San Francisco Youth Commission
Housing, Environment, & City Services
Minutes
Thursday, November 20, 2014
5:00-7:00 PM
City Hall, Room 278
1. Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl.
San Francisco, CA 94102

There will be public comment on each item.

Members: Rosa Chen, Anna Bernick, Noah David, Lily Marshall-Fricker, Precious Listana

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

Chair Chen called the meeting to order at 5:13pm. There was quorum. Commissioners present: Bernick, Chen, Marshall-Fricker, Listana. Commissioners absent: David; Staff Present: Leah LaCroix (Intern), Daisy Shull (Intern), and Allen Lu.

2. Approval of Agenda (Action Item)

Commissioner Listana, seconded by Commissioner Bernick, moved to approve the agenda. There was no public comment. The motion was approved by acclamation.

3. Approval of Minutes (Action Item)

A. November 6, 2014
(Document A)

Commissioner Listana, seconded by Commissioner Bernick, moved to approve the agenda. There was no public comment. The motion was approved by acclamation.

4. Public Comment on Items not on Agenda (Discussion Only)

There was no public comment.

5. Legislation Referred from the Board of Supervisors (All Items to Follow Discussion and Possible Action)

There was no legislation referred from the Board of Supervisors.

6. Business (All Items to Follow Discussion and Possible Action)

A. Review Recreation and Parks Department Scholarship Information

Ms. Shull reviewed the question the committee asked to the Recreation and Parks Department (RPD) regarding scholarship information. She then read the corresponding response from RPD.

Commissioner Marshall-Fricker remarked at RPDS efforts to provide scholarships to young people and undocumented families.

Ms.Shull introduced data provided by RPD on Family Scholarships awarded by zip code, scholarships awarded by age category, as well as the percentage of total revenue allocated to scholarships from 2010-2014.

Chair Chen asked whether there was data on percentage scholarships awarded by age. Ms Shull explained that the response from RPD stated the department does not track such information and therefore it cannot be quantified.

Chair Chen asked whether the committee will receive a presentation on the data from RPD. Mr. Lu explained that staff can follow up on Chair Chen’s request. He asked what specifically would commissioner want to ask of the department.

Commissioner expressed interest in learning about how the scholarship and request for payment to participate in city services began.

There was no public comment.

B. In Depth Review of The Health and Well-Being of Youth Living in HOPE SF Communities Project

Ms. LaCroix shared an overview of The Health and Well-Being of Youth Living in HOPE SF Communities Project, an assessment to examine the opportunities and barriers to supporting the health and well-being of youth 12-24 living in HOPE SF communities. The assessment reflects the experiences from over 150 youth, adult allies, community residents, and program staff.

Ms. LaCroix explained that the Community Based Research approach employed in the assessment was unique. Along with 20 Masters students from San Francisco State University, the assessment team included young people from HOPE SF communities in all stages of its development and implementation.

The assessment partners include; Youth Leadership Institute, San Francisco Foundation, Department of Children, Youth & Their Families, the San Francisco Department of Public Health, and San Francisco State University’s Health Equity Institute.

Ms. LaCroix read the assessment recommendations with the group. These include; workforce development, community peace, developing a HOPE SF youth policy agenda, and expanding programs, staff support, and youth leadership in the HOPE SF communities.

Chair Chen expressed that certain findings and recommendations would be best addressed in another issue based committee. She requested that the full Youth Commission receive a presentation on the HOPE SF assessment study, and that staff forward the report to the committee chairs.

Commissioner Listana suggested the Housing, Environment, and City Services committee consider working on recommendations regarding expanding activities and services to youth (recommendations 3 and 4).

There was no public comment on this item.

C. Working Session on Priority: Runaway & Homeless Youth Act Reauthorization

Mr. Lu provided the group with an overview of the Runaway & Homeless Youth Act, as well as the review of the presentation by Larkin Street Youth Services made to the committee at their November 6, 2014 meeting regarding its reauthorization. He shared that staff from Larkin Street believe that Runaway and Homeless Youth Act reauthorization will pass in Congress, and that a resolution supporting the act specifically would not be urgent.

Chair Chen led commissioners in a brainstorming session on how the committee would like to follow up on the issue of youth homelessness. Commissioner expressed interest in working on a resolution that would call attention to the issue.

The committee brainstormed the following ideas for their resolution; prioritize 2015 as year of Homeless and runaway youth, encourage the Board of Supervisors to support homeless youth services in the upcoming budget cycle, follow up on the Transitional Aged Youth Housing plan 2015 goal, and research goals of city departments on providing services to homeless youth.

There was no public comment on this item.

7. Executive Committee Report

Commissioner Listana reminded commissioners of the upcoming 1-1 check-in, and that a member of the executive committee will contact them individually,. She also reminded commissioner to schedule time to record their responses for the commissions outreach video. Lastly, at the request of executive committee, Commissioner Listana encouraged commissioners to review the legislative digest in preparation for full Youth Commission meetings.

There was no public comment.

8. Staff Report

Mr. Lu shared with the group a request from San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) for commissioners and other young people who are interested in sharing their perspective of Muni. The feedback provided by youth participants will be included in an upcoming SFMTA report. Commissioner Listana expressed interest.

9. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 7:07pm