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MINUTES OF THE
SOUTHEAST COMMUNITY FACILITY COMMISSION
MEETING THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2008 – 6:00 PM
ALEX L. PITCHER, JR. COMMUNITY ROOM, 1800 OAKDALE AVENUE
SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94124
1.0 CALL TO ORDER
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy called the Thursday, September 11, 2008 meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. in the Alex L. Pitcher Community Room at 1800 Oakdale Avenue.
1.1 ROLL CALL
6:02 p.m. Commission Secretary – Carla Vaughn
Commissioners Present: Kennedy, Jones, Brown, Sampson, Churchwell, Chung, Yang
Staff Present: Toye Moses, Executive Director
Joseph Singh, Management Assistant
Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary
1.2 SUNSHINE ORDINANCE ANNOUNCEMENT
AND CONSENT CALENDAR
Commission President Willie B. Kennedy welcomed all present and announced the Sunshine Ordinance and the Consent Calendar.
Commissioner Churchwell moved to accept the consent calendar. Commissioner Jones seconded the motion.
2.0 PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Sam Murray of the Public Utilities Commission addressed the Commission regarding the digester project and “Big Blue” another PUC neighborhood project addressing water conservation, scheduled to take place on October 11th.
Mr. Murray said the Public Utilities Commission was willing to offer support to the Commission.
3.0 COMMUNICATIONS
Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary announced the following:
a) Press Release: Mayor Newsom invited Commissioners to participate in a forum to discuss “Politics in the YouTube Era” with Steve Chen, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, YouTube on Tuesday, September 16, 2008 at 6:30 pm at the San Francisco Main Library, Koret Auditorium.
b) Press Release: Mayor Gavin Newsom Announces the Victory Garden To Remain In Place Until November.
c) Deputy Marriage Commissioner Training.
d) The Unfinished Agenda
e) Public Hearing Notice from the Mental Health Board of San Francisco
f) Press Release: Mayor Newsom Unveils Green Bus Shelter
g) Press Release: Mayor Newsom Announces Proposed Agreement with Darling International For Sustainable Biodiesel Production Facility At The Port Of San Francisco
h) Press Release: Mayor Newsom Announces Preschool For All Now Available In Every San Francisco Zip Code
i) Press Release: Yomi Agunbiade leaving His Position As Head Of Recreation And Parks Department
j) Press Release: Mayor Newsom Presents 2nd Annual Mayor’s Art Award To Choreographer Alonzo King
k) Announcement from the SF Human Rights Commission regarding Panel Presentation & Public Testimony: Combating Employment Discrimination After 9/11.
l) Press Release: Sunday Streets organizers Unveil New Programming For This Sunday’s Event
4.0 STAFF REPORT
Joseph Singh, Management Assistant provided an update on the SECFC ADA Project and advised the Commission the project was in the painting phase and should be completed in the upcoming week. He advised the restrooms were completed with the addition of the soap dispensers and mirrors.
Director Moses provided an update on the SECFC Resource Directory (4th Ed.). A draft was provided to the Commissioners for their perusal.
Chair Kennedy thanked the SECFC staff for their efforts and Commissioner Churchwell expressed his thanks as well.
Director Moses thanked the Commissioners.
Chair Kennedy acknowledged the arrival of Dave Pearson and introduced him to
the Commission.
5.0 PRESENTATION
Dave Pearson of the San Francisco State University Headstart Program provided an update on the HeadStart facility located at 1800 Oakdale Avenue and environmental health issues. He reported no children or families attending the HeadStart Program at the SECFacility within the last five years or currently were affected by any type of hazard or hazardous materials such as lead or any lead containment to date.
Mr. Pearson advised there is a licensed nurse on staff and the children have been tested and the results were all negative. He thanked the Commission for their concern and for inviting him to present the information to the Commission.
Mr. Pearson reported that applications were being accepted and a new location on Kiska Road would be opening soon.
Commissioner Jones thanked Mr. Pearson for responding to the Commission and had a question regarding the number of children in the HeadStart Program that might be suffering from asthma.
Mr. Pearson advised no children at the SECFacility HeadStart had been diagnosed with asthma, and those that were had been diagnosed prior to coming to the facility.
Commissioner Jones had questions regarding what efforts were put forth to find out which children had asthma and if there was a program in place to deal with it.
Mr. Pearson reported within the first 45 days of a child’s enrollment in the HeadStart program there is a screening period. He advised within the screening period the child must have immunization, be seen by a doctor and any illness found must be treated, including asthma. Mr. Pearson noted the children are also screened for behavioral problems.
Commissioner Jones stated she was familiar with the screening however asthma and diabetes have been a prevalent concern, not only among African-American youngsters, but also Hispanic youngsters. Commissioner Jones advised she was deeply concerned.
Mr. Pearson noted he shared her concern having been recently diagnosed himself with diabetes and his wife also has been diagnosed. He advised the Commission that the San Francisco State Nursing Program was involved and there were a lot of nurse interns working one on one throughout the City and County of SF with the HeadStart Program. Mr. Pearson stated some of the nurses were working on their doctoral degrees so the children were getting the best help possible.
Commissioner Jones thanked Mr. Pearson.
Commissioner Churchwell had a question regarding the Mayor’s Preschool For All Program and asked if Mr. Pearson was involved with the program.
Mr. Pearson stated the HeadStart Program was actively involved.
Director Moses asked how many individuals of the HeadStart staff were from the 94124 neighborhood. He also requested a geographical breakdown of the children involved in the program.
Mr. Pearson stated the families are immediately located within the demographics of the 94124 neighborhood. However, he advised they had the option of attending any HeadStart Program available to them. Regarding the staffing question Mr. Pearson advised that people hired from the 94124 area were not necessarily working in that area, and may have been placed at other HeadStart facilities.
Chair Kennedy thanked Mr. Pearson for his presentation and said she was glad HeadStart was located at the SECFacility.
Dr. Moses referred back to the staff report and provided an update on the 09/10 budget preparation and schedule. He said the funding use to come from the office of External Affairs and was now returned to Waste Water Enterprise and he promised to keep the Commission informed.
Commissioner Churchwell asked if there was a deadline for the budget completion.
Director Moses advised the deadline was in November.
Chair Kennedy introduced Mr. Dwayne Jones, Director of Community of Opportunity.
Mr. Jones introduced a program in partnership with City College called Single Stop. He advised a lot of city resources were coming into the 94124 community, but there seemed to be a disconnect between the resources that are being allocated and the folks actually taking advantage and benefiting from those particular things. He said Single Stop is a national project and we need to make sure that the folks who need these resources the most are actually going to get connected to these resources.
Mr. Jones said this is an amazing innovative tool that increases the eligibility or the likelihood of folks that are eligible to get access to those particular services as they begin to move forward. He said basically this is about a project that actually puts resources and money in the hands of poor people and dismisses the rhetoric around social service delivery hindrance by having a single-stop office in the heart of the area where it’s services are needed. He reported the office would be located in room #300 sharing space with the expunge record program, Clean Slate. He thanked City College and introduced Temple Byers who would be overseeing the project.
Mr. Jones advised Single Stop comes with it’s own money and is not a resource coming directly from the City but from philanthropic efforts to the tune of $500,000 to jump start the project.
Temple Byers addressed the Commission and noted she was born and raised in San Francisco and grew up in the Mission District. She stated she received her Masters in Social Work in New York and helped to start a similar program in Harlem. Ms. Byers said Single Stop started in 2001 in New York and there were 59 locations all over the four boroughs. She advised there is money put aside by the government every year for low-income families that is not used, so one of the goals of Single Stop is bridging the gap between the people that need the money and the money. Ms. Byers said Single Stop would work with all the government benefits and also the Earned Income Tax Credit, which some people don’t know about. She advised there would be a calculator and after plugging in the required information a person could be advised as to what benefits they qualify for. Ms. Byers said this was beneficial because you would not just be handing them a paper and sending them over to Mission Street or to one of those offices that are really hard to navigate, or could be incredibly frustrating and discouraging. She advised she would walk everyone through the process and no one would have to do it own their own. Ms. Byers said she would make phone calls to the government offices to advocate for everyone and give people support through this process.
Commissioner Churchwell asked how big was the staff.
Ms. Byers advised she was the staff.
Commissioner Churchwell asked how the program was being advertised.
Ms. Byers responded she would go to the COO centers, Parent University council
meetings, Farmers Market on Wednesdays, also she had flyers prepared for the churches in the community.
Commissioner Chung had a question regarding the types of benefits that would be available.
Mr. Byers responded the available benefits would be food stamps, general assistance, PG&E utilities assistance, childcare and Cal Works. She said she also would be referring people to other resources within the community.
Dwayne Jones of Communities of Opportunity noted this was the first step in terms of a larger effort. He noted the Commission was responsible for an amazing community asset, the SECFacility. Mr. Jones advised it was his perspective along with the Mayor that the facility is significantly underutilized. He said one of the new concepts was Village Vans which would provide transportation to the SECFacility for residents of the public housing developments who would be shuttled over for tri-enrollment which would include Single Stop, One Stop, and City College all at the same time. He noted this would maximize use of the facility. Mr. Jones informed the Commission the Southeast sector ranked lowest in relation to communities taking advantage of similar programs. He said other areas of town have been engaged and have been getting literally millions of dollars back because it’s been easier for them to participate. He said this was the first step to ensure the participation rate of this larger community is increased using this particular facility as the hub.
Mr. Jones invited the Commissioners to share ideas so their networks could be tapped into so the information could be disseminated in terms of what is available and what is happening within the community. He added the SECFacility was one of the few places that is a “No Man’s Land” meaning, it is not anyone’s particular territory, and is one of the safest places in the community making it a comfortable space where folks can come and handle their business without fear of anything else happening.
Chair Kennedy said another county had provided a similar program for the homeless over the weekend.
Director Moses had a question regarding how Single Stop would collaborate with One Stop.
Mr. Jones said the One Stop was directly connected to this particular system. He reported the City has some level of resources invested in Single Stop and those resources are coming from the same department that funds One Stop, so the work is complimentary.
Mr. Jones noted that Temple’s work was to make sure folks have all the resources that are due to them, and the work of One Stop is to make sure they are connected to all the job services and strategy so they can increase the amount of money that actually comes to their house through workforce practices. He advised Temple’s work is a safety network for folks that are not necessarily working, and how do you survive while your not working and provide for children, childcare, food stamps, and things of that nature? He said the bridge in the connection was really connecting to the One Stop that gets you employed, and now you actually have some income coming in.
Mr. Jones advised the Commission that the last connection is to increase education and that is where the enrollment in City College comes from so folks connecting earn AA’s and then move up the career ladder. He noted the main frame of the platform for Single Stop is to eradicate poverty. Mr. Jones said the City spends more money on social service and benefits than any other city in the country, yet folks in this community are not accessing all that is being spent. He advised this was a first step to make sure that happens.
Mr. Jones acknowledged One Stop, the Commission and staff for being amazing partners.
Chair Kennedy thanked Mr. Jones and Ms. Byer for their presentation and invited Ms. Byer to return in a few months and tell the Commission how successful the program was.
6.0 OLD ON-GOING BUSINESS
Joseph Singh, Management Assistant reminded the Commissioners of the Community Outreach Ad-Hoc Committee meeting scheduled for Wednesday, September 17, at 12 PM in the conference room upstairs.
7.0 INTRODUCTING OF NEW BUSINESS BY COMMISSIONERS
Chair Kennedy asked Mr. Dwayne Jones, Director of Communities Of Opportunity to bring the three segments of his program to the Commission as he had previously done for CAC.
Mr. Jones agreed to provide the presentation in October.
9.0 ANNOUNCEMENTS
Commissioner Sampson announced Uprising Community Plus was presenting the “Community Hero Awards” on Saturday, September 20th, at 6 PM. The two honorees will be Willie Andrews and Ben Robinson. The awards ceremony will be held at Velma’s Place on Jerrold Street. The entertainment will be provided by the C-Strung Brothers, and the requested donation is $50.00
Commissioner Sampson noted Ben Robinson is responsible for championing SR Martin School and a lot of jobs in the community.
Chair Kennedy announced the Bay View Opera House is still looking for a Managing Director.
10 ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 6:33 p.m.
Respectfully submitted
Carla Vaughn, Commission Secretary
