Touching Moment at City Hall Budget Committee Meeting

Today at the Board of Supervisors Budget and Finance Committee, members of the public are providing testimony about the effects of proposed budget reductions to health and social services for low-income San Franciscans.

Public comment is a long and tiring process, but it is also a great way to learn about the significance of programs that support some of the most vulnerable people in our city from the perspective of the people themselves.

Today, I witnessed an especially touching moment that I wanted to share with readers of St. Anthony’s blog.   A man who uses the services of the Shanti Life program, a support program for people who are HIV positive, spoke about the significance of the program on his life.  He spoke  about how the support he received from this program helped to keep him alive during one of the most difficult times in his life.  When his two minutes of public comment time had run out, he began to walk away from the microphone and almost immediately burst in to tears.  By the time he walked out of the Board Chambers, he was sobbing almost uncontrollably.

As soon as this man walked out of the board chambers, several members of the public rushed out of the chambers to follow him and see if he was all right.  I was one of them.  When I got outside, I saw that the man who had began crying  was being hugged and comforted by other members of the community.  I hugged him too and thanked him for sharing his story, and with tears streaming down his face, he thanked me too.

All of the services that have been proposed to be cut, homeless drop in, senior services, support services in supportive housing, mental health treatment, and substance abuse treatment, are as important to someone as the Shanti Life program is to the man who began crying after his testimony.

The reason why we are here today is to support all of the health and social service programs that are slated for cuts.  When people are suffering, we come together as a community to support them, just as we in the board chambers came together to comfort the man who began to cry after his testimony.

We will continue to keep you updated about the City  Budget and the programs that affect our poorest and most vulnerable neighbors.