Sunday, September 30, 2012

Not on SF Gov TV:  
Homeless Meeting Monday AM

OK, who knew there was an official panel in San Francisco controlled by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors, and that it meets at the not-so-convenient time of 11 AM the first Monday of every month? Wish I knew about the Local Homeless Coordinating Board sooner.

The LHCB does a terrible job keeping the public aware of their existence and work, and I say that after a Google search turned up a handful of links only to City Hall and Homeless Inc sites. No relevant links to local mainstream, blogger or online news outlets are a sure indication of just how un-engaged beyond its membership the LHCB is.

You would think our biggest local rag with their obsessive reporting on homeless related matters, that never delves into solutions beyond band-aid cosmetic street level changes, would devote some or much space to the LHCB, right? Here's the most substantive minor reference to the LHCB in the San Francisco Chronicle in the past ten or so years. From snark columnist Heather Knight in February of 2008:

The [Newsom shelter shake-up] plan was crafted by the Local Homeless Coordinating Board, a mayoral and board-appointed group of service providers, formerly homeless people and others serving as the official advisory body to City Hall on homelessness.

That's all, folks, from the Chronicle on this board. Pretty shameful the paper has not tasked any columnist to attend the LHCB meetings, pore over past minutes and agendas, ask the homeless and the general public what they think of the board, and just bring some much-needed media attention to it.

The LHCB must also be held to account for doing a lousy job of public engagement. Check their minutes to see that public comment is exclusively the panel members or City Hall special assistants. If there are minutes where someone from the general public attended and spoke up, I ask the board to show me those records.

I'll be at the LHCB tomorrow, and one thing I'll be requesting is that they immediately move their meetings to a City Hall room with SF Gov TV cameras and that the November meeting be aired on the city's media platforms. Oh, also arrange meetings in the early evening. Make it easier for the general public and homeless population to participate. Excerpts from the agenda for tomorrow's meeting:
October 1, 2012
11:00am-1:00pm
170 Otis St. 

Note: Public Comment will be taken after each agenda item. Public comment must pertain to the agenda item. Each public comment is limited to 2 minutes. General public comment is taken at the end of the meeting.

III. Update from Mayor’s HOPE Office
Standing agenda item for Bevan Dufty, Director of HOPE, Mayor’s Office

b. Project Homeless Connect Presentation: Angela Guida will present about the upcoming launch of the Every Day Connect Program of Project Homeless Connect.

d. Proposed Bed Bugs Amendment to San Francisco Health Code. Supervisor Kim has proposed an amendment to the San Francisco Health Code regarding bed bugs. Supervisor Kim’s office will provide a summary of the proposed amendment and an update on the status of the proposed amendment.


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