San Francisco Youth Commission
Health and Wellness Committee Minutes
Monday, September 28, 2009
City Hall, Room 345
5:00-7:00pm
There will be public comment on each item.
1. Call to Order
The meeting was called to order by Youth Commission staff member Mario Yedidia at 5:15pm.
Commissioners present: Natalie Davidson, Felix Deng, Hillary Liang, Amanda Chan
Commissioners Absent: Katelyn Williams
2. Approval of Agenda (Action Item)
The agenda was approved unanimously by acclamation.
3. Public Comment on Items not on Agenda
There was none—indeed, no members of the public were present.
4. Business
A. Crafting a Policy Agenda for this Year: Focusing our Energies with Individual Work Plans (Discussion and Possible Action)
1. Introductions, thinking about Health and Wellness: what did this committee do last year?
Mario and Commissioners Davidson and Liang led a discussion explaining what issues the Health and Wellness committee worked on during the 2008-2009 Youth Commission term.
Last year’s work included: writing a resolution requiring San Francisco public schools to develop curriculum for students and train teachers on LGBTQ issues; beginning a resolution dealing with teen dating violence; partnering with the Adolescent Health Working Group to put on an event with lots of youth peer health educators.
2. Discussing what we expressed interest in at the retreat: building individual plans.
Mario then led the group through a discussion/brainstorming session, with the goal of narrowing down the health and wellness-related issues each commissioner wants to work on. In what followed, the commissioners tried to identify some of the relevant stakeholders (e.g., community organizations) and policy makers (government bodies) involved in each issue that each commissioner expressed an interest in working on during the beginning-of-the-year retreat.
The following notes represent the outcome of this discussion/brainstorming session:
Nutrition: Educating & encouraging healthier eating among youth in San Francisco
Commissioners A. Chan and Deng
· Stakeholders/policy makers: School Board Nutrition committee; Student Advisory Council; San Francisco youth!
Recycling/Composting: Promoting it, educating youth on its importance
Commissioner Davidson
· Encouraging/requiring SFSUD students to take a class (like AP Environmental Science) on environmental issues
· Encouraging institutional events events like, for example, the Green Assembly at Lowell High School
· Stakeholders/policy makers: School Board
LGBTQ Equity: Working towards equality, reducing discrimination—in schools, in other public settings, etc.
Commissioner A. Chan
· Re-writing the resolution authored by Christian Castaing and carrying it through the commission, the HRC and all the way to the School Board
· Stakeholders/policymakers:
Teen Dating Violence
Commissioners Liang and Davidson
· Rewriting and finishing last year’s resolution
· Going to October 24th event at the Women’s Building
· Stakeholders/policy makers: CBO’s that work on teen dating violence, including La Casa de las Madres; Department on the Status of Women; Youth Advisory Council; Student Advisory Council; School Board; District Attorney’s Office
Tobacco Reduction: reducing under age sales by increasing penalties for vendors who sell to kids
Commissioners Deng and Davdison
· Supporting Project RIDE’s proposed ordinance with a letter, etc.
· Stakeholders/policy makers: Project RIDE; TURF
Health Care/Health Coverage: ensuring care and coverage for all San Franciscans—especially youth—regardless of age, particularly in this time of budget cuts
Commissioners Liang and Deng
· Stakeholders/policy makers: SF Health Plan employees
Foster Care: ensuring full funding of critical services (mental health care, dentist and other medical treatment) for youth in foster care
Commissioner Williams
· Stakeholders/policy makers: Honoring Emancipated Youth; California Youth Connections; AB12, California Fostering Connections Act
3. Briefing from Alicia St. Andrews of the Adolescent Health Working Group (AHWG).
Alicia St. Andrews, Coordinator of the AHWG, a City-funded institution committed to supporting and strengthening the network of providers working to improve the health of youth and young adults in San Francisco and beyond, explained how the Youth Commission’s Health and Wellness committee had worked with AHWG during the 2008-2009 fiscal year.
Alicia then led the commissioners through a discussion of possible sites of collaboration, where the Health and Wellness committee could work with AHWG over the course of this year.
This discussion yielded the following results:
Commissioner Liang expressed interest in working on the Peer Health Educator Network
Commissioner Davidson and Commissioner A. Chan expressed interest in working on the SF Youth Health Services and Referrals Pocket Card
Commissioner Deng and Commissioner A. Chan expressed interest in working on the PBS Unnatural Causes Video Series on Health Disparities
5. Election of Chair (Action Item)
This item was moved to the following committee meeting.
6. Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 7:05pm.
Supplemental documents for agenda items are available for review at City Hall Room 345. Minutes are also available on the Youth Commission Website at www.sfgov.org/youth_commission