2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 2004 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998 Ed Evans
Chair
Vincent Behan
Norma Block
Elizabeth Grigsby
Michael Kwok
August Longo
Denise Senhaux
Mayor's Disability Council
Minutes
18 July 2003
1 ROLL CALL
Mayor's Disability Council Members Present: Norma Block, Ed Evans, Elizabeth Grigsby, Michael Kwok, Denise Senhaux.
Excused Absent: August Longo
Absent: Vincent Behan
Mayor's Office on Disability: Susan Mizner, Acting Director; Richard Skaff, Deputy Director; Ken Stein, Program Administrator and Josie J. Lee, Council Clerk.
Chair, Ed Evans called the meeting to order at 1:00 p.m.
2 APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
The Council approved the agenda for the July 18, 2003 Mayor's Disability Council (MDC).
3 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
The Council approved the minutes from the MDC meeting of May 16, 2003.
4 PUBLIC COMMENT
* Jean Lynch, a member of the Senior Action Network; Muni Accessibility Committee and the City and County Pedestrian Safety Task Force expressed concerns that the crossing at Presidio, Park Presidio and 19th Avenue is dangerous and hazardous to people with disabilities, low vision, no vision, impaired hearing and people with wheelchairs. She recommended that the City install a median divider. She said she would bring this issue up with the Department of Public Works at their next meeting.
* John Malone, a member of the Homeless Senior Task Force said that the number of homeless, disabled and veterans beds in the shelters has decreased from 42 to 28. He will be requesting 250 more beds at their upcoming task force meeting being held on Thursday, July 24, 2003 at City Hall, Room 415 beginning at 2:00 P.M. The public is welcome to attend.
* Jessie Lorenz of the Independent Living Center in San Francisco announced a meeting scheduled with the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, July 22, 2003 at 11:00 a.m.. where the Supervisors will look at the proposed Transportation Authority Expenditure Plan regarding a half cent sales tax which funds transportation programs for seniors and people with disabilities. For more information, contact Jessie Lorenz at 543.6222.
* Rue Graffis of United Taxicab Workers expressed his concern that the group known as the Permit Holders and Drivers Association is promoting an initiative this year that will allow permit holders to keep their medallions forever as a disability benefit without any driving requirement. He would like members of the disability community to come and speak against this.
* Mark Gruber, a taxi driver and permit holder with United Taxicab Workers also spoke against the initiative, and stated that the ballot measure was exclusionary, wrong and unfair. The Supervisors have signed this to be on the ballot and it would affect only a privileged minority of the drivers at the expense of the rest.
5 REPORT FROM THE CHAIR
Chair Ed Evans announced that the Mayor's Disability Council needs support to continue to do their job for the people in the community. Volunteers may contact the Mayor's Office on Disability at 415.554-6789.
6 REPORT FROM THE ACTING DIRECTOR
Susan Mizner reported the following:
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Mayor Willie Brown has appointed four new members to the Mayor's Disability Council: Ruth Nunez, Coordinator of Larkin Youth Shelter; Jack Fagen, Associate Director of The Arc of San Francisco; Jul Lynn Parsons, an active member in the MDC Programmatic Access Committee and Employment Committee and Eugene Flannery, ADA Coordinator for the Mayor's Office on Community Development. The Swearing-In Ceremony will take place on Friday, July 25, 2003 in City Hall on the Mayor's Balcony, Second Floor at 4:00 P.M.
- She thanked Chair, Ed Evans for taking the lead on the topic for this Council meeting, and all of the work he has done to help prepare the meeting.
Ms. Mizner also provided some of the highlights of MOD's recent work:
* In May and June, MOD gave five trainings to shelter providers in the city on how to work with people with disabilities and how to meet their obligations under the ADA.
* MOD is receiving proposals to improve city services to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community. The top ranked proposal will be announced by the end of July.
* The Telecommunications Commission invited MOD to give a presentation on Assistive Technology for people with disabilities. Ken Stein, MOD Program Administrator invited a number of speakers with great expertise, and the Commission was receptive and eager to incorporate the issues raised into the long-term plan for the city. Ms. Mizner thanked DTIS and the Commission for their proactive approach to disability access issues.
* MOD toured the beautiful new Asian Art Museum. Richard Skaff, Deputy Director and Jim Whipple, Access Compliance Officer, are working with staff there to resolve the few remaining access issues.
* MOD has been working with Building Services in City Hall to address some technical problems with the Talking Signs located in the basement. Ms. Mizner thanked Corrine Mehigan, City Hall's Building Manager, Felix Rodriguez and Bill Carlile for their quick responses to the problem.
* MOD continues to be an international resource. Visitors from South Africa had the opportunity to exchange information about AIDS on their continent with MOD.
* MOD continues to provide technical assistance to both City Departments and the public, handling more than 100 inquiries per month.
7 COMMITTEE REPORTS
REPORT FROM THE PROGRAMMATIC ACCESS COMMITTEE
The next meeting will be August 1, 2003 at the Rose Resnick Lighthouse for the Blind.
8 DISABILITY ACCESS IN THE CITY'S HOMELESS SHELTER SYSTEM.
ISSUES, PROBLEMS, AND SOLUTIONS. PRESENTATIONS BY
DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, MAYOR'S OFFICE ON
HOMELESSNESS SHELTER OUTREACH PROJECT, SUBSTANCE ABUSE
AND MENTAL HEALTH WORK GROUP, CITY SHELTER PROVIDERS,
COMMUNITY RESOURCES ACTION PROJECT AND MENTAL HEALTH
ASSOCIATION OF SAN FRANCISCO.
* Chair, Ed Evans emphasized that the purpose of this item is to discuss issues, problems and solutions regarding disability access in the city's homeless shelter system. It is not to discuss budgetary items or legislation items under the purview of the Board of Supervisors.
* Susan Mizner gave some background statistics on the high rates of both mental and physical disabilities among homeless people. She also encouraged presenters to organize their information by the three main areas of disability access:
1. Architectural Access involves features in the physical environment that allow equal
access by people with disabilities. Examples include ramps, grab bars, and
elevators. This most frequently affects people with mobility impairments.
2. Communication Access involves alternative ways of communicating in order for people with disabilities to have equal access to information. Examples include sign language interpreters and real time captioning for people with hearing impairments; materials in Large Print or Braille for people with visual impairments. This most frequently affects people with sensory disabilities, but may also be needed for people with cognitive impairments.
3. Programmatic Access involves how things are done, and how staff are trained to insure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to benefit from a service or activity. The basic features include letting people know that they have the right to ask for modifications or changes in rules or practices and to have staff trained and ready to respond to those requests. This most frequently affects people with hidden disabilities such as chronic illnesses and disabilities.
Ms. Mizner expressed her eagerness to hear from staff, advocates and clients, and that the Council needs to understand what is working, what still needs attention and how things can be done better so that MOD or other entities may be helpful.
* Cindy Ward, Department of Human Services gave an overview of the Family Shelter System. There are five programs that are connected to the centralized intake agency for all families accessing shelter. They operate a toll free hot line, conduct family interviews, and place families in shelter as space becomes available.
o Hamilton Family Emergency Shelter offers one to thirty day stays for families who are waiting for shelter and have no other option.
o This shelter operates two medical hotel rooms for families who can't stay in a congregation setting.
o Compass, Hamilton and St. Joseph are three full service centers that offer a three to six month stay in private rooms.
o In terms of Architectural Access, all facilities such as office space, client rooms, bed areas, restrooms and dining areas are accessible to clients who use wheelchairs.
o In terms of Communication Access, currently, none of the programs have TTY capability, however, work is in progress with MOD to provide the programs with the technology and training of its staff. Staff are trained to read written materials to clients who are sight-impaired or who have a learning disability.
o In terms of Programmatic Access, all families can be prioritized for shelter placement and a medical hotel room for medical or mental health reasons by submitting documentation from their medical provider. All the programs in all the shelters provide the Notice of Rights to Reasonable Accommodation Request Form to their clients. Most of the requests are responded to within 48 hours since the full service family shelters are open 24 hours a day with the exception of Hamilton Family Emergency Center, which is closed from 9 AM to 2:00 PM (remains open to clients who need to stay for bed rest). All staff receive mandatory training on ADA and how programs must accommodate clients with physical or mental health disabilities.
* Carolyn Plybon, Contract Manager for the Single Adult Shelters that contract with the Department of Human Services presented a chart that covered all the different services available in all the shelters.
o In terms of Architectural Access, seven out of the 11 shelters are wheelchair accessible. The three largest shelters are wheelchair accessible. Included are the bathrooms, dining areas and the sleeping areas. Most of the shelters also provide storage.
o In terms of Communication Access, MOD will be working with the Shelters to provide training to staff on relay services, TTY and real time captioning services.
o In terms of Programmatic Access, there is a Reasonable Modification form to request a specific modification. Staff have been trained to accommodate people with disabilities by giving them more chances than someone who doesn't have those issues. For example, if someone has a cognitive disorder, or various mental heath issues (not including violence) then, they need to be allowed more chances before they would be denied services for breaking a rule. They try to work with the clients to help them understand what the issue is and what the problem is and what needs to change.
* Devon Richardson, Deputy Director of the Mayor's Office on Homelessness presented a power-point presentation on their new system called CHANGES, Coordinated Homeless Assessment of Needs and Guidance Through Effective Services. It can be used citywide to access, coordinate, and streamline services more effectively for clients. The next step is to begin a process of centralizing homeless databases in other city departments. The goal is to have one client record in the system to be used citywide across departments to coordinate and consolidate databases across service providers. For more information, Mr. Richardson can be reached at 415. 252-3148.
* Allison Lum, Shelter Outreach Project, said that the new CHANGES system has led to confusion among clients, and that there needs to be a safety net for people when the system breaks down. She also explained that people who are not on the County Adult Assistance Program (CAAP) would be displaced if Prop N passes. Only CAAP clients would get a 43 night stay, whereas all others would have shorter stays. This would affect people on disability benefits, and people too disabled to get on any benefits. Ms. Lum can be reached 346-3740.
* Beth Stokes, Operations Director at The Hamilton Family Center presented information on the two shelters and one transitional housing program.
o In terms of architectural access, the Hamilton Family Residences, located at 260 Golden Gate, and the Transitional Housing Program, which was built three years ago, are both fully ADA accessible. The Waller Street Facility is accessible except for a gymnasium on the second floor where children may play.
o In terms of Communications Access, staff will be trained on TTY machines and relay messaging.
* Denise Albano, Director of Programs at Larkin Street Youth Services, which provides a continuum of services for homeless youth aged 14 to 24, stated that there are 10 different sites with 17 different programs throughout the city.
o In terms of Architectural issues for the shelter programs which include The Lark Inn for 18 to 24 year olds, and the Diamond Youth Center, for 14 to 20 year olds, both facilities are ADA accessible. The Lark Inn has an elevator for the two split levels and The Diamond Youth Shelter is located on one level. A Residential Facility for Youth Living with HIV is completely ADA accessible down to CAN Certified Nursing Attendants and RN on site with the ability to offer managed meds.
o In terms of Communications access within the sensory disabilities, a TTY machine is available.
o In terms of Programmatic Access, the programs are very flexible and can be provided accordingly as needed. For example, the Larking Shelter has lodging for animals, which include pets or service animals. There is also extensive training from line staff on dealing with youth with mental health issues.
* Belinda Lyons, Mental Health Association of San Francisco (MHA), a non-profit organization dedicated to improving conditions for people and educating the community on Mental Health spoke on behalf of people who have mental disabilities. Many people with mental disabilities have stated that they would prefer to sleep on the streets than to deal with some of the things they experienced in the shelter system. Examples include:
o loud noise levels, which can aggravate fear, confusion, PTSD and other anxiety disorders.
o threats to personal safety, which can lead to fear of taking treatment medications that may cause drowsiness.
o fingerprinting and biometric imaging trigger fear and paranoia
o unsanitary conditions, such as bed bugs, lice and roaches, promote anxiety and depression.
o Long lines and going from one site to another requires coordination and stamina that weed out
certain people.
In order to address these problems, Ms. Lyons recommended settings with increased privacy; upholding safety and cleanliness standards; allowing people to stay in bed longer if medications make them drowsy; having pictures taken as an alternative to finger imaging; and especially to increase training for the shelter staff on information about the rights of people with disabilities and how to provide reasonable accommodations.
* Delphine Brody, Tenant advocate with MHA, provided her own personal experience of her one night stay in a homeless shelter in San Francisco. She was treated rudely by staff, which aggravated her Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Her anxiety was increased by loud noise all night, and the likelihood of her belongings being taken. The long lines she had to stand in and the fact that it took her all day to access the shelter bed aggravated her depression.
* Alonzo Carmichael, a former Vietnam combat victim diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and a consumer of mental health services in San Francisco lived in shelters for years. He said that there were many barriers for people with disabilities. In addition to what others had mentioned, he said that staff people were often yelling and had an authoritarian point of view; that there was wide-spread discrimination against people with psychiatric disabilities.
* Bruce Oka, Community Resources Action Project has visited many shelters; has friends who use the shelters and has seen the chaos that goes on in the shelters as mentioned by previous speakers. Several shelters are physically accessible however, they are not accessible to those with psychiatric and mental health disabilities. 99% of the people on the street are not there because they want to be but because the social climate has caused them to be. There should be enough housing to accommodate the thousands of homeless that live on the streets of San Francisco. Better efforts are needed to solve the housing shortage in this city.
* Kym Valadez, of Swords to Plowshares (a Veterans Service Organization) and Chair of the Homeless Service Providers Network Council (Network of 50 agencies including shelters for homeless people in San Francisco) expressed concern regarding the ability to place people with chronic and severe disabilities in the shelters. At the South of Market Shelter, 100 beds have been reduced to 48 beds and could be reduced further. Swords to Plowshares has had 15 beds set aside for Veterans with disabilities. She applauded the Department of Human Services for having this accommodation for people who could not make it through the reservation or lottery systems, and encourages the department to continue the practice.
* Jessie Lorenz, Independent Living Resource Center (ILRC), expressed her disappointment in the Mayor's Disability Council's unwillingness to hear any testimony regarding Proposition N, and said the Council should advise the Mayor and Supervisors on such legislation. The ILRC helps people fill out reasonable accommodation requests. However, they have found that people making such requests are suddenly "86ED" from the shelter for breaking some minor rule. This has occurred on an-ongoing basis and seems to be a form of retaliation. She recommended that shelter staff be trained especially by someone with a disability who has lived in the shelters, and that reasonable accommodation forms be easily accessible and available.
Public Comment
* Elana Galiante, Project Director for Angela Alioto's Safe Project Initiative said she looks forward to working with people from this meeting to get recommendations to improve conditions in this city. She also said that she saw a former client of hers who had not bathed in a month because no one had told her that there was an option of not being finger-imaged or photographed to get into the shelters.
* Mo from SHOUT has a psychological disability stated that he was kicked out of a shelter because he is diabetic. He feels its time for a change.
* Leroy Moore, Disability Advocates of Minorities Organization and Coalition on Homelessness expressed his concern that there needs to be a solution to the fact that there is no drop-in center after hours for people with mental health issues. More information can be obtained from Jennifer Friedenbach at the Coalition on Homelessness. Phone: 415. 346-3740.
* John Malone, Homeless Senior Task Force, announced a meeting to discuss how to spend $810,000 of which $500,000 will go towards 100 units of permanent housing for seniors, disabled and veterans to begin January 1, 2004 In the next six months, a building will need to be leased and prepared for housing. People interested may attend the meeting on Thursday, July 24, 2003, City Hall, Room 416 beginning at 2:00 PM.
* Helen Luey, Hearing Society for the Bay Area expressed her delight in the awareness and progress about TTYs and interpreters. Hearing loss is a hidden disability and is not easily recognized. People who can't understand, don't follow directions, give inappropriate answers or don't respond are often perceived as being non-cooperative or mentally ill. Front line staff need to be trained and given skills to deal with this. Having the proper equipment is also helpful but finding a theft-free environment to store the equipment would be essential. One helpful device would be a pocket talker or a simple amplifier to be available on site at the shelters.
* Garth Ferguson stated that the solution to homelessness is affordable housing and supportive systems. The shelters cannot solve the problem of homelessness.
* Randy McMann, Shelter Outreach Project for the Coalition on Homelessness, works with people with disabilities in the shelters. He expressed concern regarding the finger-imaging. He prefers a system of identification without invading one's privacy.
* Jack Fagan, a newly appointed Council member, said that he has been a diabetic for years. He takes a number of injections per day and is glad to hear about the concern and accommodation for refrigeration and storage of insulin. He said most diabetic's main concern is not insulin, but the storage of syringes and the safeguards against theft of syringes. Since syringes are sold in quantities of 100 they are difficult to conceal. Mr. Fagain is also President of Ascend, an organization which supports Asperger's Syndrome, many symptoms of which are confused with other disabilities. He said he is looking forward to training Council Members, homeless shelter providers and other service providers about the syndrome.
* Elizabeth Newnam, Coordinator for the Rose Resnick Lighthouse for the Blind, stated that information being sent out on the shelters is printed in small print. This information needs to be printed in Large Print to accommodate people with visual impairments. She also said that blind and visually impaired people need to be trained on how to get to the shelters and once there, need to be oriented to the shelter regarding restrooms, eating areas, and sleeping areas.
9 PARKING OF MOTOR VEHICLES ON SIDEWALKS AND RELATED
PARKING FINE CONSIDERATIONS. PRESENTATION BY ROBERT R.
PLANTHOLD, CO-CHAIR OF SENIOR ACTION NETWORK'S PEDESTRIAN
SAFETY COMMITTEE
* Robert Planthold presented his concerns on parking motor vehicles on sidewalks.
o A group of motorcycle users drafted a resolution (No. 030808) to allow motorcycles to park on sidewalks without being ticketed, which is contrary to state law.
o This group has not consulted with other groups such as: Pedestrian Advocacy, Senior Action Network or the MDC regarding this resolution.
o Motorcycle parking on the sidewalk can obstruct pedestrian access or cause problems for people getting in and out of vehicles
o Fluids that leak from motorcycles onto sidewalks can cause an unsafe, hazardous environment. The city may be sued if a pedestrian should slip.
o He feels that parking motorcycles on sidewalks is a liability issue, safety hazard and an area of insensitivity and should be brought up again at a later meeting.
* Ed Evans responded that he would pursue this issue at the next Physical Access Committee Meeting.
* Pi Ra, Chair of The Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee stated that as a result of the motorcycle resolution, there has been an increase in motorcycle parking on the sidewalk. The PSAC voted to oppose the motorcycle parking resolution on June 23, 2003. He said that sidewalks are not a place for motorized vehicles and that better parking solutions need to be created.
* Sue Vaughn, a member of The Pedestrian Safety Advisory Committee reported that 18,659 motorcycles were registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles during 2002.
She has been keeping a record of the number of times motorcycles are driven down sidewalks. She cannot support this resolution.
10 CORRESPONDENCE
No Correspondence
11 PUBLIC COMMENT
* Bob Planthold said he noticed contractors parking their vehicles in two driveways at the Port, blocking the path of travel forcing pedestrians to walk in the driveway. He senses reluctance on the part of Department of Parking and Traffic officers to enforce this issue and a reluctance from the Port to request enforcement.
12 MEMBER REQUESTS FOR FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS
* Denise Senhaux asked to follow up on training shelter / agency staff on how to work with people with disabilities.
* Ed Evans supported Denise on this issue and suggested looking at ways to get beyond the shelter system by creating transitional and permanent housing. He would like to focus on helping the homeless seek treatment and move into housing as a future agenda item.
13 COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS AND ANNOUCEMENTS
None.
14 ADJOURNMENT
Chair Ed Evans noted that two major leaders in the disability community had recently passed away, Mary Skyer and Inola Maxwell.. Both were very strong advocates for seniors and disabled people in the community and will be sorely missed. The meeting was adjourned at 4:02 p.m. in their memory.