of your work. So next, were going to move on, and its my honor to introduce someone who was in the office and has been leading the charge in trans and lgbt policy on the state level, our state senator, scott wiener. Thank you, claire. I also want to acknowledge aria saheed who we honored as our district 11 woman of the year, so thank you, aria, for all you do. You know, weve made a lot of progress, and we tend to focus on the challenge because its important, and we have to overcome them, but sometimes we need to step back and recognize where weve been. In 2011 when mark leno authored the program to extend health care to trans people, it was lambasted by fox news. Fast forward to 2012, when we were able to get health care to extend full coverage to trans people in San Francisco. We braced ourselves for this explosion, and you could have had a pin drop. Thats just in a decade. That shift was extraordinary. But we know theres still huge challenges around poverty and unemployment and homelessness and around the violence. And the epidemic of trans people and particularly trans women of color who are being brutally murdered all across the country and living in fear. And people should not be in fear to walk down the street, and yes that is the atmosphere that we have for so many trans people in this country, and that is unacceptable. And you have to call out the elephant in the program. Part of the problem is there is lack of trust in the criminal Justice System in the Trans Community, and it is well earned mistrust, and we have to change that. And this year, we were able to pass legislation, and i want to thank toni and st. James infirmary for sponsoring it, to provide that when a sex worker is reporting a violent crime, they cant be arrested for sex work, because [applause] when we talk about keeping people safe, and keeping trans people safe, the last thing we want is if i go to report i was being assaulted, raped, or kidnapped, or i saw someone getting assaulted, raped, or kidnapped, that theyre afraid to report it, that creates a community of fear. Were working to pass legislation to ensure that trans people who are incarcerated. That if they choose, they can be incarcerated and housed in the housing that they choose, not their birth gender. Were going to continue to work i want to thank the amazing trans leaders who make all of the work we do in city hall and in the capitol possible. And the fine another challenge i want to leave you with is we need to help elevate more trans people into high leadership in this society. [applause] i would never have thought that we still would not have a transgender member of the board of supervisors. We have never had a trans state legislator in california, but we might change that. So i know we have a lot of work to do, but thank you, everyone. [applause] so speaking of leadership, i want to recognize my team. Were a small and mighty team. Hal craigo and mateo pearson. Were also taking on a Training Officer to train all our departments. I know its only one person, but were going to do our best. I also want to recognize our amazing Trans Advisory Committee who advises our office as well as the mayor. To our Trans Advisory Committee members, if you could raise your hands. Give a little love to them. [applause] thank you so much for your leadership. So now, its my honor to introduce someone whos been doing incredible work both as a director of Community Health projects, formerly a. P. I. Wellness center, but also leading the charge for trans day of remembrance, trans march, trans visibility day. I dont know how she has the energy she has, but please welcome nicky colma. Thank you, claire. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is nicky colma, and i work for the San Francisco health center, formerly known as the agency a. P. I. Wellness center, and i oversee our programs and Community Engagement of the organization. So im very honored to be here with everybody and speaking here, you know . I came to San Francisco in 1989, and i was right behind mark leno when they were doing all those initiatives to to give health care for all the city employees. And i wasnt wearing glasses then, and now im wearing glasses coming back here. So but i just wanted to let you all know whats going on, the contribution that were doing. You know, ive been doing a lot of events for my community, and this one this one event is something that every time it comes near, i always have to think about if i want to really spearhead it and make sure that its happening because i think its something that we just dont want to have it anymore, you know . Its the transgender day of remembrance, and for many of those who dont know, the transgender day of remembrance started in 1989 by transgender advocate Gwendolyn Smith to honor the memory of her friend, rita hester, who was killed in 1988. And this day is to remember those who we have lost. Sadly, across the country, in 2019, we have seen 22 transgender people shot or killed by violent means. 22 people of color or transgender African American women. The body of b. Love slater, 23 years old, a trans woman of color, was found on august 23. Her body was badly burned, and she had to be identified with dental records. This hasnt stopped. So i would like to invite all of you to join us this coming november 20. Its going to be a city event. We have a march from city hall to u. C. Hastings, where we held it last year, as well. Its going to be at 5 30 to 6 00 for the march and a celebration at 6 00 at u. C. Hastings. And i would like to invite folks to come to our annual trans giving event. I think its official that San Francisco was the very first city that had a Dropin Center for the transgender community, and that was trans pride, so that was trans at that time. And we do this wonderful brunch for our community on thanksgiving day itself from 11 00 to 2 00, and wed love to see folks who could like to serve or like to help out or just, you know, talk with all the clients that we have at trans tribe. Id like to also mention the trans pride board is here, who we just brought somebody new on board, our president , carol and anjalie. Were going to rock s. F. Pride and make sure we are there, so everybody, thank you so much. [applause] so before we continue, i would love to just take a moment of silence and really honor all those folks that nicky mentioned that weve lost this year. Now, id like to thank tom horn for helping us make this event happen. It would not happen without his leadership and support. Standup, tom. Okay. [applause] he doesnt like the attention. And charlotte, too. Thank you so much for your ongoing support and work. These events are done with love, and it takes resources to make them happen, so thank you so much. So speaking of resources, we have a huge champion for our community and our lgbt community. Our district 8 supervisor, and the only out lgbt member on the board. Please welcome supervisor raphael mandelman. [applause] supervisor mandelman thank you claire. And as others have said, thank you so much for the extraordinary work that you and your office do. And thank you, tom horn. The mayor was whispering to me before we started that tom horn always comes through. Thank you. [applause] supervisor mandelman i guess ill begin where senator wiener finished, in that harvey milk knew how important queer representation is, how important it was for people to come out, and for people to be elected and serve. I think i had said at other events i look forward to the day when i am speaking after a trans elected supervisor. We need to do that, and it will happen soon. We have other queer people who are serving on School Boards and other places, tom temprano and mark sanchez. Since were quoting great elected american officials from decades ago, i often think about Hubert Humphreys quote, about the three groups of american citizens. In San Francisco our actually in the United States in 2019, i think the moral test of our Queer Community and certainly here in San Francisco, the moral test of our community is how we treat our Trans Community. And until recently, i think we all know and continuing to this day, by that measure, we are failing, and we have failed. But i do want to thank this mayor, london breed, for the focus she has brought to the Trans Community and the unprecedented achievements she has made, but we need to do more. These shelters particularly around homeless and the workforce events we are doing is so important to this community. But we need to do these things not because the Trans Community is in need but because the Trans Community is our strength. Certainly as queer people, we know our Movement Began with trans folks. The reason that donald trump finds repeated reasons to attack the Trans Community is because the Trans Community is everything that donald trump is not. And ultimately, donald trump will lose, but every single trans person in this country presents a fundamental threat to what donald trump is all about. So the future is trans if were lucky and if we work for it, which i know were going to do. Have a fantastic month, everybody. [applause] wow. The future is trans, and for now, well start with a month, but so i also wanted we have one more speaker, but i want to recognize our lgbt commissioners, and our department heads. If folks could wave. I see you back there, naya, being all shy. [applause] when we talk about pathways to leadership, the supervisor spoke, theyre a great way to be on one. So come talk to me. Its my pleasure to introduce two people that have been doing incredible work in the arts, shawnna veraga and shawn dorsey have been leading the way for the trans festival and the fresh meat festival every year. And last week, shawn, whos on our trans committee, met with the mayor about the need to preserve trans art in our city. We come to San Francisco with the hope to be able to share that with the rest of the city. And with so many of us displaced, its really important that we invest in art so that we not only remember our history but that we preserve the stories and art that make our community so important. So with that, please welcome shawnna veraga and shawn dorsey. [applause] excuse me. I i cant right now. Speaking to the mayor. Okay. Byebye. Hi, everybody. My name is shawnna verago. Im the artistic director of the San Francisco transgender Film Festival, and im so honored to be here today. Im so grateful to be here today. I came out in the 1980s, and so when i go to trans events, whether its the San Francisco transgender Film Festival or fresh meat or anywhere else where a lot of trans people gather, im usually the only person from my generation of friends thats still alive because of suicide, hiv aids, poverty, murder. And so i feel very driven to continue our battles and our and our fight against our avowed enemy. You know, its interesting because im primarily an artist, and im been thrust into being an activist. And ive heard so much inspirational wisdom here today, and i would like to thank i have a long list of gratitudes, but i do want to thank senator scott wiener, supervisor mandelma