monies are not necessarily available, we had the third or fourth iteration of that jobs now program with local funds, because we believe in those goals. it was a chance to use the federal money in the right way. we have done that with the great support of not only our local human services agency and leadership there but through the human services agency that herb schulz has been a great leader in. and we get to show off with mr. sheldon's visit here. he will see this as one of the many examples of how we use the funds to stimulate our economy, but also how we have transformed the individual lives. we have people who really did not have the skill sets, wondering whether or not they would be able to use the opportunity to gain job skills that would sustain them, whether they wanted to get more education or create more education opportunities that led to a career. you will be able to visit some of those individuals that are working right here today. you cannot escape them because they have such big windows. you have to see them working. no breaks here, but they're working because they are building these skills that have been interest in. and these skills will lead them to a great many opportunities that are forthcoming. that is exactly what the administration, the federal government wished it to happen. this is what we are actually doing. this is what our small-business advocates, like stoccott halgie for many years have been saying, to increase small businesses like this, and then to activate areas that have been dead in because of lack of activity. then awaken individuals, those with challenges in their life with economics that would not have had that chance. now they have that chance. individuals working here are taking every opportunity to not squander that great gift that we are getting. and then changing their lives as they are coming forth. this is the great story of america. this is where we meet federal goals with local goals, and this is where we implement those promises to everybody that we oftentimes say in words we want to promise you something, but sometimes we cannot deliver. i think this program is delivering but it is making a difference. i am eager, not only to come here to see a good friend again and our agencies, but i am also here to eat the cupcakes. [laughter] thank you. [applause] >> thank you. i had the opportunity to meet mr. sheldon a year or so ago. he came on to the job and was speaking with staff. we were talking about employment programs and innovative models to get families back into the workforce. his staff recommended, among other cities, him to come to san francisco. myself and my staff put together this program, and we were very honored. we certainly did our best to show off our program a year ago. we are really pleased that he has chosen to come back to see the progress we have made, despite the unfortunate loss of the federal money. but within the context of our existing welfare to work program and with the commitment of local dollars. i am really happy to be at a work site and have mr. sheldon here to meet participants of the program and employers. >> thank you. mr. mayor, thank you. you know, if you look back over the last three years, the recovery and reinvestment act did a substantial amount to begin to stimulate the economy. and these subsidized employment program of that was a big piece. and when i came to san francisco and to your center and saw employee years who were the most enthusiastic about it, i remember talking to one employer there who was a manager of an architecture firm. she said, if i have a choice between spending a lot of time going over 700 resumes or i could go to is a living knows what they're doing to find qualified people, what is the decision? it pointed out how important this program as. i have to compliment san francisco. frankly, i think a lot of these cities around the country can learn a lot from san francisco. because what you did with those federal dollars expired is san francisco said we're going to keep this going, because it works. and this pastry covered that we're at today is really an example of that. they have employed, so far, three individuals who this was an opportunity to turn their life around. and you can tell if you talk to them, how excited they are about their work. and it is not just that it is important to put them back to work so that they could put a roof over their heads and educate their children and put it on the table. it is about the confidence that it builds in those individuals, that self respect. if you look back a decade ago and you ask people, what is your most important asset? they would probably have said their house. today, they would say their job. and that is the reason the president is so committed to the american jobs that, to really getting america back to work. and he has laid out, in the state of the union, and i think many of you heard that, the four pillars of doing that. rebuilding american manufacturing. rebuilding american energy. restoring american values. and really utilizing american skills. and we're still the hardest working people probably on the planet. we get knocked down, and every time, we say we're going to get back up and do something about it. and if you look at the last seven months, a lot of positive things that happen. surely we are not coming out of this recession as fast as we would like to, but for seven months we have had a positive job growth. and you have seen economic growth that is beginning to occur. and of the american public is beginning to have their confidence in the economy restored. there is a lot of pent up capital, over $1.50 trillion of pent-up capital that american business has not invested. and the key part of that is restoring your confidence. what san francisco is doing, i think is a step in that direction. and you will be seeing the president's budget coming out shortly. and i think it is a blueprint in terms of how we go from here. i just talked to another individual that i would like to highlight. benito delgado olsen, i believe, who is doing a program here to connect kids with dental care and also provide school supplies. for a lot of kids, those are important components. but what he did is he decided to buy his school supplies in this country and identified a union shop out of newark and got a good deal for about 150,000 schoolbags, i believe. but what that did for that plant in newark, it allowed them through the jobs now program to 87hire chris. it leverage is everything else we do. i am an optimist about the future of this country. hubert humphrey used to say that he was an optimist because he looked out in the field of pessimism and there was too much competition. [laughter] but i think we have a lot to be optimistic about. when we met in san francisco recently, i really wanted to come back, because what you have done here is probably more than most cities in the country, and i invite you to continue to push washington. because what you have done is you have continued to raise this issue, and i think that will kind of give us the ammunition to move the program forward. i also want to recognize the employer here, because we get a lot of credit to employees for working hard and doing their job, but it really is employers, small businesses that are going to turn this around. and you articulated it. what they have done here in bringing this shop, opening this shot up here, helping to rejuvenate a community, but also to provide some pretty damn impressive pastry in the process. i am glad to be here, and i hope to be invited back at some point. thank you. [applause] >> and i will introduce the owner of pastry cupboard. when we lost this program in 2009, we were not sure the level of interest we would see by the private sector. i think our goal initially was 1000 placements. we quickly exceeded that, because the model we had that prescreening candidates for jobs, referring the right people, making it easy to -- easy to do interviews, they kept coming back. there were getting qualified candidates. even when the full subsidy expired, they get the folks they hired on board. its speaks to the quality of the employee, but also the commitment of the employer and the good process that my staff laid out for the employers. one of them is here. joana piamat the onra of pastry -- owner of a pastry cutter. >> of being a small business owner was an incredibly overwhelming process to begin with. before we committed into opening this retail shop, we tried to anticipate the hidden costs, budgets, everything. of course, that fell short. and one of the things that really saved us was the jobs now program. i really do not believe we could have built this incredible space and staff without it. they provided us with great service, great people. i have hired three from the jobs now program. all have worked out. i want to have them work for me forever. [laughter] no, everything you see here, it was created by the jobs now program people. it is an amazing program. like i said, i do not think we could have made it as well as we have without it. i think it would have been a much bigger struggle for us as a small company. anyway, i want to continue and expand this company, and i plan to use the jobs now program over and over again. you know, i really want to encourage other small companies to use it, to utilize it end up in it that from it as i have. i want to introduce you to maticia, the first person from the jobs now program. she is an amazing baker, amazing person. smart, funny. she is really shy. she may not say a lot right now. but i want to point out that she has helped make some of these beautiful pastries and breads and sandwiches, and she is just amazing. here she is. [applause] >> hello. i went through the jobs now program, and it really helped me. i feel like f i would not have gone through the jobs now program, i will not be where i am today. as far as jobs now and the general assistance program, like, general assistance helped me pay for school and to get through school. if i did not go through general assistance, i would not be here. i would not be working with all these great people and seeing all these new faces if it was not for the jobs now program. and i really want to thank them for helping me better my life and not just be a kid at home playing on the game station, not doing anything with their life. i want to thank them for that. [applause] >> we also have a few other employers here. representing a broader spectrum of who hired the jobs enough votes. we have a champion from the small business sector, who really was a proponent and supporter early on. that is scott hougi, e, who is here with one of his employees. a fabulous success. one of the biggest employers in san francisco, ucsf, is here. a supporter and a bit hirer of jobs now folks. a local small businesses here as well. i welcome them to share their stories. anyone want to come out and say a few? scott. >> well, i was very fortunate. i hired a person with jobs now, who came into our office, and the most important asset to a business is their employees. and celia has proved that time and time again. she had a child early on and we had to throw her out of office because she wanted to come back to work the next day. but there's another side of this that played a very positive role in our business. because of the economy, we could not hire anybody, and it was creating a lot of stress with our existing employees. being able to hire celia, and getting that payment allowed us to hire somebody about 10 months earlier than we would have otherwise. it took a lot of stress away from the other employees. it was a great program. i hope it can be reinstated at some point. thank you very much. >> first off, i would like to say thank you to everyone who pushed for the program. my boss, scott, the mayor, people at the career link office. this has been at not only the start of a new career, but it has helped me and my family in a lot of ways. i am and mother of four children. i have learned a lot. i have insurance. i first heard of this program when i was working temporary at the summer legend snack program. so everyone was worried, you know, it is the last day of work, what are we going to do? and of this young lady said, well, i heard of this stimulus program, and it was september of 2009. and i said, yes, and i told everyone from then on. i said, there is a stimulus program, everyone, just go. the was so excited, and i was there every day trying to look for a job. i am very, very lucky to work for the insurance company. everyone there is just wonderful. i am thankful to be part of such a wonderful program, jobs now. he is hoping again, you know, push for it, because it is a wonderful program. thank you. [applause] >> hello. my name is charlotte. we are a book rental company. we started in 2009. started by two couples. we funded it ourselves, worked ourselves, many hours away from my young baby and everything. this program helped us move towards six people total. some have gone on to other programs, have gone to college, have started businesses themselves. it has been an absolute success. we could not be almost breaking even now. we cannot do that unless we would be up to a fast forward our program with the help of this program. it has made an incredible difference for us. we supply books to kids all over the country. we helping local schools to have a shortfall of books. we have had a lot of opportunities to help our community. it has been a great process. everyone we have had has been outstanding. teshena, who has been with us here on valentine's day, i do not know what we would have done without her. thank you. >> i just wanted to say thank you to the jobs now program. without it, i would not be where i am now. i was out of work for three years. i am a single mother of a 3- year-old boy. it was very hard. i started to lose hope for our future. this program gave me a better sense of hope for my future and my son's future. with the help of working for this company, my son did not like to read books at first, but now he loves to read books. you know, i am just really thankful for it. i would really appreciate if they can keep pushing the program. and, you know, thank you. [applause] >> all right, a couple minutes. i am with the university of california san francisco, one of the larger employers in san francisco. one of my roles is to coordinate the community outreach internship program, which is a little program we have had for about a dozen years. we reconvened the program about two years ago. we were struggling with finding funding to help pay the stipends for community residents applying to the program. we were very fortunate and tremendously thankful that the jobs now program started around that time. that first year in 2010, i think we were able to tap into about $280,000 funding was allowed as to pay for 20 interns that year. this past year, we had 19 graduates of the program. 17 of those graduates who completed in september 2011 are still working at ucsf. we have been very fortunate. i am also proud to say that through the support of the jobs now program, we have been able to leverage the funding. we have gotten quite a bit tough foundation funding, a private funding, that will allow us to rot two cycles for the program for 2012. it has been tremendous for us at the university. incredibly painful for the staff of hsa and the mayor. i will turn it over to one of our graduates from 2010. >> i just want to say thank you to everybody for the program, because it was a big chance for my -- a big change for my lai. a single mother with two kids. i lost my job. i was a carpenter for eight years, local 22 in the city. it was a live changing experience. i started the internship program, and now i am in a career position in the neurology department as a patient coordinator. it gives me the opportunity to go back to school and to pursue my career goals to be a radiologist. this is the opportunity of a lifetime. i am is standing testimony of it. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, everyone, for coming in and sharing. i have to recognize the folks in human services agency. without them, there is no way this program would have been pulled off. jim, tony, and steve -- scott, were hiding. bernadette, as well. there were able to grow a program or we had initial goals of 1000, which we thought were too high. and to exceed that by four times is amazing. thank you for your innovation, creativity, the hard work. with that, i definitely want to thank again mr. sheldon for coming out from washington, d.c., to recognize our program. and of course to mayor lee, a super supporter of this, and he will continue to be. it is not mentioned specifically in your 17-point jobs plan, but i will say that this is a key program to his goal of getting thousands of san franciscans back to work. with that, i will close. thank you for coming. [applause]

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