to do are intro but we wanted to give the mic over to the president of the board of supervisors supervisor mandel man to start us off because he has places to be. thank you. thank you for accommodating me . i am rafael mandel and i am the supervisor for district eight. i know we have some district leaders here with us today and i'm also president of the san francisco board of supervisors. i want to begin by thanking my

colleagues steve and cheryl from district two who has inherited the mantle of our amazing gun safety anti-violence champion catherine stephanie who for many years was the our undisputed leader here in city hall around around those issues had done her i think she was a co-founder of moms demand action in the bay area and has did great work on the san francisco board of supervisors and is now continuing to do that great work in the california assembly. and you know, i think we all know the news out of the federal government is bad on all sorts of things but on gun safety, you know, it is it is bad and so it becomes all the more important that we do the work at the local level and our state houses and on our in our

city halls to try as best we can to stop the horrible devastation that guns are wrecking across this country. it impacts every community. i look around at this gathering of folks and it's people who i know and love from so many different worlds, so many different places, different parts of san francisco i you know as the district eight supervisor as an as a gay man who is in elected office and keenly aware that the lgbtq civil rights movement in san francisco in many ways nationally began you know with harvey milk who one year into his service in this in this building was was killed with a guy by a man with a gun and we have seen in the community mass shootings that have impacted, you know, so many folks every community is impacted by this issue

and every community needs to stand up, make noise and push at every level of government for us to finally get a handle on on this problem. again, thanks to steve and sheryl for picking up the the the baton thanks to my other colleagues who are here sherman walton from district ten and matt dorsey from district six. and if i'm missing i don't think i'm missing any other supervisors here. >> and of course thanks to the moms who are so effective in this advocacy to brady united pierce's pledge united players and the marin medical society for all all that you are doing on the san francisco marin medical society for all that you're doing on this and with that i think i'm bringing back sam. >> thank you. >> thank you so much. supervisor mandolin and good

morning to everyone here i am samson abreu. i am the co-lead of san francisco's moms demand action group. i wanted to extend our deepest thanks to mayor lurie especially supervisor cheryl and your team and all of the city officials and leaders who have gathered here today to honor the 11th national gun violence awareness day. moms demand action was founded in 2013 following the mass shooting at sandy hook elementary where 20 children and six educators were shot and killed. what initially started as an outraged online conversation about gun violence in america has grown into a focused and organized movement of more than 10 million moms dads, students, families and concerned citizens and survivors working together with gun violence prevention partners to demand action to

demand a different reality for our communities and especially to demand freedom from gun violence. i got involved with moms demand action in 2018 after watching students and survivors of the parkland high school shooting cry on national television begging the adults of our country to do more, to do better and to make a change. years before the parkland shooting as a high school senior myself i lost one of my best friends to gun suicide just a few weeks before we were meant to graduate from high school. unfortunately in america gun violence is hard to escape every day in the us an average of 125 people are shot and killed. and guns are now officially the leading cause of death for american children and teens. >> the traumatic effects and impact of this extends far beyond these shameful numbers and statistics shaping the lives of millions of americans who witnessed gun violence, who know and mourn someone or who

have lost someone to a bullet. and to all of us who live in fear of the next shooting. so today and this entire week we wear orange. we wear orange to honor the many lives cut short by senseless gun violence as well as the survivors whose lives will never be the same because of it. >> wear orange was founded by the family and friends of hadiya pendleton, a high school student from the south side of chicago who was shot and killed on a playground. >> that was january 2013, just one week after she marched in president obama's second inaugural parade. hadiya was only 15 years old. >> hadiya is childhood friends decided to commemorate her life by wearing orange the color hunters wear in the woods for visibility to protect themselves and to protect others. wear orange originated on june second, 2015 would have been hadiya's 18th birthday. now it is observed nationally

on the first friday in june and through the following weekend. >> the color orange has a long history in the gun safety movement whether worn by hunters in the woods of pennsylvania. activists right here in san francisco, in new york city or hadiya's loved ones in chicago . orange honors the numerous lives impacted and changed by gun violence and it demands action. there are so many reasons why i feel lucky to live in san francisco and one of those reasons right at the top is that we have the most dedicated ,fearless and inspiring gun violence prevention activists and advocates right here who are literally changing the game and setting an example for the entire country. i am honored to be in the fight together with them and to share this podium with them here today. and you're going to hear from them and we're going to start with the intrepid ruth bronstein of brady united.

>> hi everyone. i am ruth bornstein and i'm one of the co-leads of the brady united against gun violence san francisco chapter and also the california legislation and policy chair. let's face it gun violence is an increase depressing topic. there are scores of deaths and injuries happening all the time mass shootings, school shootings, suicides. we cannot bring back those we have lost but we can honor them by working to prevent further gun violence. california now has the strongest gun laws in the united states, but we used to have the worst in the 1980s and the early 90s. >> california's firearm mortality rate was the highest in the country. but as california began enacting and enforcing common sense gun laws, its firearm mortality rate declined from a peak in 1993 through 2021.

the california rate went down by an amazing 49% in the rest of the state's total, the firearm mortality rate went up by 6% from 2013 to 2022. if the rate in the rest of the country had matched what we did in california, nearly 140,000 lives would have been saved. so how do we continue to reduce gun deaths in california? at brady we continue to look for sensible laws that can respond to developments in the gun industry both in san francisco and statewide. an excellent example of this has to do with ghost guns. as i as most of you probably know, ghost guns were a way for people who can't legally buy a gun because they're felons or had other things in their

record. they could get ghost guns because they were not serialized and they were untraceable because they didn't have a serial number so they were becoming the crime gun of choice. you could buy a kit quickly, put it together and you have this lethal lethal weapon. as the rise of ghost guns happened, we went at brady to the board of supervisors and specifically we started with then supervisor kathryn stephanie with an ordinance that would ban ghost guns in san francisco that that ordinance quickly passed unanimously and other other cities in the country and in california followed suit and a similar ban on ghost guns was ultimately passed in the state legislature. but technology changes and the world of gun violence is constantly changing. so now we're responding to a new twist with ghost guns. people are able to print guns

firearms on a 3d printer using plastic and they can make a complete gun and completely untraceable. but there's one problem they have in making these guns a plastic barrel has trouble withstanding the firing of the weapon. and so generally if they if they're able to shoot in outside gunfire, you need to have firearms in no time stop and you as a jewish person i will continue now. >> okay. the new twist in in 3d printers guns is that so they have these barrels that are plastic and they can't really withstand the shot. so you might get 1 or 2 shots off and it might even explode in your hand. so people are using the steel

barrels that are used in normal guns and they're buying they're doing all the 3d printing except for the barrel and they buy a barrel online or through a gun store. so we have a bill right now that just passed on the senate floor in california that will require background checks to buy a gun barrel. so that's our way of responding . >> and i urge all of you to join brady and other gun violence activists like moms demand to continue our efforts to downgrade the amount of gun violence we have in our state in our city. and i keep our r a rating for the gun laws we have in california. >> thank you. >> thank you so much, ruth. now we're going to hear from the amazing leslie hugh pierce. >> this pledge.

>> good morning, everybody. this is my son pierce. he was a san franciscan. he was born at cpac hospital on california street. he went to stuart hall for boys on broadway street. >> oops. he ate salt and straw ice cream on film street. he had spaghetti at little joe's in north beach. he fed ducks at in big park park. everything a little boy does in san francisco. >> he's done. >> on january 13th, 2021 my son pierce was shot and killed by his father during a custody case. >> he was shot in his heart while he was sleeping and his father to the gun on himself. >> pierce was only nine years old when this happened.

>> gun violence is the leading cause of death of children and i'm going to repeat that it is the leading cause of death of children in america. what happened to pierce? happens every six days in america. child is killed in philly aside every six days in america. on wednesday we lost three little girls to the same thing during custody. >> pierce's life that we lost on that unfathomable day. what was his life but also what we lost was the innocence of his classmates, of their siblings, of their families, of all those who love and know pierce. that bullet that went through his heart went through all of our hearts all at that same moment. >> my life and my family's life has been completely shattered.

>> i wake up into a nightmare every day. >> today was a struggle to get here and to wake up and people ask me all the time they say to me all the time i can't even imagine. and my answer to them is don't imagine because it's much worse . we end an event right here on the lawn last month an assembly member haynie said, you know, thank you for not believing that there is nothing we can't do. this sentiment is why i decided to speak today and why i started this organization called pierce's pledge. pierce's pledge as attorneys to talk about guns during their case and if they have them to store them outside of the home during a custody battle. today we have 120 family law attorneys that have signed the pledge that protects 6000 families annually. we've also developed the

nation's only gun storage maps we've identified 1800 gun stores that will store a gun for you if you're in need. so today i feel like i'm here to be a messenger to you to tell you this that if you believe that this can happen to you, i'm living proof that it can. but there is something that each and every one of us can do here to prevent it in our communities. 80% of the guns in teen suicide come from the home. three quarters of the guns from school shootings come from the home. therefore it takes each one of us to know about guns in the home and what to do with them because at some time in your life there might be a friend or a sister or a daughter that is in a critical moment in their life and there might be a gun and you could be that one that

helped save their life or their children's life by telling them that they can take it out or to identify that and take that deadly weapon out of that home . >> lastly to everybody standing here today, i want to thank you for taking a stand and thank you for not giving up. you are not only protecting the kids but you're protecting your entire community. >> so thank you. >> thank you so much, leslie. next we will hear from mr. everett butler from united players. >> all right. good morning all. >> we stand here today in unison for we are against senseless gun violence. may all those that have lost

one to this senseless gun violence may your loved ones rest in peace. to the ghetto angels. to all those i see out there ghetto angels your rest in heaven for those are the ones that are shining down on us today. >> come on now. we here for reason. we got this orange dome because we push it for a cause and that's to end senseless gun violence. for the pierces the chases the day days. may they rest in peace. but we are going to continue to fight for them. united we stand divided we are stuck. so that's why we're here today and we showed up. we pushed for the right cause and not the wrong cause. together we stand divided we shall be stuck. and if we continue to put our boots on the ground we need the rest of your to show up and show the people that we're here for each other and not for just the other. we are here for each other and not just the other. i need you to hear me. together we stand. i'm going to say it again divided we are stuck. join us in this fight because it's us that we have to do it

right. it's those up there that's going to give us this trip. we look to them for spirit. my mother's up there. i draw my strength from my queen. together we going to push. we're going to make it right. it ain't easy but something had to happen to make this happen. and that's why we're here today. thank you. welcome. >> thank you so much, everett. and next we're going to hear from taylor loney, a member of the san francisco youth commission. good morning, everyone. my name is taylor and i am here and i am a member of the san francisco youth commission. i stand before you today as a young person of this community who loves my city but i am angry angry that school a place that kids love to go is somewhere where they have to fear for their lives.

today is where orange day a day that came to be after hadiya pendleton was shot and killed on a playground in 2013 a place where she also loved to go. >> unfortunately on a day that we cherish hadiya's memory, the fact remains that not enough has been done to reduce weapons access in san francisco over the past five years, shootings in san francisco have increased by 74% with 158 people killed by firearms recently. >> many schools both public and independent in the san francisco area have experienced many threats and real occurrences of youth gun violence. between march of 2022 and april of 2023 of 100 student conflicts on and off the san francisco of san francisco school campuses 31 involved guns. >> on august 25th 2024, within a week of the first day back to school, a student from galileo was shot in the middle of the day at gary daily square. the school was placed on lockdown causing fear among all

students and staff. on october 10th, a 17 year old san francisco resident was arrested for this incident. the officers on the scene found the suspect in possession of a loaded gun. >> i am a junior at san francisco university high school and back in november my school went on lockdown due to an intruder threat. for 45 minutes my classmates and i sat terrified under our desks wondering if today was a day that we would appear on the evening news under the heading of another mass school shooting. >> thankfully the threat was neutralized and we all went back to our classes but the feeling that we all felt was the same that the place that used to be safe and secure was now neither. >> as youth commissioners we are committed to addressing this issue. working with my fellow commissioners we are dedicated to reducing youth gun violence and weapons access in san francisco. >> this includes advocating on behalf of san francisco youth to make sure the city continues to fund programs that are effectively addressing this issue like the gun buyback program hosted by united players which helps move weapons off the streets. this program as well as other important programs like the

bayview hunters point foundation and the samoan community development center are critical partners in the fight against youth gun violence and we need to make sure that they are not only funded but also expanded and need to be funded but also expanded. we also need to continue investing in mental health in schools. >> i understand though we are living in tough fiscal times and that difficult decisions must be made but it is crucial that we do not balance budgets at the expense of student safety. right now is not the time to be cutting social workers and counselors. we must prioritize supporting our youth. investing and pushing schools to strengthen access to existing resources such as mindfulness, restorative practices, conflict resolution, peer resource programs and therapy. when we undercut mental mental health support we risk long term harm to young people's well-being, academic success and future stability. investing in these programs and resources is not a luxury. it is a necessity for creating safe and caring learning

environments where all students can thrive. we owe it to hadiya. we owe it to the galileo student. we owe it to pierce. we owe it to every young person who has had to sit under a desk wondering if they'll make it home that day. and we owe it to ourselves to fight for a future where schools are places of growth not fear. so i ask you stand with us. invest in us. protect us. help us build a san francisco where every young person feels safe, valued and free to learn and thrive without fear. >> thank you. >> thank you to taya and thank you for bringing the voice of young people to this fight. you guys are right at the forefront and it is our jobs as adults who can do something to make it better for them. next, i would love to welcome to the podium sarita satpathy president elect of the san francisco marin medical society

. we hello everyone. i'm dr. sarita satpathy, president elect of the san francisco marin medical society. i'm honored and inspired to be here representing the 3500 physicians and medical students who care for our communities. for many decades the medical society has been a leader in local as well as statewide initiatives and legislation to reduce gun violence. gun violence is a public health issue, not just criminal justice. many of our physicians are on the front lines of treating its consequences and witnessing its impact on individuals, families and communities including caring for people with gunshot wounds, psychological trauma from gun violence and long term complicated events from gun injuries such as disability, chronic pain, traumatic brain injuries. physicians often counsel their patients on risk factors for gun violence including say firearm storage, mental health concerns that increase the risk of harm to oneself or others

and domestic violence situations where firearms are present. psychiatrists, pediatricians, family physicians and internists regularly see the mental health impact and effects of gun violence such as ptsd, anxiety, depression in survivors and witnesses as well as increased suicide risk associated with firearm access especially among youth and the elderly. firearm violence and suicide disproportionately impact socially and economically disadvantaged groups and growing evidence suggests that farm violence is both a cause and consequence of inequity and inequality. as san francisco's physicians we are committed to using our platform to voice the needs of our patients and to advocate for policy and practice change that targets structural inequities. we are proud to partner with everyone here today to facilitate local reforms and promote more equitable health care systems that improve the conditions of daily life that place some communities at higher risk for firearm violence.

we must continue to address this crisis with augmented research on gun violence, passing common sense gun safety legislation and supporting community based violence prevention programs. we are so grateful for the efforts of everyone here today for addressing this crisis head on. thank you. >> thank you so much, dr. satpathy. now i would love to welcome to the podium sheriff paul miyamoto who good morning. as a sheriff i see first hand the toll that gun violence takes not only to victims and their families but also the first responders, the health professionals who help try to save lives and the communities left to pick up the pieces. behind every statistic is a person a child, a parent, a

friend. and that's why we're here today . public safety isn't just a law enforcement responsibility. it's the community's responsibility. gun violence prevention starts with open conversations in homes and schools and neighborhoods. it includes the mental health support secure gun storage and making sure young people have paths away from violence in their communities. some of the statistics are depressing. some of the statistics bring us down. but i also want to bring up that the good work being done in this community in san francisco is bringing us up as a community. our crime our homicides are down and a lot of those homicides are caused by gun violence. our gun violence restraining orders help prevent more guns from being out there and keep them through the courts from being in our communities. the courage of the survivors and the commitment of the communities and the power of our partnerships are exactly what we need to continue the

fight to continue to keep people safe from gun violence. i'm just very happy and proud to be here today with all of you and i hope that we continue these collaborations. we continue the support for them from our communities and for our communities to make sure that we're all safer here in our community. thank you. >> thank you so much, sheriff miyamoto. we would now love to welcome to the podium mayor lurie. >> thank you all. as a father of two kids i think every day about their safety as a parent it's impossible not to. every child deserves to feel safe. every parent deserves that peace of mind right across this

country. we continue to witness devastating senseless acts of violence every day. more than 100 lives are cut short and hundreds more are wounded by gun violence. this isn't something that's happening somewhere else. gun violence affects us all. it tears at the fabric of our communities leaving behind pain, trauma and loss. as mayor of san francisco. my number one responsibility is public safety for every resident in every neighborhood. for the san franciscans are strong. we are resilient and we are united in our commitment to protect one another. that's why we're here today to honor the lives lost, to support survivors and to stand with the families for ever impacted by gun violence. we've made progress. but let me be clear.

numbers don't tell the whole story. what matters is how people feel. what matters is whether families feel safe walking to school or taking the bus. whether our kids can play in the parks without fear. that's why i will continue to fight to end gun violence. i will continue to work alongside everyone up here and out there to make sanford sissoko safer for everyone to the organizations, to the leaders and the advocates standing with us today. your voices and your efforts. they matter to all the supervisors here today. thank you. thank you for your partnership and thank you for your shared commitment to public service, to public safety, to our law enforcement officers. >> sheriff chief, thank you for your continued dedication to protecting our neighborhoods and to moms demand action.

thank you. your tireless advocacy, your presence in rooms like these in this hall of power has moved the conversation forward. you are making a difference today. june 6th, 2025 i am proud to declare it national gun violence awareness day in san francisco. i see you. i hear you and i stand with you . together together we will build a city where every child, every family and every resident feels safe every single day. >> thank you. to raise awareness about rising ,let's take a picture together . i'll take a picture together as

therapy. yeah. great. give you your notes. >> thank you, mayor lurie. join me. >> that was wonderful. we are eager for your leadership here in san francisco on this topic and to help us fight this and especially our young people and students are looking forward to your leadership on this topic. next, i would love to welcome supervisor cheryl to the podium . >> friends, thank you all for being here today. but more importantly, thank you for refusing to accept that gun violence is inevitable.

to the advocates, survivors and families here, your courage is what drives this movement. >> i want to thank my predecessor assembly member catherine stephanie, whose leadership helped make this issue central to our city's agenda. it is a privilege to carry that legacy forward and as a father i do not take this work lightly. every parent wants to believe that their children will grow up safe and free and i do not think that that is a radical hope. but we know that in this country today it is. we know that gun violence is the leading cause of death for kids and teens in america. >> but the work of organizations like moms demand action. brady united players pierces pledge and the youth commission is proof is a living legacy to the children and the families we have lost. many of these efforts were founded my brothers by loved ones who turned to unimaginable pain and to powerful action.

they have fought to ensure that no other family has to experience what they did in our city and our country. they are stronger because of our work and because of your work. >> we owe it to them and we owe it to every family still grieving to respond to calls for action with urgency and with clarity. that means stronger laws. yes, but it also means offering real options to people in crisis. just this week california took another important step with the passage of wildlands law. and christi, we're all thinking about you today. authored by assemblymember kathryn stephany this bill will help close dangerous gaps and give us another tool to protect our kids because there are so many moments a custody dispute, a mental health spiral, an abusive relationship when someone knows they should not have a gun at home but has nowhere to turn. we need to make it easier for people to choose safety. >> that is why safe gun storage must be a core part of our

public safety agenda right here in san francisco. >> and it is why i am proud to stand with a leader like leslie who i like pearce's pledge who are sounding the alarm on how to access firearms during custody disputes and how that access can end in preventable tragedy. our law enforcement agencies must be ready and able partners to advocates to families and anyone trying to remove weapons from a moment of crisis. >> since day one and i will reasserted here today safe storage is a top priority of mine and it needs to be of this city as well. i have been in constant conversation with s.f. pd about this and they have been extremely receptive and for that i am very grateful. but i will not stop until this city has real trusted, accessible options for safe storage. no one should have to choose between fear and inaction. the people behind me today are at the front line of this fight the ones who turn grief into power and lived experience into policy. we are listening and we are

acting and we are never backing down. >> san francisco stands with all of you. thank you. >> thank you so much. supervisor cheryl next we would love to welcome supervisor sharman walton to the podium. >> good morning. >> good morning. we need more love and less guns in our communities. >> for far too long our communities have been plagued with gun violence. whether we're talking about mass shootings in our schools, mass shootings in our public spaces or gun violence out on the street we see too many

people dying at the hands of firearms. >> and we see a lot of talk when it comes to addressing gun violence. that's why i want to thank moms demand action. i want to thank united players. i want to thank the youth commission. i want to thank everyone that is represented here for not just standing here denouncing gun violence but also for pushing for policies that will lead to less guns on our street like our sheriff said, it takes more than law enforcement response. it takes more than just these organizations that stand up here with me. it takes everyone to participate in the education of what gun violence does. it takes everyone to support programs in our communities like gun buybacks. it takes everyone to come together and say we had enough

because at the end of the day the less guns we have on our streets, the more safe people are and the less violence we will see. thank you all for being here this morning and thank you so much for acknowledging and honoring this day in san francisco. thank you so much, supervisor walton. lots of cheers even on the street for you. we'd love to now welcome supervisor mahmud to the podium . >> i'd like to thank moms demand action united players brady united pierce's pledge san francisco youth commission s.f. marin medical society and my colleagues on the board of supervisors especially supervisors cheryl and mayor daniel lurie for calling attention to national gun

violence awareness day to honor and remember all victims and survivors of gun violence. i'm supervisor bala mahmud representing district five, an area that unfortunately knows gun violence all too well. i think of aubrey aubrey, abner acosta jr a 17 year old boy who fell victim to gun violence on grove street eight years ago. there's no greater pain for a parent than to bury their child against life's natural order. his mother paulette brown took this pain and his memory to channel the tragedy into good. last year they finally opened a street renaming in his honor to remember his legacy for all to remember. similarly i remember. ms.. maddie scott, who lost her son several decades ago.

but just earlier this year mayor lurie and i broke ground at buchanan mall where her son was shot down. and now both ms.. paulette and ms.. mattie scott have changed the fundamental architecture of our city to remember their children but also to remind the entire city that we will not forget those lost to gun violence and that there is a better path forward to ensuring that we have a day where no child is gunned down in the streets of san francisco. >> seeing this crowd today i'm hopeful in the future that we can create together. so i ask that we use this opportunity to recognize that there is still work to be done and to honor the memory of those we've lost and to turn our pain into action. as these brave mothers have done as well. >> thank you.

thank you so much. >> supervisor mahmud. now we would love to welcome to the podium supervisor dorsey so much. >> thanks so much. i'm supervisor matt dorsey and i work in the building behind us and in the board chambers as i sit at the desk of harvey milk a leader in our city and in the lgbtq plus community who was a victim of senseless gun violence. the change the history of our city and the change the history very likely of the lgbt q plus movement. but i also worked in this building for many years in the san francisco city attorney's office and i saw what happened during 2008 and 2010 when the u.s. supreme court identified for the first time in two centuries an individual right in the second amendment that had never been there. and it devastated the cause of

gun safety legislatively. it put us in a difficult position as lawmakers to make the real progress that we need. and it's not an accident that gun violence and mass shootings in the last 18 years have gotten worse because of what that supreme court did. so we may not have the strength of the legal foundation that we once had. but let me tell you what we do have. we have united players that in the last decade has taken more thousands of guns off the street. we have moms demand action. we have brady united. we have team enough. we have the san francisco youth commission that is speaking the truth to power about what young people are facing and have to fear about gun violence. we have the san francisco medical marin medical society that is also the conscience of gun violence on this issue. we have pierce's pledge and we

have leslie. we have sam and ruth and tia from youth commission. we have sheriff paul miyamoto whose leadership has been heroic. the san francisco sheriff's department, the san francisco police department. we have the leadership of mayor daniel lurie, steve and cheryl who has done a heroic job of stepping in and filling the large shoes that his predecessor catherine stephanie left. we have rafael mailman and shimon walton and bilal mahmood and you have me and most of all we have you. all of us have a role to do to play in fighting gun violence and it is an honor to be a part of this. i will always stand with you. thanks so much. thank you so much, supervisor dorsey and thank you to everyone. >> that's our close hang on. what a wonderful rally and proclamation. and i just want to extend our thanks to every single

organization, every supervisor, every young person, all of you and our our wonderful police force that is going to help us keep this city safe for our kids. wear orange last through sunday and we invite you all to wear orange out in the world and on social media with the hashtag wear orange of course. we especially hope that you'll join us tomorrow for our annual march across the golden gate bridge. we'll meet at this point on the marine side of the bridge at 11 a.m. and we'll hear from some more amazing speakers and we'll begin our march across our magnificent orange bridge. we look forward to seeing you out there and thank you again and stay safe

. my name is derek me i'm the owner of clambake speakeasy lounge. >> my and i've been serving sysco because marriage so my wife giving affairs and the i immigrant to the city to search for a better life and start the family. >> since i'm a newcomer to the city i don't know what to do. it's hard to find a job. i barely speak english so so my friends recommend me to the program. >> >> the san francisco hospitality initiative is one of these sector training programs where we engage folks that are interested in entering the food and beverage service industry and other service related industries. i suppose we want to be like so very classes ten days school

serving skew and how to end like a work at the a job at the restaurants to earn tips but eventually it's back in school we're not even though is bartending so then just a happy accident to get any of the class. derek participated in our bartending, embraced the program which was a great fit for him because he had a background in graphic design. so i believe that that gave him a creative outlet to continue to use those skills. it was really difficult at the beginning it seems to me don't speak any english and also we only drink alcohol in china so it's makes it really hard and i pay more attention to every single detail from the teacher . i would say definitely learn a lot. well the mixing technique and flavor profile also the balancing of all different ingredients into a classic drinks that are either makes unique cocktails so i do try a

different program over there like the wing cooking class and all different classes but i never liked it. i still feel like the more interesting and more passion behind a bar that's how i chose bartending. i think i'm the lucky one in the class one of the 14 students and after the six month program i got lucky. i got a job right away to work at benihana as bartender instead of starting from the bottom up like bar back and everything i just start from bartender from the teacher referral to get a job right away a takes basically is inspired by chinese of asian ingredients for my bar program and also inspired by my childhood memory which is the chinese novel called a journey to the west. and that's how we started by being also that story

reflecting my own story. i travel all the way from kentucky twice on the east all the way to to the west and cisco. so the most important challenges that facing aapi community are the same language. the english is always the first first thing for most of the asian who are born and raised from china is have is born and raised in the state. it's completely different country community even things. so that's the most important challenges that we're facing. the challenge that i see across the city especially in our communities that have a high population of immigrants is ability to access these programs. our partnership with charity cultural center is really important because it speaks to the model that we try to employ or iwp which is work with those community based organizations that are rooted in community and in a community like chinatown. >> but we have a high immigrant population. we want to start with a trusted

resource so that folks feel safe enough to learn their new skills and be able to confidently enter the trade. there's nothing like seeing someone complete their program. alumni garrick are really important for our programs because they start in one place. they remember what that feeling was like and they often come back as our best champions to speak to the outcomes of the program and how it made their lives better. the best part is they also often find themselves in positions where they can now come and be part of the solution and offer someone an opportunity like what they were offered. they do so they have all those potential aided by students and help them to find a place to for work and after they graduate it's a to hire for a student for some pretty bands and all this stuff feedback always supporting the program and then they also support us through this yeah chinese asian support asian community

>> happy pride. everyone. [applause] [crowd noise]. [music] >> amazing.

incredible for the city. for the citizens. for our visitors and the fire department and our public safety partners to come together today and to celebrate pride weekend. >> i came because this is my first, year of pride and i wanted to experience with my mom. i'm most excited for everything i will see. celebrities just surrounded by so many fun people. my besties. we'll have a great time. >> >> i'm most excited about the expression of freedom and things which have to be this way well is no other way to do it. everybody is wrong and we should all be like the pride people and proud to be who we are >> we are here to celebrate pride >> san francisco pride.

it is my first one experiencing the new atmosphere and learning. >> my first one, too. >> so close we could not pass it up. it is san francisco it is the biggest ones can you pass it up. [crowd noise] [music] [crowd noise] >> it means everything that we have a common goal a common operating picture and a common miss it is great to be together and walk together and show that. [crowd noise] [sirens].

the message is the lbgtq community is reflect in the our police department in san francisco. it sends a message that there are members of the department the police department, sheriff's department, fire department that are just like the people that we encounter in san francisco. and i think it sends a message of hope the more we honor the lbgtq community now, the stronger we can be in standing up against those that don't want our representation. [crowd noise] [music] >> [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish].

[crowd noise] [music] [music] [drums] [crowd noise] this is my first time at the san francisco pride even though i have been here a couple years, i felt like now was the time to go.

um -- really just coming to show my support and love for the whole community out here. um, i'm really excited to be here today. >> i think i am most excited be such an arc mazing community come together. just the love and support i think that especially in san francisco, um, people bring together it is this such a deep feeling. and i'm excited feel that today. [crowd noise] [music] [music]

[sirens] [music] [crowd noise] whoa! [music] [cars honking] [sirens]

[music] [horns] we never been to a parade or something like that. >> i'm excited for the parade never been to an actual pride parade. pretty pumped. [crowd noise] [music] i'm excited celebrate with all of my

queer people and to stand together in a hard time like we affirm each other and support each other. >> same, ditto. >> [laughter]. [music] [crowd noise]. you love who you want to love >> happy pride. >> happy pride! >> go san francisco! happy pride! happy pride. >> happy frigin pride, everybody. [music] [music] happy pride!

of [laughter] [music]?

>> i call the san francisco department of disability and aging services commission meeting of wednesday, june 4th, 2025 to order. i am the dos commission president janet spears. this commission meeting is being conducted pursuant to the provisions of the brown act. as noted on the agenda, members of the public may observe this meeting via s.f. gov tv for in s.f. gov tv channel 78 and they may offer