To or mid of this cycle . Thank you, to be able to let us to understand at least where were heading and how things really, truly have changed from what were seeing today and from your presentation and what now, prop one is requiring and i think that definitely for most, at least for me, its, most of my interest will be understanding you know, giving the fact that really, right now the existing Funding Source for, for this program is volatile, as you indicated, prop one will then be able to really provide a stable, at least i think i assume its a Stable Funding for us, but we wont know until you adjust the plan and apply for it and make sure that we really meet the mandate. Help me understand what do we do between now until 2026 . Yes. Thank you. Thats a great question, so for now, while we are waiting on state guidance, we are putting together, were hoping to also be working with you all on some of the implementations, especially with the bond were looking for more guidance from the state, though, on actually the statute for housing. So what the plan will be is to continue to partner with you all, maybe doing some briefings, not coming to you all when the plan is due, but ahead of time in order to get your feedback and also to bring you in on whats happening for the Actual Program. Part of the Behavioral Health services act, and, you know, there is going to be a lot of changes, changes that the state kind of prepared us for in the prior years, especially including substance use. Thats going to be a not a big change for us, but thats going to be an expansion of our full service partnership. So our plan would be to come to you and be able to do briefings before the next plan is due in 2026. So again, that we can keep you updated on what our plan is. Were developing a preliminary plan with Behavioral Health system. And then also to the biggest concern is trying to manage the timeline with the state. So for the program we have until 2026. But for the bond we have until this summer. And so i think its going to be a collaborative effort working with you all and some of our colleagues within dph to end the Mayors Office of housing on really looking at that bond, while also to planning for the next 24 months with the Actual Program at Behavioral Health. So the plan would be to continue to work with you all. Thank you. And i think that one one concern that i have with this, i shouldnt say concern. I want to learn more and i want to understand better. And i want to thank vice chair mandelman for like, really a one stat that he mentioned at one meeting. We have too many of them. But like in discussion, like the stat statistic that really stuck with me is that, you know, for all the population that the state can serve, San Francisco alone really housed 14 of that population. And i think that thats if we think about it, thats fairly significant. In San Francisco, seven by seven alone, i am in support of and i was to, you know, in support of and thanks to vice chair mandelman bringing us to have a more better understanding of sb 43 by aikman. And then now came the prop one, which is really a funding mechanism to really meet that programing needs. And so all that is to say specifically, how does San Francisco, how will San Francisco compare to the rest of the state specifically in this components of housing or conservatorship . And in combination of all of that and plus the care act or the care corp and so i just kind of want to make sure that when we do, when you do come back about the expenditure plan, that is a piece that i really want to understand because conservatorship is interesting in a sense where how long and what does that mean and what are the living conditions. And i think that, again, reflect back to vice chair mandelman about the concern about the actual condition of living overall and is that really going to be able to significantly improve, Mental Health for the individuals that end up in those, conditions and, and status . So thank you. Its not easy work. I am very grateful for your for your work. I dont see any other name on the roster. And so with that, were going to Public Comments on this item. Thank you. Yes, we now invite members of the public who joined us who wish to speak on this. Item number five, please approach the lectern and i will start your time as soon as you start speaking. Hi, my name is tracy helton. I just wanted to speak on my previous experience of homeless and being homeless, Substance Abuse and Mental Health issues, and how i rehabilitated myself and now i am in the unique position of being a person who runs a program through the mental Health Services act that works with other people, and those are peer programs. And so today, weve brought a coalition, many of whom are your constituents and also people who have benefited from mental Health Services act programs, who have prepared comments to talk about either their experience of being a client or being a Service Provider whove done things like respond to crisis, respond to overdoses, worked with people in different various facilities within San Francisco to talk about the specific impact of the mental Health Services act. So thank you, mr. Tracy helton. Next speaker, please. Hi. My name is mark. Im with, rams higher ability, which the funding of which under the current plan would be cut. So rams higher ability differs from other programs provided by rams including i ability which was mentioned earlier in that higher ability provides job skills training but does not require competitive admission. And i think this is a huge component of why it was successful for me. I have struggled with selfconfidence for a long time, and programs like this, the ability to provide supportive job skills training is just extremely important for anyone struggling with a mental illness. I think, especially if its depression. And so i, i just think that my path forward without higher ability would have been a lot more difficult and uncertain and so certainly i cant speak to the broader implications of the plan. But what i can say for certain is that program rams that provide mental Health Services without also providing job skills training. The city needs more of them, not less. And this is one such program, and i think that cutting the funding under the current plan would be a grave mistake. Thank you. Thank you much, mark, for addressing this committee. Next speaker, please. Hi. Good morning. My name is maria jimenez. Im a postdoctoral fellow at ucsf, and im here representing 40 doctor martinez wasnt able to be here this morning. He sends his regards and wishes he could be here. Immigrant children are one of the Fastest Growing populations within Public Schools. Joining a new community, learning a new language and navigating the immigration system all compound stress and newcomer youth Prevention Programs that focus on shared experiences, regulating skills, regulation skills and setting goals for the future. Promote childrens wellbeing after migration. Im here today to highlight how mhsa funding has made possible the delivery of the program to latina youth across middle schools and high schools in San Francisco. Ill start by briefly summarizing what the program is about and what it endeavors is. Then i will ask you to consider the critical need for allocating dollars towards prevention and Early Intervention programing. Fuerte is a Mental HealthPrevention Program for newcomers students for it brings together Mental Health providers and school staff to colead a time limited Group Intervention for this primary aims are to link at risk newcomers, students with care to increase youths knowledge of Mental Health and to promote students sense of connectedness. Since receiving mhsa funding through an innovation grant in 2019, fuerte has reached hundreds of newcomers, students, all students who participate in fuerte are screened for Mental Health difficulties so that Program Staff can link students with providers across Wellness Centers and Community Based organizations. Over 20 of students we served screened high for high risk of Mental Health concerns, and all were connected with Behavioral Health services. Mhsa funding has supported Ongoing Program evaluation to help us keep improving. 40. As part of this evaluation, students are invited to participate in focus groups so that we may hear their feedback to refine the program. Speakers time has expired. Sure, i urge you to consider the critical need of the first. Yeah, sorry to cut anybody off, but we are timing each speaker at two minutes. But thank you much. Maria jimenez, next speaker. Good morning everyone. My name is nancy and i am working with mission Mental Health, mission Mental Health. Im working with drums, and im here to advocate and be grateful for the funding and in fact, trying to understand with the presentation of the where the money goes and in like the limitations that we have. And also being here to let you know how delivered we are, we are delivering the services, myself, i am living in San Francisco for 34 years. Ive been working with, nonprofits in different settings and of course, being the recipient of the secondary trauma of living in San Francisco and being, in a limited budget for my family and people. And i am grateful that i came to join rams, which is an Organization Funded with mhsa also. And. I am so grateful and happy to be a witness of how we deliver services and the need that is there on the streets. When i walk on the streets on tenderloin and i see the lack of, opportunities and the need from people to be be seen, i, i am here to advocate and to present what is the need there and how we are using and how we need to have an allocated funding to continue working with the population that is in need and also, homelessness, drug abuse and everything is related to, lack of opportunities and funding and we have to and in regards when people are talking about thank you. Thank you much, nancy, for addressing this committee. Next speaker. Good morning. My name is aaron rubin. This is toki. Im a client of rams higher ability. Im here to advocate for myself and my peers, ive been a client since october 23, and, rams high ability has helped me not just stay home and collect a paycheck from ssi, ssdi. They helped me, go into work every day doing a task or working with my peers, making me feel better about myself. Doing all the things that i can do to be a productive member of society and, cutting funding for something Mental Health like this would be devastating to me and my peers. Thank you for your time. Thank you much, aaron. Next speaker, please. Good afternoon, everyone. My name is courtney ewing. Pronouns. She her, i am a peer counselor, for rams on the wellness and the streets team. And im just up here today to thank df for everything that it does for San Francisco. And i also wanted to, just tell a little bit about my story. I was unhoused for two years in San Francisco, and with the help of, peer counselors from the wits organization and also, the lovely people from the street medicine team, i was able to, accomplish some great, some great goals. And i am now a peer counselor, able to go out into the streets and help those in need, i just would like to say that Mental Health and housing are absolutely interconnected, and one cannot be healthy mentally if one does not have appropriate housing. And for me, i basically consider myself to be a co advocate, just giving people who feel like theyve been forgotten or like they have no hope, the, the opportunities and access to resources that they might need to, to dust themselves off, and get, get back on their feet. And so these funds are absolutely crucial to the wellbeing and health of, of the communities and people of San Francisco. Thank you very much. And thank you for addressing this committee. Next speaker, please. Hi, im ann marie barlow. I was a former client of rams vocational rehabilitation services. I know this Great Program that helped me obtain Transferable Skills in my new job with Abode Services. I was in nine month internship beginning in may of 2022 and ended in february of 2023. And it is a lot of the reason why i wanted to become a peer counselor, i currently work as a peer advocate, first on bart, on for Abode Services, also for nine months, that Pilot Program dissolved and im still with Abode Services as a wellness specialist slash peer advocate at city gardens. And, i had written a speech, but what i really wanted to say is its had a profound impact on my life. The skills that i obtained help me document and do a lot of my current skills. And my position today. And i dont know what i do without rams and the mental Health Services act. Thank you. Thank you much. Ann marie beller , next speaker, please. Hi. My name is kim nolan, and i am what you call a Success Story for rams. I now work in the private sector working with rams higher ability, helping people bridge that gap between being, you know, help them get work muscle basically. And rams took this depressed wretch and gave me. The ability to prove myself. And now i am giving back by working with the Company Called piper, which i get to. I get the best job in the world. I get to help little children. Provide children with, tools to learn coding and computers. And i also get to work with people that were in the same situation. I was in to get their selfconfidence up to work. So now i am because of rams, the Operations Manager for piper learning. And without rams higher ability, i probably still be out on the streets. Thank you. Thank you much, kim nolan, next speaker, please. My name is frank johnson. I work for rams. I came to rams in 21. Ive been a drug addict probably all my life. Im 69 years old. When i first went to my first day, i told him i was thinking about killing myself. We went out for a break and the police came. I said, they coming for somebody. They came for me. I went back home because i told them, you know, about my that i was thinking about killing myself. I said then i was never going back and i meant that. But they kept calling me. I couldnt understand why these people calling me. But then i realized, because i said that i was going to kill myself. Thats why they call it. So i went back, i worked there, now ive been there. I worked there, ive been working there for about two years. Its been great. But recently about eight months ago, they told me i had cancer and they throw. And that was very devastating. But they work with me there. I just want to say, you know, the most important thing to me was to do the treatment was that i could still go to work and get my dog. I went to work, i got my dog and im im cured now, so everythings fine. Thank you very much. Thank you. Frank johnson. Next speaker, please. Good morning, my name is angela tang. Im the ceo of rams. Youve heard from some of us around the profound impact that mental Health Services act dollars have really made in terms of innovating and strengthening the mental Health Services within San Francisco. I feel lucky that ive been with rams since the early days of advocating for prop 63. Ive seen the positive impact that its had in terms of innovating and advancing and really strengthening our our services, at at rams, it has allowed and enabled us to have peer to peer support services, Vocational Services, culturally responsive prevention and Early Intervention and serving the birthing community, so i wanted to just really underscore the impact that it has, that and how it continues to have profound impact on so many of us in the community. Thank you. And thank you much. Angela tang, next speaker. Hello. My name is danielle marshall. Im the Deputy Director for justice, equity, diversity and inclusion office. And before that, i had the distinct opportunity to work for Street Crisis Response Team in San Francisco under dph. And so a lot of what has been said, i have firsthand knowledge of how impactful mhsa has been to the citize