* This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting. [00:00:03] THERE YOU GO. UM, MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL THE TIME I THIRD? THANK YOU. AND PLEASE CALL ROLL COMMISSIONER ALLEN HARPER. HERE. COMMISSIONER ANKLE. HERE. COMMISSIONER ARCHULETA? HERE. COMMISSIONER J PATTERSON. HERE. COMMISSIONER DONATO SACK? HERE. COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ. HERE. COMMISSIONER LAS YEAR. COMMISSIONER LA HERE. COMMISSIONER QUEDA HERE. VICE CHAIR NICHOLSON. HERE. CHAIR ME HERE. WE HAVE COURT. UM, FOR THE RECORD, COMMISSIONER LASSETER IS EXCUSED FROM THE MEETING. UM, ARE THERE ANY OBJECTIONS FROM THE COMMISSION? OKAY. SEEING NONE, WE WILL MOVE ON. UM, SO FIRST I JUST WANTED TO WELCOME EVERYBODY TO OUR MEETING THIS MONTH AND SEPTEMBER. SO I'LL BE TO SEE YOU ALL. THANK YOU FOR ATTENDING. AND I WANTED TO RECOGNIZE ALSO, UH, WE HAVE A GUEST FOR THIS HERE, WHO IS ONE OF OUR FEMALE ELECTED OFFICIALS IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, OUR CITY ATTORNEY DON MCINTOSH AND WHO, WHO BROUGHT WITH US, UH, SOME ROSES. SO DON, IF YOU HAVE ANY WELCOME REMARKS, I'D LIKE TO SAY PLEASE. WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. UM, I'M THRILLED TO BE HERE TONIGHT. I APOLOGIZE FOR NOT BEING HERE SOONER. I'VE BEEN TRYING TO MAKE EACH OF YOUR MISSION MEETINGS SO FAR AND THIS IS THE FIRST ONE I'VE BEEN ABLE TO ATTEND. UM, HAD I COME TO THE FIRST ONE, I WOULD'VE BROUGHT TO THE ROSES. 'CAUSE I THINK THAT THIS IS A TRULY HISTORIC AND IMPORTANT MOMENT FOR THE CITY. AND THE WORK THAT YOU'RE GONNA DO IS GONNA BE REALLY IMPORTANT AND IMPACTFUL. UM, THERE ARE 11 AMAZING, DIVERSE VOICES ON THIS COMMISSION, AND I THINK THAT TOGETHER YOU WILL BE ABLE TO REALLY BRING THE PERSPECTIVES OF THE PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY. UM, AND SO I'M SUPER EXCITED ABOUT, UM, WHAT YOU'RE GONNA DO AND I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE IT. BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR WORK. THANK YOU. THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, SO AS JUST A REMINDER AND PART MY OPENING REMARKS HERE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE KIND OF STACKED AGENDA. WE'VE GOT A LOT GOING ON. SO IF EVERYONE CAN KIND OF BE MINDFUL OF TIME AND JUST CONCISE WHENEVER POSSIBLE, IF SOMEBODY ELSE HASN'T HAD A CHANCE TO SPEAK YET, AND YOU'VE SPOKEN A FEW TIMES, IT WOULD BE APPRECIATED IF YOU COULD OPEN THE FLOOR. UM, SO TO ENSURE THE INCLUSION OF ALL MEETING PARTICIPANTS, I WILL PERIODICALLY REMIND COMMISSIONERS AND MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC TO PROJECT A VOICE WHEN MAKING COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS. SO, MADAM CLERK, IF YOU COULD PLEASE CALL FIRST ITEM ITEM NUMBER ONE IS A RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES FOR THE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN ROAD MEETING OF WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 28TH, 2024. CAN I GET A MOTION ON THIS ITEM? SO, SECOND. SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER. THANK YOU. UM, DO WE, WE WE WILL NOW TAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS. PLEASE SPEAK UP IF YOU'RE PROVIDING IT. UM, MADAM, FOR IF YOU COULD PLEASE CHECK TO SEE IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS. UM, EITHER HERE OR VIA ZOOM. IF THERE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM NUMBER ONE IN THE ZOOM, PLEASE USE THE RAISE TIME FEATURE NOW, OR DIAL STAR CALLING IN. AND IF THERE ARE ANY HERE IN PERSON THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM ONE, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND BEING DONE BOTH IN ZOOM AND IN PERSON. THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM NUMBER ONE. OKAY. COMMISSIONERS, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? OKAY. I AM SEEING NONE. MADAM CLERK, IF YOU COULD PLEASE CALL FOR A VOTE. COMMISSIONER ALLEN HARPER. YES. COMMISSIONER KEL? YES. COMMISSIONER ARCHULETA? YES. COMMISSIONER CHIEF TERSON? YES. COMMISSIONER ACK? YES. COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ? YES. COMMISSIONER LA? YES. COMMISSIONER ? YES. VICE CHAIR NICHOLSON. HERE, HOST. SORRY. YES. ? YES. MOTION. CARRIE. OKAY. NOW I'M GOING TO ASK, UM, THAT WE ACTUALLY MOVE OUR ITEM NUMBER. BEAR WITH ME NOW. WE PUT NUMBER SIX. IF WE COULD PLEASE MOVE, UH, UP ITEM NUMBER SIX AND DISCUSS THAT NOW. AND WE APPRECIATE IT. SO TRYING TO GIVE SOME OF OUR GUEST SPEAKERS A LITTLE EXTRA TIME TO, TO GET HERE. OKAY. ITEM NUMBER SIX IS A RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT A TIME DRIVEN ESTABLISHING MEETING OPERATING HOURS AT 6:30 PM TO 8:30 PM WITH THE OPTION TO EXTEND MEETINGS AS NECESSARY BY A VOTE OF THE COMMISSION. OKAY. CAN I GET A MOTION ON THIS ITEM? SO, VOTE. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER ARCH. SECOND COMMISSIONER. UM, SO I'VE RECEIVED SOME FEEDBACK FROM COMMISSIONERS THAT THERE'S A DESIRE TO HAVE A TIME CERTAIN FOR OUR MEETINGS, A MEETING THAT WE WILL SET A TIME LIMIT. AND THE SUGGESTION HERE IS A TWO HOUR TIME LIMIT. HOWEVER, AND I [00:05:01] THINK CRITICALLY WE WOULD HAVE THE OPTION TO EXTEND THE MEETING BY GROUP VOTE, UM, WHEN WE FEEL IT MUST CONTINUE. SO I WANTED TO FREE AND SEE IF OUR, UM, MOVER HAS A COMMENT OR IF OUR SECONDER HAS A COMMENT TO BEGIN THE DISCUSSION. NO, I, I AGREE. I THINK TWO HOUR MEETINGS ARE JUST PERFECT. AND IF, AND IF NEEDED, YOU KNOW, WE NEED MORE TIME EXTEND. PERFECT SENSE. ANY COMMENTS? OKAY. UM, WE'LL NOW TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT. MADAM CLERK, IF YOU COULD PLEASE CHECK TO SEE IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM IN PERSON OR VIA ZOOM. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER SIX IN THE ZOOM, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE NOW OR DIAL STAR NINE CALLING IN. AND IF IN PERSON, UM, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. WELL, RIGHT AFTER, UM, PUBLIC COMMENT, SEEING NO PUBLIC COMMENT THAT INCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM NUMBER SIX. OKAY. AND NOW I'LL ASK TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM. SHE PASS IT. I WAS JUST WONDERING, SINCE WE ARE MEETING MONTHLY, I MEAN, CAN WE DO, DO WE THINK AN HOUR AND A HALF IS SUFFICIENT AND THEN WE GO TO EXTEND ALL THAT? ARE YOU THINKING THAT MOST MEETINGS WOULD GO THE TWO HOURS AND THAT'S WHY WE SHOULD SET THAT TIME? UM, WELL, LET ME GIVE FOLKS THE OTHER, OTHER FOLKS THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMMENT AND THEN I'LL GIVE YOU KIND OF MY PERSPECTIVE ON THAT, IF THAT'S OKAY. DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE A OTTER QUESTION ON IT? OKAY. UM, HAVING WATCHED PUBLIC MEETINGS FOR MANY YEARS, IT DOES SEEM THAT YOU WOULD NEED AT LEAST TWO HOURS, UM, TO HAVE ROBUST DISCUSSIONS FOR AN AGENDA THAT'S AT LEAST THE LENGTH THAT WE HAVE TODAY. MM-HMM. . AND THAT'S KEEPING, UM, KEEPING THINGS IN MIND IN TERMS OF OUR, OUR COMMENTS AND NOT BEING REPETITIVE AND, AND BEING VERY CONCISE. SO I THINK HONESTLY WE NEED TWO HOURS TO TWO AND A HALF HOURS TO ACCOMPLISH AN AGENDA AT THIS LENGTH. AND I THINK IT'S IMPORTANT TO COMMIT AS A, THIS IS MY PERSPECTIVE, TO COMMIT AS A GROUP, TO, UM, HAVE THAT EXTRA PIECE IN THERE TO EXTEND A MEETING IF NECESSARY. AND SOMETIMES CONVERSATIONS ARE GONNA GO ALONG AND PRESENTATIONS MAY GO ALONG. SO, UM, THAT'S MY THOUGHT PROCESS. IF THE AVERAGE IS TWO HOURS AND I JUST WANTED TO JUMP IN, UM, EVEN THOUGH THE END TIME WOULD BE SET AT EIGHT THREE, IF THE DOES END EARLIER THAN THAT, THAT OKAY. THE END TIME. THANK YOU. DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE ANY COMMENT, QUESTIONS, DISCUSSIONS? OKAY. UM, SEEING NONE, MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE? COMMISSIONER ALLEN. MARKER. YES. COMMISSIONER ? YEP. COMMISSIONER AN YES. COMMISSIONER CHIEF IVERSON? YES. COMMISSIONER DONATO SACK? YES. COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ? YES. COMMISSIONER ETTE? YES. COMMISSIONER RA? YES. VICE CHAIR NICHOLSON? YES. CHAIR ER? YES. MOTION CARRIES. OKAY. MADAM CLERK, WOULD YOU PLEASE READ, UH, ITEM NUMBER TWO? ITEM NUMBER TWO IS A RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION FROM THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE ON THE SERVICES AND ADVOCACY. OKAY. CAN I GET A MOTION ON THIS ITEM? SO, THANK YOU. THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER PATTERSON. UH, SO WE HAVE THE HONOR TODAY OF WELCOMING LEADERSHIP FROM THE LONG BEACH HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE. IF YOU WOULD, WOULD LIKE TO STAND UP THEN WITH WHEREVER YOU'RE COMFORTABLE PRESENTING FROM. UM, THESE FOLKS INCLUDE PAMELA SAPULPA. MARIA MARIAH, CAN YOU REMIND ME HOW TO PRONOUNCE YOUR LAST NAME? SWE AND, UH, TO TERESA GOMEZ. SO FOR, I ORIGINALLY WROTE IN MY NOTES MORE THAN A DECADE, BUT I BELIEVE IT'S ACTUALLY TWO DECADES. THIS INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE HAS BEEN DOING IMPORTANT WORK IN OUR COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS WHAT IS AN UNFORTUNATE REALITY, UM, THAT DISPROPORTIONATELY AFFECTS WOMEN, GIRLS, AND THAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING. AND WE JUST WANNA WELCOME YOU AND THANK YOU FOR THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN FROM YOU. SO WHENEVER YOU ARE READY. YEAH. SO, WELCOME COMMISSION COMMISSIONERS. YOU KNOW, I WANT, FIRST I WANNA CONGRATULATE YOU 'CAUSE THIS COMMISSION IS LONG OVERDUE. YOU KNOW, IT WAS A VISION FROM SO MANY PEOPLE IN THE PAST, ESPECIALLY FROM VICE CHAIR NICHOLSON, WHO REALLY PUSHED FOR THIS AND ADVOCATED FOR THIS COMMISSIONER. AND I CONGRATULATE FOR SEEING YOUR CREW. THANK YOU. [00:10:01] UM, MY NAME IS EZ. I'M WITH THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT. I'M THE HUMAN DIGNITY PROGRAM MANAGER. I'VE BEEN WITH THE CITY 24 YEARS AND ABOUT 15, 16 YEARS IN THIS ROLE, WHICH IS A ROLE I TAKE VERY PERSONAL AND, AND, UH, IT'S A DEEP RESPONSIBILITY AND AN HONOR TO SERVE. AND I'M VERY HAPPY. I USED TO CHAIR THE HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION, WHICH NOW IS THE EQUITY HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION, WHICH ALANA HAS TAKEN ON. UM, AND I'M AT THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, BUT I WANNA WELCOME YOU TO THIS PRESENTATION BECAUSE HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS AN ISSUE IN OUR CITY, AND YOU DON'T SEE IT UNTIL YOU LEARN ABOUT IT. I ALWAYS GIVE THE EXAMPLE THAT YOU DON'T SEE. IF YOU'RE SEARCHING FOR SHOPPING FOR A CAR, SPECIFIC CAR, THAT'S WHEN YOU START SEEING IT EVERYWHERE BECAUSE YOU'RE LOOKING INTO IT. YOU'RE TRYING TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THAT CAR. NOW IT'S EVERYWHERE, BUT BEFORE YOU REALLY DIDN'T NOTICE IT. THE SAME THING WITH SOMETHING THAT YOU LEARN. SO ONCE YOU LEARN IT, YOU CAN'T HELP BUT SEE IT. AND QUESTION, IS THAT WHAT I THINK IT IS? BUT, YOU KNOW, WE WANT TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ABOUT WHAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING IT IS, IS AND REALLY THAT IT IS HAPPENING IN OUR CITY. AND WE ENCOURAGE YOU TO SUPPORT HOWEVER YOU CAN. BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING, THE KEY THING TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS AWARENESS. WE REALLY PUSH AWARENESS. SO THIS TASK FORCE HAS BEEN AROUND FOR 12 YEARS, AND IT'S A COMPLETELY VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION THAT HAS KEPT GOING. AND I'M VERY PROUD TO BE PART OF THIS GROUP, THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE, WHAT ALL RATE IS THEIR MISSION. SO YOU KNOW WHO WE ARE AND WHAT OUR MISSION IS, IS IT'S A MULTIDISCIPLINARY COMMUNITY BASED COLLABORATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS WHO PARTNERS THAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING THROUGH PREVENTION, PROTECTION, AND PROSECUTION. SO WE'RE HERE TODAY WITH A FEW MEMBERS OF OUR CORE TEAM, WHAT WE CALL TO GIVE YOU A LITTLE BIT MORE INFORMATION ON THAT. SO, MARIA, EVERYONE, MY NAME IS MARIAH . UM, I KNOW IT'S VERY DIFFICULT. LAST NAME KEN. UM, I AM A SURVIVOR ADVOCATE AND MENTOR. UM, I AM A, THE CEO OF SURVIVOR MENTALITY FOUNDATION, UM, THAT IS GEARED TOWARDS HELPING COMBATING HUMAN TRAFFICKING WITHIN OUR LOCAL, UM, COMMUNITY USING MENTORSHIP PROGRAMS. TODAY WE'RE GONNA GO OVER, IF YOU WANNA GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THERE WE GO. TODAY I BRING OVER HT 1 0 1. THIS IS VERY BRIEF. THIS IS A VERY BRIEF HT 1 0 1. SO I, UM, I DO HIGHLY RECOMMEND IF WE HAVE NOT BEEN IN HT 1 0 1, IT IS IN DEPTH IN OUR COMMUNITY WHETHER WE WANNA BASE IT OR NOT. UM, AND WE HAVE PLENTY OF HT 1 0 1 CLASSES TO TAKE, UM, TRAINING FOR FREE TO OFFER AS WELL. SO, UM, IF YOU GUYS JOB TO OUR TASK FORCE. UM, SO WE'RE JUST GONNA GO OVER WHAT IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND HOW DOES IT HAPPEN? WOMEN AND GIRLS ARE THE MOST AFFECTED IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING PLUS OLYMPICS. SORRY, I DON'T HAVE MY GLASSES. . UM, THE FEDERAL DEFINITION DEFINITION, THE TRAFFICKING VICTIMS PROTECTION ACT OF 2000 AND A SUBSEQUENT REAUTHORIZATION RECOGNIZES IN THE BODY TWO PRIMARY FORMS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. FIRST ONE IS SEX TRAFFICKING. A SECOND ONE IS LABOR TRAFFICKING. SEX TRAFFICKING IS THE RECRUITMENT HARBORING TRANSPORTATION PROVISION, OBTAINING, PATRONIZING, OR SOLICITING OF A PERSON FOR THE PURPOSE OF A COMMERCIAL SEX ACT, IN WHICH A COMMERCIAL SEX ACT IS INDUCED BY FORCE FRAUD OR COERCION, OR IN WHICH SOME PERSON INDUCED TO PERFORM SUCH ACT HAS NOT OBTAINED 18 YEARS OF AGE. MEANING, IF YOU'RE NOT OF AGE, YOU CAN'T CONSENT. FORCED LABOR IS THE RECRUITMENT HARBORING TRANSPORTATION PROVISION OR OBTAINING OF A PERSON FOR LABOR OR SERVICES THROUGH THE USE OF FORCE. FRAUD, COERCION AGAINST FORCE FRAUD, COERCION FOR THE PURPOSE OF SUBJECTING TO INVOLUNTARY SERVITUDE, P ISH DEBT BONDAGE OR SLAVERY. HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE UNITED STATES, THE AVERAGE AGE OF ENTRY INTO SEXUAL EXPLOITATION IN THE UNITED STATES IS 12 TO 14 YEARS OLD. WE ARE FIGHTING THAT TO BE YOUNGER AND YOUNGER NOW. UM, SO IT IS FAIR TO SAY, BUT WE ARE GETTING YOUNGER. THE NEXT SEX TRAFFICKING PROBLEM, UM, THAT WAS THE STATS OF 2019. THE INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZ ORGANIZATION ESTIMATES THAT THERE ARE OVER 400,000 VICTIMS OF LABOR TRAFFICKING IN THE UNITED STATES. THE N-C-M-E-C REPORTED A 98% INCREASE IN REPORTS OF SUSPECT CHILD SEX TRAFFICKING ONLINE BETWEEN 2018 AND 2019, EVEN HIGHER 2020. AS YOU GUYS ALL CAN IMAGINE, THE POLARS PROJECT ESTIMATES THAT THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIMS IN THE UNITED STATES. THE LOS LOS ANGELES, SAN DIEGO, SAN FRANCISCO ACCOUNT FOR THREE OF 13 HOT [00:15:01] SPOTS IN THE UNITED STATES. LONG BEACH IS IN LA. SO YOU GUYS CAN JUST IMAGINE THE STATISTICS AFFECTING WOMEN AND GIRLS GLOBAL PREVALENCE. 71% OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING VICTIMS WORLDWIDE ARE WOMEN AND GIRLS. WHILE 29% ARE MEN AND BOYS, WE DO HAVE MEN, BOYS HERE. BUT WE CAN SEE THE SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE WHEN IT COMES TO WOMEN AND GIRLS. INTERNATIONAL TRAFFICKING, AROUND 80% OF 800,000 PEOPLE ARE TRAFFICKED ACROSS INTERNATIONAL BORDERS EACH YEAR ARE WOMEN AND GIRLS, AND 50% ARE MINORS. UNITED STATES. UNITED STATES. SEX TRAFFICKING IS THE MOST COMMON TYPE OF TRAFFICKING ESTIMATES OF THE NUMBER OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN FORCED IN SEXUAL SLAVERY. IN THE US EACH YEAR RANGE FROM 15,000 TO 50,000. COMMON SIGNS OF LABOR AND SEX TRAFFICKING, LACK OF ACCESS TO THEIR OWN DOCUMENTS, LOCKED FENCE RESTRAINTS OR GUARD KEEPING PEOPLE IN UNACCOMP, UNACCOMPANIED MINORS WITHOUT GUARDIAN, ESPECIALLY WHILE TRAVELING. COMMERCIAL SETS MIGHT HAVE TATTOOS OF THE ORGANIZATION OR PEN, WE CONSIDER THE BRANDING. SO A LOT OF TIMES WE THOUGHT BACK IN, YOU KNOW, TWO THOUSANDS, UM, TENS AND WHATNOT, BUT THE CROWNS WERE SO COOL, THE TATTOOS. AND A LOT OF TIMES WE FIND THE KINDS THAT WE HAVE, UM, EITHER NORMALLY WE'LL HAVE A CROWN AND INITIAL UNDERNEATH IT THAT IS A FORM OF BRANDING TO LET 'EM KNOW THAT THIS, THIS PERSON BELONGS TO ME, TO MY PROPERTY. UM, SO THAT IS A BIG SIGN WHEN IT COMES TO SEX TRAFFICKING. CAN'T INTERACT WITH ANYONE ON HIS OR HER OWN TRAFFICKER. TALKING UNDER BEHALF BATES, UM, PAY ATTENTION TO THIS ALSO. DMV. PAY ATTENTION TO THIS. ALSO. JUST THOSE PEOPLE, A LOT OF US DON'T UNDERSTAND WHEN, YOU KNOW, MAYBE A GIRL OR WOMAN MIGHT SEEM TIMID, THEY CAN'T HOLD EYE CONTACT WITH'S A LOT MORE TO THAT THAN JUST THEM BEING TIMID. UM, FORCED DRUG ABUSE, OVERLY PROMISCUOUS AND OR AGGRESSION. YOUTH AND ADOLESCENTS, GIRLS AND BOYS, KIDS WHO FALL ASLEEP CONSTANTLY IN CLASS. KIDS WHO SUDDENLY START SHOWING UP TO SCHOOL WITH CLOTHING ITEMS THEY NORMALLY COULDN'T AFFORD, GETTING THEIR HAIR DONE AND THEIR NAILS DONE COMING UP WITH TWO PHONES. UM, AND THEY PREVIOUSLY MIGHT NOT EVEN HAD, HAVE ONE PHONE. UM, THESE ARE JUST THE LITTLE EXAMPLES THAT WE, WE HAVE NOTICED. SO THE VICTIMS, MEN, WOMEN AND CHILDREN, USING THE STATISTICS OF WHAT IT IS ON WOMEN AND GIRLS, INDIVIDUAL FAMILIES OR GROUPS, THEY ARE DIVERSE IN RACE, CLASS, RELIGION, CULTURE AND SOCIOECONOMIC STATUS. SPECIFIC POPULATION EXAMPLES USE RUNNING AWAY FROM UNSTABLE FAMILY ENVIRONMENTS, HOMELESS INDIVIDUALS, YOUTH AND ADULTS, INDIVIDUALS WITH A HISTORY OF CHILDHOOD, PHYSICAL AND OR SEXUAL ABUSE, IMMIGRANTS AND REFUGEES, MEN, WOMEN, CHILDREN INVOLVED IN THE SEX INDUSTRY. ALL OF THAT SUMS UP TO AT RISK. YOU KNOW, AS PEOPLE WHO, YOU KNOW, WORK WITHIN THIS POPULATION, UNDERSTAND WHAT AT RISK MEANS YOU CAN ACTUALLY SUM UP. ALL OF THOSE ARE AT RISK. UM, CHILDHOOD TRAUMA PLUS LACK OF, UM, CON CONNECTION EQUALS HIGH VULNERABILITY GROOMING AND RECRUITMENT. UM, DO WE HAVE A GOOD TWO MINUTE VIDEO? DO WE HAVE MINUTES FOR THAT? YEAH. IF I PUT IT, WILL IT TEXT PERSON'S NOT HERE. IT SHOULD JUST BE A LINK IF YOU JUST CLICK ON IT. I'M GONNA MUTE MY DEVICE FOR THAT SECOND. ALL RIGHT, GIMME ONE SECOND. CONFIDENT THAT SHE WAS SITTING ON THE COUCH, HER FACE AND EVERYTHING, UM, KIND OF MAKES HER JUST AN EASIER TARGET. OKAY. BASICALLY HE IS TELLING HER THAT, SHE'S TELLING HIM, YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE WHAT YOU SHOWED ME ONLINE. AND HE WENT BACK AND [00:20:01] SAID, THIS IS OUR OLDER PHOTOS. IT'S OKAY. DON'T SHE STILL WANNA WORK WITH THE AGENCY, HER WITH NEW OUTFITS AND DRESSES, GIVING HER THE CONFIDENCE, ESSENTIALLY FILLING THE NEEDS THAT FILLING THE HOLES THAT NEEDS. DO YOU SEE HER HAPPINESS IN HER FACE? AND HER DEMEANOR STARTED TO CHANGE AND TURNED, OWE ME MONEY. THAT IS ACTUALLY END OF THE VIDEO. UM, THERE'S A SECOND PART OF IT AND ACTUALLY SHOWS WITHIN 48 HOURS SHE WAS PUT INTO A MOTEL, BUT TO WORK. UM, THOSE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE DON'T UNDERSTAND HOW, BUT THIS COULD HAPPEN TO, YOU KNOW, NOT ONLY JUST CHILDREN, BUT, BUT WOMEN, BUT PEOPLE WHO ARE GOING TO SCHOOL AND NOT UNDERSTANDING THE LACK OF CONFIDENCE THAT SOMEONE TARGETS 'EM, ANYTHING MAKES THEM A VULNERABLE SUBJECT. SO WE ARE ON TO THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. WHY IT STILL EXISTS. IT STILL EXISTS BECAUSE BUYING DEMAND, ALL THESE THINGS YOU CAN UNDERSTAND. THESE ARE ALL DEMANDS. SOME PARTS OF TRAFFICKING HAVE BECOME SOCIALLY ACCEPTABLE, GLAMORIZED THROUGH POPULAR MUSIC AND MOVIES, GLAMORIZED WITHIN THE SEX INDUSTRY ACTS LIKE ONLY FANS, SITES LIKE PORN HU OR EASY, EASILY ACCESSIBLE. IT'S ALSO CALLED THINGS THAT SOUND LESS ILLEGAL, SUCH AS CHILD PORN OR SEX WITH UNDERAGE WOMEN INSTEAD OF CHILD RAPE. LABOR TRAFFICKING IS LESS PUBLICIZED. MALE SALONS WEED AND PRODUCE FARMING CURRENT MO UM, LIFE CONSEQUENCES AND DETERMINES, UM, HOW HT AND C HAVE AFFECTED THE COMMUNITY. WE, WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS ONE, SO WE'LL SEND THIS ONE OUT. UM, BUT THIS IS, I'LL GO AHEAD SURE. ABOUT THAT VIDEO. IS THAT RIGHT? OH, YEAH. THIS IS THE END OF ME. I'M GONNA GO. UH, MY NAME IS RYAN SWAY. I AM PROBABLY WON TASK FORCE, AND I WAS TRAFFICKED ON LONG BEACH WHEN I TURNED 18. THANK YOU, MARIA. UH, SO AGAIN, MY NAME'S PAMELA AND I COME TO THE LONG BEACH HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE, UH, AS AN EMPLOYEE WITH CERRITOS COLLEGE, AND I WORK IN THE BASIC FEED CENTER. UH, I AM VERY CONNECTED TO LONG BEACH, THOUGH WITH OTHER ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS FOUR GIRLS, RECOGNIZING PEOPLE WHO MIGHT HAVE SPOKEN AT FOUR GIRLS RECENTLY. UM, BUT I, I COME TO YOU TONIGHT REPRESENTING MY ROLE AS A CORE MEMBER OF THE MOM HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE. I HAVE BEEN WITH THE TASK FORCE SINCE, UH, 2012 WHEN I USED TO BE IN A ROLE, UM, AT A YOUTH SHELTER. I USED TO WORK AT A LOCAL, LOCAL YOUTH SHELTER. AND THIS IS A REALLY IMPORTANT ISSUE THAT WE SEE IN THE YOUTH SHELTERS, AS YOU CAN TELL THROUGH MARIAH'S TALK REGARDING SOME OF THE, UM, THE GROUPS THAT ARE MOST VULNERABLE IN THIS VIDEO, WHAT YOU'RE NOT GONNA SEE, 'CAUSE ROCK PLAYED IS STAR, UH, STARKEY ELEMENTARY HERE IN LONG BEACH. AND WHERE THERE WAS A NEWS STORY DONE ABOUT TRAFFICKING HAPPENING RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL. AND SOMETIMES THE EASY PUSH IS TO SAY, THESE WOMEN OR GIRLS WHO ARE WALKING IN FRONT OF THE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, THIS IS THE PROBLEM. BUT THE REALITY IS, IS THEY ARE TRAPPED INTO A MODERN DAY SLAVERY THAT THEY CANNOT GET OUTTA, THAT THE TASK FORCE HAS BEEN PUTTING ON, UM, AND, AND TRYING TO COMBAT, UH, FOR OVER 10 YEARS. SO, PICK IT UP. THE NEXT SLIDE. SO, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE LONG BEACH HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE IS, UH, AGAIN, WE'VE BEEN FORMED IN 2012. WE USED TO MEET AT A CHURCH BASEMENT OVER ON ATLANTIC A LONG TIME AGO. WE HAVE OVER 50 GOVERNMENTAL, NON-PROFIT, UM, UH, PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS AND A LOT OF COMMUNITY MEMBERS WHO COME INTO THE TASK FORCE MEETINGS EVERY MONTH. WE HAVE NOT MISSED A MONTH, EVEN THROUGH COVID TO MEET, TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE STILL COMBATING THIS. THE ISSUE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING REALLY CAME BEFORE US AS A COMMUNITY BECAUSE CALIFORNIA SCORED REMARKABLY POOR IN ITS EFFORTS AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING LAWS. WERE STARTING TO RAISE AROUND 20 10, 20 11, AND EVERYBODY STARTED TALKING ABOUT THE ISSUE OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING. HOWEVER, OTHER THINGS HAVE GOTTEN MORE ATTRACTIVE TO TALK ABOUT. AND WE WANNA BRING THIS IN FRONT OF THIS COMMISSION TO MAKE SURE YOU KNOW HOW WHAT WE'RE DOING AND MAYBE THERE'S A SPACE OF PARTNERSHIP AND COLLABORATION. WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE HIGHLIGHT THAT IN 2012 OR 2022, WE RECEIVED THE EXEMPLARY PARTNERSHIP AWARD FROM HOMELAND SECURITY HERE IN MONGA IN LOS ANGELES, WHERE WE HAVE CONTINUALLY SENSED THE FORMATION, HOW A CORE TEAM MEMBER FROM HOMELAND [00:25:01] SECURITY, UM, AS WELL AS SOME LOCAL RECOGNITION FROM, UH, ASSEMBLY MEMBER JOSH AL AND, UH, SENATOR LI GONZALEZ. OUR CORE LEADERSHIP HERE YOU'LL SEE INVOLVES A LOT OF LOCAL NONPROFITS AND GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, UM, FROM THE SALVATION ARMY AS OUR LEAD FISCAL AGENCY. WHILE IT IS THE LEAD FISCAL AGENCY, DO NOT GET THAT CONFUSED WITH, WE HAVE NO PAID PEOPLE WORKING FOR THIS TASK FORCE. THESE ARE PRIMARILY FOLKS WHO WORK IN THE COMMUNITY WHO OUTSIDE OF THEIR JOB DESCRIPTION, ARE DEDICATING TIME TO THE TASK FORCE AS WELL AS LOCAL COMMUNITY MEMBERS. SO HERE ARE THE FOLKS, UM, AND THE ORGANIZATIONS LOCAL TO LONG BEACH THAT ARE, UM, IN THE LEADERSHIP CAPACITY OF THE, THE 50 STRONG MEMBERSHIP. IF I CAN SEE THE NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. SO WHAT HAVE WE BEEN DOING? OUR FOCUS IS, UM, ON EDUCATING, EMPOWERING, AND, UM, ENGAGING COMMUNITY IS REALLY IMPORTANT TO US. UH, FOR THE LAST MANY YEARS WE'VE HAD SOMETHING CALLED THE YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SYMPOSIUM. IT HAS LOOKED FROM A, LIKE A CONFERENCE FOR YOUTH INTO GOING INTO LONG BEACH UNIFIED AND EDUCATING YOUTH. AND SO IT'S LOOKED LIKE A LOT OF THINGS. EVERY YEAR WE'VE HAD THIS EVENT WE'VE BEEN VERY PROUD OF. WE'VE ALSO HAD A CONVENIENCE STORE OUTREACH CAMPAIGN WHERE WE'VE GONE INTO LOCAL CONVENIENCE STORES, POSTING INTO THE BATHROOMS, HOTLINES THAT PEOPLE CAN CALL, WHERE VICTIMS MIGHT GO IN TO USE THE RESTROOM AND, AND GET A PHONE NUMBER. WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAUTIOUS WITH OUR TYPE OF OUTREACH BECAUSE THE VOLATILE CONSEQUENCES THAT SOME OF, UM, THE PEOPLE INVOLVED CAN FACE. AND SO WE HAVE TO BE VERY SLY AND VERY AWARE OF HOW AND INTENTIONAL WITH OUR OUTREACH. UM, THE LONG BEACH BAR COMPLIANCE OUTREACH, THERE IS A, A ACTUALLY LEGIS, OR THERE'S LAW AND, UM, POLICY ABOUT BARS POSTING ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING. AND, UM, NOT A LOT OF BARS ARE REALLY TRYING TO POST THESE ITEMS BECAUSE IT IS A LITTLE BIT OF, BUT BUZZ KILL. AND SO WE HELPED THEM COME INTO COMPLIANCE AND, UH, WE'RE LIKE, BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. WE HAVE THE ANSWERS AND THE POSTER. AND SO, UH, SO WE HELPED DO THAT. UM, ONE OF OUR FAVORITE ACTIVITIES PRE COVID WAS TO HAVE A TABLE AT THE LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX. AND MANY OF YOU MIGHT BE THINKING WHY AT THE LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX? UM, I, I NEED TO MAKE SURE WE HIGHLIGHT THAT LARGE SCALE EVENTS ARE AMAZING FOR THE COMMUNITY. THEY ALSO BRING IN A LARGE POPULATION WHO DO NOT HAVE A VESTED INTEREST IN THE COMMUNITY. SO THEY BRING PEOPLE WHO ARE READY TO SPEND THE MONEY IN THE COMMUNITY, BUT DON'T REALLY, AREN'T CONCERNED NECESSARILY ABOUT THE CONSEQUENCES. AND THEN YOU HAVE PEOPLE READY TO EXPLOIT THAT. AND THIS PHOTO WAS ACTUALLY TAKEN AT THE 2018 LONG BEACH GRAND PRIX. FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO CANNOT SEE THE NEON SHIRT. IT SAYS, GIRLS DIRECT TO YOUR HOTEL ROOM WITH A PHONE NUMBER TO CALL. THIS WAS TAKEN RIGHT OVER HERE AT THE LONG BEACH GRAND. SO, AND THIS WAS TAKEN RIGHT OFF OUTSIDE OF OUR BOOTH. AS A MATTER OF FACT, WE WERE LIKE, THE IRONY, THEY HAD NO IDEA . AND SO, AND I CAN WITH AN ANECDOTAL CONFIDENCE TELL YOU THAT THESE WERE PEOPLE WHO WERE BEING TRAFFICKED, OKAY? IN THIS HOTEL ROOM. UM, WE'VE HAD A LOT OF YOUTH ENGAGED, UM, IN DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES. UH, THE RALLIES AROUND THE COMMUNITY, WHEN YOU CAN GET A YOUNG PERSON TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS, WE CAN START TO EDUCATE AND EMPOWER THE YOUNG PEOPLE OF OUR COMMUNITY. AND SO WE HAD A LOT OF COMMUNITY RALLIES AS WELL THAT OUR, OUR, OUR FAMOUS SHIRTS THAT SAY, I'M NOT FOR SALE. IF I COULD HAVE THE NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. SO, PREVALENCE IN OUR COMMUNITY, THIS IS SOME INTERESTING INFORMATION. WE, UM, WE HAVE A LONG HISTORY OF HAVING LONG BEACH PD AS A CORE MEMBER OF OUR TASK FORCE. UM, SO THANK YOU TO THE LONG BEACH PD. IF ANY ANYBODY IN HERE KNOWS THEM OR IF THEY'RE LISTENING ON THE ZOOM CALL, OR I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS BEING RECORDED. UM, AND BECAUSE OF THEIR PRIORITIES, THEIR DEPTH OF INVOLVEMENT HAS EBBED AND SWAYED. AND SO, UM, WE ARE AWARE THAT THEY HAVE OTHER PRIORITIES DEPENDING ON WHATEVER'S GOING ON IN THEIR COMMUNITY. I CAN TALK WITHOUT THE POWERPOINT. THAT'S ALRIGHT. SO I'LL UNTIL IT COMES BACK UP. SO I'LL HIGHLIGHT THAT WE HAVE A REPORT, UH, FROM 2023 FROM THE, UH, LONG BEACH POLICE DEPARTMENT, CITYWIDE CRIME, UM, STATS. I'M OVER HERE NOW. THANK YOU. THAT TOLD US THAT IN 2023, THERE WERE ONLY NINE ARRESTS FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING . NOW THIS IS NOT BECAUSE PEOPLE AREN'T GOING OUT TRYING TO FIND THIS, THIS IS BECAUSE LAWS CHANGE AND IT MAKES IT LIKE A MOVING TARGET, RIGHT? AND WE ALSO FOUND THAT YEAR TO DATE, THERE'S BEEN FOUR ARRESTS. OKAY? HOWEVER, WE ALSO KNOW THAT OUR TASK FORCE MADE A PUBLIC RECORDS REQUEST, AND WE MADE A PUBLIC RE RECORDS REQUEST REQUEST THIS YEAR FOR THE 2023 STATS. AND WE FOUND THAT THERE WERE 13 RESCUES, SIX MINORS, EIGHT ADULTS, 10 CITATIONS THAT WOULD BE UNDER CITATIONS THAT HAVE TO DO WITH TRAFFICKING. AND WE FOUND THAT THERE WERE 21 SEX WORKERS OFFERED SERVICES, MEANING OUTREACH WAS DONE TO SEX WORKERS WITH CONCERNS THAT THERE MIGHT BE TRAFFICKING. WE RECOGNIZE THESE NUMBERS AND OUR PUBLIC RECORDS REQUESTS DO NOT REFLECT WHAT THE CRIME STATS [00:30:01] SAY, AND I CAN'T SPEAK TO THAT, UM, THAT DIFFERENCE. UM, BUT WHAT I DO KNOW IS THAT ONE OF OUR CORE MEMBERS, UM, MARY WHITE, WHO WAS WITH GSEN, COVERED A LOCAL NONPROFIT. THERE IS LOT OF OUTREACH AND INTERVENTION WITH FOLKS WHO HAVE BEEN TRAFFICKED. HER STATS TELL US THAT IN 2023, SHE HAD 47 PARTICIPANTS THAT YEAR ALONE IN THE CITY OF LONG BEACH WITH OUTREACH TO OVER 600, UM, PEOPLE. AND IN THE YEAR OF 2024 YEAR TO DATE, SHE'S HAD 18 PARTICIPANTS AND 255 OUTREACH CONTACTS. SO WHAT I'M TELLING YOU IN THIS IS THAT MAYBE OUR LEGAL CRIME STATS AREN'T MATCHING THE NONPROFIT INTERVENTION STATS, WHICH IS NOT UNIQUE TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING. SO I GIVE YOU THIS DATA SO THAT YOU CAN UNDERSTAND ITS DYNAMIC AND IT'S, IT'S, IT'S ALL OVER THE PLACE A LITTLE BIT. RIGHT? IF I COULD HAVE OUR NEXT SLIDE. SO WE THINK OF THE LONG BEACH HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE, THAT COLLABORATION IS KEY. WE THINK IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT THAT THERE IS A SPACE FOR THE CITY OF LONG BEACH. THIS COMMISSION, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, THE TASK FORCE, AND THE COMMUNITY REALLY COME TOGETHER TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE PROTECTING SOME OF THE MOST VULNERABLE, OUR, OUR, OUR YOUNG LADIES, BUT ALSO OUR WOMEN WHO AT ONE POINT, STATISTICALLY SPEAKING, WERE PROBABLY TRAUMATIZED AS MINORS AND, AND, AND CARRY WITH THEM INTO ADULTHOOD. AND WE MIGHT SEE THEM AS ADULTS. BUT IN REALITY IS A, I'M A LICENSED CLINICAL SOCIAL WORKER. AS, AS A SOCIAL WORKER, I WOULD PROBABLY LOOK AT THE BACKGROUND OF THESE YOUNG PEOPLE OR THESE ADULTS AND REALIZE THAT THIS TRAUMA PROBABLY STARTED WHEN THEY WERE MUCH YOUNGER. UM, IT IS ALSO NOT LOST ON ME THAT I MADE THIS COLLABORATION LOOK LIKE AN OLYMPIC RING . I JUST WANNA HIGHLIGHT THAT WE HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO REALLY FOCUS AND SEE HOW CAN THIS COMMISSION AND OUR TASK FORCE COME TOGETHER KNOWING THAT WE HAVE A FOUR YEAR HEADSTART WHERE WE ARE GOING TO BE A GLOBAL SPACE FOR PEOPLE TO COME AND SPEND THEIR MONEY IN OUR CITY. AND I HOPE THEY SPEND ALL THEIR MONEY AND ALL THE LEGAL THINGS, BUT I AM ALSO NOT NAIVE TO KNOW THAT FOLKS WILL BE LOOKING TO EXPLOIT OUR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN, MIDDLE SCHOOL AND HIGH SCHOOL, AND THE, AND THE, AND THE ADULTS IN THIS COMMUNITY. AND SEX AND LABOR TRAFFICKING WILL BE THE AVENUES IN WHICH MANY OF THIS EXPLOITATION HAPPENS. SO, NEXT SLIDE. SO IT'S, IT'S AT THIS POINT, I'D SAY THANK YOU FOR GIVING US THIS SPACE AND TIME, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THIS ISSUE ON TODAY. UM, AND I, MY CALL TO ACTION IS, IS TRULY LIKE, LET'S START TALKING AND LET'S START INTERACTING AND COLLABORATING SO THAT THIS COMMISSION AND THIS TASK FORCE CAN REALLY START, YOU KNOW, IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE OLYMPICS, BUT REALLY START, UM, DIGGING IN ON AN ISSUE THAT'S BEEN AROUND FOR A LONG TIME AND THAT WE CAN MAKE AN IMPACT ON. SO I THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND I DON'T KNOW IF THERE'S TIME FOR QUESTIONS, BUT IF THERE ARE, THEN WE WOULD ENTERTAIN 'EM. UM, SO THANK YOU SO MUCH. MM-HMM, , THANK YOU. HAVE THAT CONVERSATION AND, AND QUESTIONS. FIRST WE HAVE TO GO TO PUBLIC COMMENTS. UM, SO IF WE COULD NOW TAKE PUBLIC COMMENTS, UM, IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO MAKE ONE, PLEASE SPEAK UP. UH, MADAM CLERK, IF YOU COULD PLEASE CHECK TO SEE IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC AND IN PERSON OR VIA ZOOM WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT. IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER TWO IN THE ZOOM, PLEASE USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE NOW OR DIAL STAR NINE CALLING IN. AND IF IN PERSON PLEASE, SEEING NONE, THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM NUMBER TWO. OKAY, SO FIRST I WOULD LIKE TO ASK, UM, IF OUR MOVER WHO IS ALREADY, I, I SO ABSORBED THIS CONVERSATION AND I FORGOT WHO WAS OUR MOVER OR SECONDER, BUT EITHER OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO, UM, START, UH, COMMISSIONER . THANK YOU. I WAS GONNA ASK YOU, UM, I'VE BEEN TOLD THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF PEOPLE COMING IN EVEN THROUGH THE PORT AND THAT THERE'S NOT NEARLY ENOUGH PEOPLE TO CHECK OUT THE CONTAINERS AND WHAT'S GOING ON THERE. WHAT, WHAT'S YOUR EXPERIENCE WITH PEOPLE BEING, UM, TO THE PORT? YEAH. WHAT IS THE PORT? YEAH. UM, SO THAT WOULD BE, I WISH WE HAD OUR HOME SECURITY PORCH. SHE GOT SICK THAT, UM, THAT COULD BE MORE SO OF OUR, UM, HOME SECURITY INTERVENTIONS. AND THEY, IT'S, WE'RE NOT SEEING AS MANY COMING THROUGH THE PORTS AS WE ARE SEEING ON FIGUEROA AND AS WE ARE SEEING ON LONG BEACH BOULEVARD. YES, THE PORTS IS AN OPEN ACCESS AND UM, YOU KNOW, YOU CAN BRING PEOPLE THROUGH, CREATES CONTAINERS. UM, AND ARE WE SHORTHANDED ON EVERYTHING RIGHT NOW? YES. UM, BUT OUR FOCAL POINT AT THIS POINT IS LOOKING AT OUR GIRLS IN THE COMMUNITY AND OUR WOMEN IN COMMUNITY THAT ARE OUT IN THE STREETS THAT, YOU KNOW, UM, YOU SEE A GIRL AT THE AGE 12 THAT'S OUT IN THE STREET NEXT TO SOMEONE WHO'S THE AGE OF 50 AND THAT 50 AT [00:35:01] ONE POINT WITH A 12-YEAR-OLD GIRL. SO THAT'S WHAT OUR FOCAL POINT IS ON. THANK YOU. AND, AND I WOULD EXPAND TO SAY THAT MARIAH SPOKE ABOUT HOW THERE IS THIS 13 HOTSPOTS AND WE HAVE THREE HERE. MM-HMM, , UM, THAT HOTSPOT BETWEEN LOS ANGELES, WHICH IS LONG BEACH, VEGAS, AND NORCAL, THE BAY AREA, SACRAMENTO AREA. THIS IS A TRIANGLE AND PEOPLE ARE MOVED IN OFTEN DON'T KNOW WHERE THEY'RE FROM OR WHERE THEY'RE, WHERE THEY, EXCUSE ME, WHERE THEY ARE. AND SO IT'S REALLY IMPORTANT FOR US TO HIGHLIGHT THAT, UM, THIS IS NOT JUST LIKE A STATIC ISSUE, LIKE THEY COME TO A COMMUNITY, THEY'RE STAYING AND THEY'RE EXPLOITED HERE. IT'S AN ISSUE THAT'S DYNAMIC AMONG SHARED COUNTIES AND SHARED STATES. UH, AND SO, UH, PART OF THAT COULD BE WITH HOMELAND SECURITY AS WELL IN THE COURTS IS, BUT I JUST, THE TRANSPORT. UM, YOU MAY, IF YOU'VE BEEN DRIVING ON THE 5, 9 9 LATELY AND YOU STOP AT A ARREST STOP, THERE IS HUMAN TRAFFICKING LITERATURE THERE BECAUSE BUS, UH, EXCUSE ME, UH, THE TRUCKING INDUSTRY HAS TAKEN THIS ON AS WELL BECAUSE OF THE RECOGNITION OF THIS TRIANGLE AS WELL AS THE AIRLINE INDUSTRY. ALL FLIGHT ATTENDANTS, UM, ARE TRAINED ON THIS ISSUE AS WELL. SO BECAUSE TRANSPORTING PEOPLE, UH, AND IT IS NOT LIKE THEY'RE ALWAYS IN SHIPPING CONTAINERS, TRANSPORTING PEOPLE CAN LOOK LIKE A, A A YOUNG PERSON SLIGHTLY SEDATED NEXT TO YOU. UM, BECAUSE ONCE THEY'RE SEDATED WITH DRUGS, IT'S HARD TO NOT HAVE 'EM ADDICTED, RIGHT? SO THEN THEY GET ADDICTED TO DRUGS AND NOW THEY'RE DEPENDENT ON THE TRAFFICKER FOR, UM, JUST SURVIVAL. AND SO THAT CAN JUST LOOK LIKE YOU'RE AT A TRUCK STOP, YOU KNOW, SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE OF CALIFORNIA. YOU DON'T REALIZE THAT, THAT THAT TRUCK STOP, THERE'S SOMEBODY TRANSPORTED TO THE NEXT LOCATION. UM, MAY 2ND. UM, MY, I HAVE TWO QUESTIONS. MY FIRST WAS, UM, BESIDES, YOU KNOW, GET, MAKING SURE THE CALL SENT CALL LINES HOTLINES OR WHAT WHATEVER ARE, ARE OR WHATNOT ARE AVAILABLE TO VICTIMS SO THEY KNOW THEY HAVE THE RESOURCES TO HELP. UM, WHERE DO YOU THINK IS THE MOST IMPACT THAT WE COULD BE PUTTING OUR EFFORTS INTO? 'CAUSE IT SOUNDS LIKE, UM, GIVEN THE ARREST, BUT WHAT THE NONPROFIT IS HELPING, ITS, ITS LAWS AROUND, YOU KNOW, ACTUALLY CHARGING THESE FOLKS. WOULD YOU SAY THAT'S WHERE YOU COULD SEE THE MOST IMPACT BEING MADE ON MAKING MONEY? UM, 100%, YOU KNOW, SENT BILLS, THEY DO IMPACT. UM, YOU KNOW, HOW WE CAN HANDLE HANDS ON SITUATIONS IN THIS, YOU HAVE TO BE HANDLED. UM, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR, THE ENGAGEMENT OF THE COMMUNITY AND, UM, YOU KNOW, ORGANIZATIONS, UM, IS TO JUST AT FIRST START ACKNOWLEDGING WHAT IS GOING ON IN THE COMMUNITY. THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR . UM, AND WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN GET, YOU KNOW, FEDS AVAILABLE FOR PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY. WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT HOW WE CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, HELP HELP THIS PERSON POSSIBLY GET OFF THE STREET, GET THEIR KIDS BACK FROM A TRAFFICKER, UM, AND, AND STILL SUSTAIN A LIFE OUTSIDE OF TRAFFICKING. UM, SO THERE'S SO MANY THINGS THAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR WHEN IT COMES TO ENGAGEMENTS, BUT YES, MAKING IT MORE KNOWN AND NOT ONLY KNOWN WHEN IT'S TIME TO VOTE, IS SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE STAND FROM AND DOWN. WE DO ALSO, UH, WANT TO BE ABLE TO INFLUENCE LEGISLATION AS WELL BECAUSE FOR EXAMPLE, SB 3 57, WHICH SOME OF YOU MAY HAVE HEARD OF THE, THE LOITERING LAW, AND MARIAH CAN REALLY SPEAK TO THIS BECAUSE SHE'S ALSO PARTICIPATES IN ORANGE COUNTY HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE. UM, BUT THAT LAW WAS PASSED AND NOW, UH, WOMEN CANNOT BE PICKED UP ANYMORE, UH, FOR PROSTITUTION BECAUSE THEY SAY THEY'RE FREE TO LOITER AND THEY CAN'T BE PICKED UP. IN THE PAST, POLICE WERE ABLE TO PICK THE WOMEN UP AND DOUG HOWARD WAS OUR PROSECUTOR, HAD A GREAT PROGRAM WHERE HE WOULD BRING THE WOMEN IN AND USE THAT AS A WAY TO BRING THEM INTO COURT. BUT AS A DEFERMENT, THEY COULD THEN TAKE SERVICES, WHICH THEY WOULD CALL GEMS, UNCOVERED GEMS WOULD PUT THEM IN THE PROGRAM AND THEY COULD GO THROUGH THE PROGRAM, AVOID GETTING A CITATION ON THEIR RECORD. WELL, NOW, BECAUSE OF THE LOITERING LAW, THEY CAN'T GET PICKED UP ANYMORE. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THEY'RE UNWILLING TO TALK TO POLICE, AND IT HAS MADE THE PIMPS THAT MUCH MORE EMBOLDENED BECAUSE THEY KNOW THAT THERE'S NO THREAT TO THEM ANYMORE. SO THAT WAS SOMETHING WHEN THAT LAW WAS GOING THROUGH, WE TRIED TO SWAY PUBLIC OPINION TO PEOPLE, HAVE PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THAT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT, YOU KNOW, THEY SAYING, WELL, LEGAL PROSTITUTION SHOULD BE ALLOWED, BUT WE'RE NOT TALKING ABOUT THAT. WE'RE TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE WHO ARE VICTIMIZED THROUGH PROSTITUTION. AND AS MARIAH CAN PROBABLY ALSO ADDRESS A LOT OF 'EM DON'T EVEN KNOW THEY'RE BEING VICTIMIZED. CORRECT. YOU KNOW, THE THING ABOUT ADS, UH, LIKE THIS, I GET IT, WE ALL COULDN'T UNDERSTAND MY BODY, MY CHOICE. HOWEVER, IF WE CAN NO LONGER APPROACH THE GIRL WHO [00:40:01] WE THINK LOOKS 12, BUT IT'S MADE US LOOK 18, UM, ON A SOLICITATION MANNER OR ON A, UM, LOITERING MANNER. UH, SO WE CAN'T, THE COPS CAN NO LONGER APPROACH THIS, THIS, SO-CALLED 18-YEAR-OLD TO DO MORE OF INVESTIGATION, SAY, ARE THEY REALLY 18? ARE THEY 12? ARE THEY 13? YOU KNOW, SO THAT MAKES IT VERY HARD TO, THAT'S MAKES IT VERY HARD TO TRACK THE KID, ESPECIALLY THROUGH OUR FOSTER CARE SYSTEM THAT ARE GOING THROUGH THE CRACKS. UM, WHICH IS REALLY SAD. AND, UM, IF WE, WHICH I HATE TO SAY THIS IN THE FUTURE, IT LOOKS LIKE WE'RE TRYING TO LEGALIZE THE CONSTITUTION. UM, IF WE TAKE THAT ROUTE, HOW THEN ARE WE GOING TO GET THE GIRLS THAT ARE TO LOOK LIKE THEY'RE 18 YEARS OLD OFF THE WEBSITE? THEY'RE RELATIONAL. AND, SORRY, SECOND QUESTION. HAVE YOU EVER, HAVE YOU EVER LOOKED INTO THE IMPACT OF THE MOTELS? THERE'S SO MANY MOTELS AT THE BABY RAPE MOTELS, AND I KNOW THERE'S A LOT OF, UM, YOU KNOW, DISPLACED FAMILIES THAT ARE LIVING THERE. I'M AWARE OF THAT, BUT THEN THERE'S ALSO A PROSECUTION. UM, IS THERE ANY LEGISLATION OR WORK BEING DONE THERE WITH, UH, SO RIGHT NOW, WHEN WE GO INTO THE MOTELS, THE ONLY TYPE OF MOTELS THAT ARE BEING HANDLED, LIKE WHEN IT COMES TO, UM, LEGALLY, IS IF WE DO A SINGLE OPERATION, UM, THOSE ARE VERY FAR AND FREE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF THE COVID COMMITMENTS THAT, UM, HEALTH LONG BEACH PD HAS RIGHT NOW WITH THE FUNDS AND EVERYTHING. AND, AND BY SCOPE, THOSE ARE FAR AND BETWEEN, BUT WE DO, I DO DO AN OUTREACH, UM, JENSEN COVER DOES AN OUTREACH, WE DO DO OUTREACHES. UM, WE, I SPECIFICALLY DO AN OUTREACH THAT GOES INTO MOTELS AT LEAVES, UM, UH, UH, MAKE WIPE WITH A, UM, HUMAN TALKING HOTLINE NUMBER ON THE BACK SIDE OF IT. SO IT LOOKS LIKE IT'S JUST A MAKE BREAK. THE OTHER SIDE LOOKS LIKE THE NUMBER FOR HEALTH, UM, BECAUSE THESE GIRLS ARE NOT ALLOWED TO CARRY AROUND A BAG OR PURSE OR ANYTHING. UM, SO SOMETHING WITH A LIP GLOSS ON IT THAT HAS THE, UM, HOTLINE ON IT THAT THE CUPBOARD HAS, UM, OR A, UH, MAKE IT WHITE, YOU KNOW, CAN GO BY AND NOT GET THAT HURT. SO THOSE ARE WHAT WE'RE REALLY FINDING ON TO DO MORE OUTREACH FOR NO TELL, UH, STATISTICS. IT WAS JUST, IT'S, IT'S TOO MUCH OF A GRAY AREA TO SEE IF, YOU KNOW, SOME FAMILIES ARE IN THERE AND THE MOTHER IS PROSTITUTE BECAUSE SHE DOES NEED TO, UM, PROVIDE FOR THE FAMILY. SO, YOU KNOW, BUT AT ONE POINT THAT MOTHER WAS PROBABLY THAT THAT 13-YEAR-OLD KID THAT'S, THAT WENT THROUGH THE CRACKS, YOU KNOW, AND THAT, THAT'S WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE GET THESE CLIENTS. SOMETIMES THEY, 26, 27, 28 YEARS OLD, THEY HAD BEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, TRAFFICKED WHEN THEY WERE 10. THEY WERE FIFTH GRADE, THEY NEVER MADE IT TO MIDDLE SCHOOL. THEY DON'T HAVE A, UM, A HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA. THEY DON'T HAVE A GED, THEY HAVE NO, UM, NO WORK HISTORY. THEY DON'T HAVE A, UM, ANYTHING TO THEIR NAMES. SO HOW, HOW ARE THEY HIREABLE? THESE, THIS IS THE DOMINO EFFECT. SO AS WE TREAT THAT 12-YEAR-OLD, WE WANNA GIVE THAT SAME GRACE TO THAT, YOU KNOW, 30-YEAR-OLD, 40-YEAR-OLD THAT HAS FALLEN VICTIM LIST. THANK YOU. SO I'M NOW GOING TO, UM, OPEN UP TO THE REST OF THE COMMISSION TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM. UM, I DID SEE OUR VICE CHAIR HAS A QUESTION AND I, I KNOW I'LL GO TO COMMISSIONER , I APOLOGIZE, BUT I AM HAVING A LITTLE BIT OF TROUBLE HEARING THE SOFT SPOKEN PEOPLE, BUT I APPRECIATE THAT YOU ARE SOFT-SPOKEN BECAUSE OF THE WORK YOU DO. YOU KNOW, LIKE SHOUTING ACROSS THE ROOM IS PROBABLY NOT SOMETHING THAT YOU ARE ABLE TO DO. UM, I HAVE TWO THINGS ON MY MIND. THE FIRST ONE IS FOR THE PEOPLE IN THIS ROOM WHO THINK THAT THIS IS FAR, FAR AWAY, I WANNA BRING IT HOME. I STOOD WITH THE HOUSEKEEPERS IN STRIKES ON OER BOULEVARD FOR TWO YEARS WHILE THE CURRENT, THE CITY COUNCIL VOTED NO TWICE ON PANIC BUTTONS ON SIGNS AND LOBBIES. I THOUGHT THAT WAS SO INTERESTING, UM, TO TRY TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT THE SEXUAL ASSAULTS AND BRINGING SEX WORKERS IN, UH, INTO THE HOTELS. AND I WANT EVERYONE TO UNDERSTAND THAT IT WAS A MINORITY THAT VOTED, UH, IN FAVOR OF WHAT ULTIMATELY BECAME CLAUDIA'S LAW. AND WHAT WE HAD TO DO WAS ACTUALLY TAKE IT OUT TO THE PEOPLE. AND THEN WE GOT OVER 70% OF THE POPULATION WHEN WE KNOCKED ON DOORS WHO SAID, GIVE ME THAT PETITION. I NEED TO SIGN IT. AND IT GOT ON THE BALLOT. AND, UM, WE WATCHED THOUSANDS OF BALLOTS BEING COUNTED IN THE CITY CLERK'S OFFICE FOR A LONG TIME. THIS IS NOT FAR, FAR AWAY. THIS IS RIGHT HERE. [00:45:01] AND, UM, THE SANCHEZ FAMILY IS RIGHT HERE. AND, UM, NOW MY, MY FEMINIST EOA PERSON IS WANTING TO ASK YOU, I WROTE DOWN BIG LETTERS, WHY ISN'T THIS PAID WORK? WHY ARE YOU WORKING? WHY ARE YOU A VOLUNTEER? WHY ISN'T THIS WELL PAID WORK FOR YOU? I WANT TO KNOW, PLEASE TELL ME. YOU KNOW, UH, WE ALL ASK THE SAME THING, . YEAH. UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, WE DEFINITELY TRY OUR BEST TO, TO GET GRANTS AND WE DEFINITELY TRY OUR BEST TO COME TOGETHER AS AN ORGANIZATION, UM, FROM MANY DIFFERENT ORGANIZATIONS. UM, WE TRY TO GET FUNDING AND STREAMLINE FUNDING. UM, AND TO ME, I CAN'T REALLY ANSWER YOU WHY IT'S NOT A WELL PAID. UM, BUT NO MATTER WHAT IT IS, WE'RE HERE TO DO IT. YES. AND WE'RE HERE TO MAKE A CHANGE AND WE'RE HERE. WHETHER THAT MEANS 10 YEARS DOWN THE LINE THERE IS PAY FOR IT. UM, I DIDN GET PAID IN MY JOB, UH, BUT I AM, I HAVE TO PAY MYSELF. SO I GO OUT AND I WORK MY TAIL, BUT OFF TO ESSENTIALLY, YOU KNOW, BRING HOME, YOU KNOW, TRUMP CHANGE FOR THE NONPROFIT IS THE WHAT WE ARE HERE, WE'RE HERE TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, THE WORK THAT PEOPLE DON'T WANNA DO, IT GETS DONE. BECAUSE IT IS A HARD THING. WELL, IT'S STAGGERING AND I CAN'T THANK YOU ENOUGH. AND KNOWING THAT WOMEN THAT WORK FOR FREE DOING THE HARDEST WORK THERE IS, IS WHY YOU'RE HERE. WHY THERE A WOMEN'S COMMISSION? NOW, THIS WAS THE WHOLE POINT, AND THANK YOU FOR BRINGING THESE STORIES TO THIS GROUP. I WAS SO HAPPY TO SEE WE WERE IN THAT DIAGRAM, NOT ABOUT THE OLYMPICS, BUT WE'RE IN THAT DIAGRAM AND I HOPE THAT YOU'LL TELL US WHAT WE CAN DO AND, UH, WE RESPOND, UH, IMMEDIATELY AND WELL AND QUALIFIED AND, UM, DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO SUPPORT YOU. THIS IS, THIS IS IT. THIS IS WHERE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD. THIS IS WHERE WOMEN AND GIRLS ARE. AND, UH, YOU'RE IN MY PURSE AND I THANK YOU . UH, COMMISSIONER ARCH. AND THEN I WOULD ASK, JUST IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, IF PEOPLE HAVE FOLLOW-UPS AFTER THEY ASK ONE QUESTION, IF YOU COULD SAVE 'EM, UM, IF MULTIPLE FOLKS HAVE, HAVE THEIR HANDS RAISED AND THEN WE'LL COME BACK TO ON THE HANDS DOWN. WELL, I JUST WANNA SAY THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS WORK. ESPECIALLY YOU'RE DOING IT IF AS VOLUNTEER AND NOT A PAID JOB. THANK YOU FOR DOING THIS. THIS IS IMPORTANT WORK. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING IT TO US TODAY. UM, MY QUESTION IS REGARDING THE DEMOGRAPHICS. IS THERE A PARTICULAR, UM, DEMOGRAPHIC POPULATION THAT YOU SEE OUT THERE MORE? MM-HMM. OR IS IT JUST PRETTY DIVERSE? WHAT IS THE DEMO? THE DEMOGRAPHIC IS, IT IS A HIGHER, UM, DEMOGRAPHIC, AFRICAN AMERICAN. UM, WE ARE SEEING A RISE IN, UM, ASIAN AND HISPANIC. AND THERE IS ALSO, UM, CAUCASIAN, BUT DEFINITELY, UM, DEVELOP AFRICAN AMERICAN. UM, AND YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHY WE, THAT IS WHY WE, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT TO BOYS IN THE COMMUNITY BECAUSE WHEN I GO AND SPEAK, I, I HAVE TO SIT THERE AND I TO SAY, NOT MAJORITY OF THE GIRLS OUT HERE DON'T LOOK LIKE ME, SO DON'T GO LOOKING FOR ME. GO LOOKING FOR THE GIRLS THAT YOU TURN A BLIND EYE TO AND YOU, AND YOU TURN YOUR NOSE UP TO AND YOU THINK, OH, I COULD FEEL BAD FOR THAT PERSON. DON'T HAVE SYMPATHY AND A GAME WHERE YOU SHOULD HAVE EMPATHY. SO IS THAT UNIQUE FOR THIS AREA OR IS THAT JUST NATIONAL? YEAH, AND I WOULD ADD TO THAT, THAT I'M TRYING TO THINK ABOUT . I I WOULD ADD TO THAT, THAT, UM, THE OTHER CALL TO ACTION WOULD BE A COUPLE SHIFT AND MAKING TONIGHT A COMMITMENT AS AN INDIVIDUAL, NOT JUST AS A COMMISSION, BUT AS AN INDIVIDUAL TO MAKE A CULTURAL SHIFT INTO THE POP CULTURE THAT YOU MIGHT ENGAGE IN. UM, YOU'VE REPEATEDLY HEARD REFERRED TO PEOPLE AS TRAFFICKERS AND NOT PIPS. 'CAUSE PIPS ARE CARTOON TWO CHARACTERS, QUITE FRANKLY, WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT 'EM AS TRAFFICKERS, RIGHT. AND, UM, MAKING, YOU KNOW, IF YOU GO TO ANY HALLOWEEN STORE, YOU'RE GONNA SEE THE PIMP AND HO COSTUME. AND THAT MAKES IT CULTURALLY ACCEPTABLE IF THAT STORE IS SELLING THOSE OUTFITS. UM, PEOPLE USE LANGUAGE AND EVERY DAY IN MUSIC THAT ALLOWS THIS KIND OF LANGUAGE TO BE NORMALIZED. BUT IF WE, IF WE HAD A SONG, I MEAN THERE WAS THIS, THIS FAMOUS SHOW ON, UM, ON TV WHERE THEY WOULD, I WON'T NAME THE SHOW, BUT THEY WOULD INTERVIEW PEOPLE IN THE BACKSEAT OF CAB AND IT WAS SHOWED AS ENTERTAINMENT. AND THIS TRAFFICKER CAME INTO THE BACKSEAT OF THE CAB WITH A FEW BUDDIES AND TALKED ABOUT HOW THEY WERE THE ENFORCERS. AND I WAS THE HEAD, AND, AND I WAS, AND I WE'RE WATCHING THIS, I REMEMBER WATCHING THIS IN THE TASK FORCE THINKING, WAIT, THIS LIKE PAST [00:50:01] PRODUCERS AND THIS, LIKE, IF YOU HAD SOMEBODY COME ON TV TALKING ABOUT RAPING CHILDREN, WOULD THAT BE AIRED AS ENTERTAINMENT? IT WOULD NOT. AND THERE IS A CULTURAL ACCEPTANCE TO NORMALIZATION THAT THIS IS OKAY. SO THAT'S WHERE I IMPLORE YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL AS WELL AS, AS A COMMISSION, TO CONSIDER HOW YOU ENGAGE IN THE CULTURAL, CULTURAL NORMALIZATION OF THIS ISSUE BY OUR LANGUAGE, BY THE THINGS WE PURCHASE, BY THE THINGS, UH, BECAUSE WE'RE TALKING NOT JUST SEX TRAFFICKING, BUT LABOR TRAFFICKING AS WELL, BUT BY THE, THE THINGS WE PURCHASE BY THE, THE MUSIC WE LISTEN TO AND THE PEOPLE WE SUPPORT. AND SO, UM, IT KIND OF GOES INTO A CULTURAL SHIFT AS WELL. SO TO THAT END, I HOPE THEY DID SOMETHING WITH THAT GENTLEMAN THAT YOU SHOWED US A THAT HAD THAT T-SHIRT. I HOPE THEY STOPPED. NO FREEDOM OF FUTURE COMMISSIONERS. ARE THERE ANY OTHER COMMISSION? YEAH, I HAVE YOU BRIEF. I, I WANNA SAY THANK YOU, UH, AGAIN FOR YOUR PRESENTATION. UM, AND ALSO I'M JUST WONDERING, CERTAINLY I THINK YOU PROBABLY ALL HAVE IDEAS AS TO LIKE WHERE WE COULD GO FROM HERE, BUT I'M WONDERING IF MAYBE AT A FUTURE MEETING WE CAN DISCUSS ANY KIND OF RECOMMENDATIONS. MAYBE GIVE US SOME, YOU KNOW, SOME POINTS, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR WHAT OUR COLLABORATION MIGHT LOOK LIKE SO THAT WE CAN, UM, GET STARTED WITH A, WITH A BOG. THANK YOU. UM, COMMISSIONER ANGLE AND WE'LL GO TO, UM, YOU MENTIONED, UM, THANK, FIRST OF ALL, THANK YOU SO MUCH HERE GIVING US THIS INTRODUCTION AND FOR THE WORK THAT YOU'RE DOING HERE, UH, SEGUE SWAY, YOU MENTIONED, UH, RO AND THAT IS ALSO A TRIANGLE FOR THE RANK WHERE THE RAMS PLAY AND, AND, UH, USC AND THEIR BEST PHYSICIAN PARK. UM, WHAT HAS, WHAT IS BEING DONE IN THAT AREA THAT IS SO CLOSE TO LONG BEACH THAT, UM, IN ORDER TO CHANGE THAT, BECAUSE IN THAT COMMUNITY THAT HAS, IS BEEN, IS BEEN THERE SO LONG, THAT IS NORMALIZED, BUT WHAT, WHAT IS BEING DONE BY YOUR ORGANIZATION AS A TASK FORCE OR SINCE YOU MENTIONED IT, TO KIND OF TAKE CARE OF SOME OF THAT, THAT ENDEMIC. THAT'S WHAT WE'RE HERE FOR. WE CAN'T DO IT ON OUR OWN. WE NEED YOU GUYS OUT. MM-HMM. , YOU KNOW, WE STILL HAVE OUR STREET OUTREACH WITH THAT GO FRIDAY NIGHT, SATURDAY MORNING TO MEET THE GIRLS. I STOPPED GOING OUT A YEAR AND A HALF AGO BECAUSE I HAD A GUN PULLED OUT ON ME AND I HAVE TOO MUCH. I HAVE A LITTLE BOY AT HOME, I HAVE A HUSBAND, I HAVE TOO MUCH TO LOSE. UM, BUT WE STILL HAVE, WE HAD TO CHANGE TIMES FOR THE GIRLS TO GO OUT TO MAKE IT SAFER FOR US TO, YOU KNOW, HAND OVER THE GOODY BAGS, GIVE A PRAYER AND SEE HOW WE CAN HELP. UM, WE ARE THE ONLY BASE OUT THERE, THE PEOPLE WHO ARE OF THE NON-PROFITS, THE COMMUNITY WHO DOES WANT TO VOLUNTEER, WHO DOES NOT HAVE A HARD AND HEART YET BECAUSE THAT'S BELIEVE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO HAVE SHOWN IN THAT COMMUNITY THAT HAVE TO WALK THEIR CHILD TO SCHOOL THEIR HEART IS HARD. AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT THIS LIKE NOT UNDERSTANDING THAT ACTUAL SITUATION WHOLE. UM, SO WE'RE THE BOOTS ON THE GROUND ESSENTIALLY WHEN IT COMES TO TRYING TO REACH THE PEOPLE THAT ARE OUT THERE. UM, WE MORE OF WHAT WE NEED, UM, YOU KNOW, PEOPLE SUCH AS YOURSELVES TO HELP COME ALONGSIDE AND, YOU KNOW, HELP PASS THINGS. LIKE, HEY, REALLY DARK DOWN THE STREET, THERE'S A LOT OF, YOU KNOW, ACTIVITY. CAN WE, UM, YOU KNOW, VOTE TO GET MORE STREET LIGHTS PUT IN OR HEY, UM, I NOTICED THAT THERE'S NO U-TURNS AT THIS TIME, BUT IT'S VERY HIGH POPULATED TRAFFIC AREA AND THERE'S NO COST STOPPING ANYBODY. CAN WE HAVE MORE PATROL IN THIS AREA? BUT IF IT'S JUST A COUPLE, A HANDFUL OF US THAT ARE CONSTANTLY PAYING UP THE SAME PEOPLE TO TRY TO GET THE SAME RESULTS, UM, WE KIND OF GET, YOU KNOW, MAYBE NOT HEARD AS MUCH BECAUSE YOU KNOW, NOT TRYING TO GET LOUDER. WE'RE TRYING TO GET CLEARER AND WITH, YOU KNOW, OTHER PEOPLE THAT ACCOMPLISH THESE AGENDAS, THE CORRECT PEOPLE THAT COULD BE, UM, MORE FOOTWORK TO MAKE, YOU KNOW, POTENTIALLY SHY, LITERALLY, UM, ON FIGURE UP. AND LONG BEACH RULES ARE THE AREAS THAT, YOU KNOW, REALLY NEED OUR ATTENTION AND OUR FOCAL POINT. AND WE DO HOPE THAT THROUGH THIS COLLABORATION WE WILL BE ABLE TO COME UP WITH IDEAS THAT MIGHT BE DISTRICT SPECIFIC SO THAT WHEN YOU, WE KNOW YOU HAVE A VOICE IN CITY COUNCIL AND WITH THE MAYOR AND THAT IF THIS IS AN AVENUE TO GET THESE THINGS ADDRESSED FOR YOUR NEIGHBORHOODS AND YOUR AREAS, AND IF YOU SEE THINGS AND YOU CAN TELL US, AND SIMILARLY WE CAN RESPOND TO WHAT WE THINK NEEDS TO BE DONE, UH, BUT IF WE TAKE IT NEIGHBORHOOD BY NEIGHBORHOOD AND YOU CAN REPRESENT THAT AS YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD [00:55:01] NEEDS IT, THEN I THINK THAT WOULD BE A GREAT WAY TO MAKE INROADS INTO THIS AREA RATHER THAN IT BEING SOME AMORPHOUS ISSUE UP HERE. BUT BRING IT BACK DOWN TO THE SIDEWALKS, BRING IT TO THE STREETS AND SAY, THIS IS HAPPENING IN MY DISTRICT, MY NEIGHBORHOOD, AND WE HAVE TO COME UP WITH A PLAN FOR HOW TO IMPROVE IT. WHETHER YOU ARE THE DISTRICT DOWN IN OCEAN THAT HAS A BUNCH OF HOTELS, WHETHER YOU ARE NORTH LONG BEACH, WHERE THEY, YOU SEE WOMEN ON THE STREET, WHETHER YOUR DISTRICT HAS STARVED ELEMENTARY, WHERE THESE GIRLS WERE WALKING IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL AND WHEN PARENTS TRIED TO REPORT THEM, THE UPSHOT OF THE ARTICLE WAS THAT THE POLICE TOLD THEM, UNLESS YOU SEE SOLICITATION ACTUALLY HAPPENING, WE CANNOT DO ANYTHING. SO JUST GIRLS WALKING UP AND DOWN KNOWING WHAT THAT'S GOING TO LEAD TO WAS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR THE POLICE TO ACT. SO IT'S REALLY TAKING IT NEIGHBORHOOD BY NEIGHBORHOOD AND SEEING WHAT HAS TO BE DONE. AND THAT WOULD BE A GREAT WAY FOR US TO COLLABORATE. IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, WE CAN COME TO YOU AS WELL AND SAY, LET'S EDUCATE, LET'S GET PEOPLE OUT ON THE STREET. LET'S DO SOMETHING TO MAKE THAT AREA SAFER. WHATEVER MIGHT BE SPECIFIC TO THAT AREA. COMMISSIONER GON, YOU KNOW, THAT'S A REALLY GREAT SEGUE 'CAUSE I LIVE IN THE NORTH, IN NORTH AND I'VE SEEN IT WITH MY OWN EYES. IT'S VERY MUCH IN YOUR FACE, VERY, VERY MUCH, VERY APPARENT AND IT'S VERY SAD. UM, SO HAVING SAID THAT, I DO KNOW THE NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION BY STAR KING AND I KNOW THEY'VE BEEN TRYING TO, YOU KNOW, ADDRESS THIS ISSUE. SO I MEAN, IF WE COULD, YOU KNOW, IF WE CAN CONNECT, I WOULD LOVE TO CONNECT YOU WITH THE, WITH THAT NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION AS WELL AS I WAS WONDERING, HAVE YOU PARTNERED WITH OR COLLABORATED WITH STAR KING ELEMENTARY? BECAUSE YEAH, LIKE YOU SAID, IT, IT HAPPENS IN FRONT, BUT I DON'T KNOW. UM, I KNOW THAT THEY ALREADY HAVE A COMMUNITY MEETING. MARIAH WAS YES, INVOLVED IN THAT. SO THINGS KIND A LITTLE LEFT WITH SOME OF THE COMMUNITY, BUT THEY WERE MORE OUTREACH. UM, AND WE DON'T WANT TO HAVE A COMMUNITY MEETING COMING OUTTA THE GIRLS. WE NEED TO MAKE IT A COMMUNITY MEETING ABOUT THE GIRLS. UM, SO IT KIND OF WENT A LITTLE LEFT. WE'RE STILL TRYING TO HAVE MORE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE STILL TALK WITH SOME OF THE PEOPLE WHO PUT ON THAT, UM, IF IT'S A BOARD OR IF IT'S JUST A COMMUNITY GROUP. UM, BUT WE ARE STILL TRYING TO HEAR THEIR VOICE OUT AND PUT SOMETHING TOGETHER, UM, IN ORDER TO, YOU KNOW, NOT SOLVE THE PROBLEM, BUT AT LEAST START STOPPING WHAT THESE CHILDREN ARE SEEING ON A DAILY BASIS WHILE, YOU KNOW, NOT HURTING OR GETTING THE GIRLS HURT. IF I COULD ADD A LITTLE BIT, UH, MAYBE I, I KNOW CLOSING POINT THAT WHEN YOU ASK WHAT CAN WE DO, NUMBER ONE IS EDUCATE YOURSELF. YOU JUST TYPE IN HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND YOU'LL GO THROUGH A RABBIT HOLE OF INFORMATION AND VIDEOS AND INFORMATION THAT'S ON THERE THAT COULD REALLY EDUCATE YOURSELF. BUT WHEN YOU GET THAT INFORMATION, YOU EDUCATE YOURSELF, SHARE IT, WHATEVER YOU HEARD HERE TONIGHT, THAT IS ONE THING. JUST SHARE IT WITH ANYBODY, YOU KNOW. NUMBER TWO, POST WHAT YOU SEE THAT'S RELEVANT ON AWARENESS ON YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA, BECAUSE YOU RIGHT HERE, WE HAVE 20 PEOPLE, YOU HAVE A WIDE REACH. LOOK AT HOW MANY PEOPLE YOU COULD KIND OF STIR UP SOMETHING THAT THEY COULD CONTINUE TO WANNA LEARN MORE ABOUT IT. AND NUMBER THREE, FUND ORGANIZATIONS THAT DO THE WORK. IT IS HARD WORK, YOU KNOW, AND FUNDING, WHY DO WE DO THIS? YOU KNOW, THIS TASK FORCE IS A VOLUNTEER ORGANIZATION, BUT LA AND THEN ORANGE COUNTY ARE PAID TASK FORCE BECAUSE THEY GET FUNDED THROUGH THE DOJ, BUT THEY'RE VERY HEAVY ON LAW ENFORCEMENT AND A LOT OF THAT MONEY GOES TO THEIR LAW ENFORCEMENT. AND THAT'S THE ONLY WAY A TASK FORCE IS FUNDED RIGHT NOW. SO THIS WAY WE'RE NOT FUNDED, BUT WE GET, COULD DO MUCH MORE, YOU KNOW, ON OUR TERMS IN A SENSE. BUT WE STILL NEED THE SUPPORT OF THE COMMUNITY. SO EDUCATE YOURSELF, SHARE THE INFORMATION AND HELP FUND THESE ORGANIZATIONS. THAT'S PRIMARILY WHAT WE ASK. THANK YOU. THANK YOU. UH, COMMISSIONER , I'M WONDERING IF YOU HAVE, UM, COLLABORATED ALL WITH BETTER WOMEN'S SHELTERS. THEY HAVE PARTICIPATED. SOME OF THE, UM, SHELTERS THAT FOCUS ON VIOLENCE HAVE BEEN PART OF THE 50 IN THAT COLLABORATION. UH, IF YOU DID NOT SEE AN ORGANIZATION THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE IN THAT INVOLVED ON THE CORE TEAM, THEY, THEY PROBABLY AREN'T INVOLVED. UM, THERE'S SOME OF THE CORE TEAM, UM, BUT YOU KNOW, WE'VE CERTAINLY HAD, UH, WOMEN'S SHELTER IN LONG BEACH HAS BEEN VERY INVOLVED WITH THE TASK FORCE FOR YEARS AND YEARS AND, UH, SO SHOUT OUT TO THEM AND, UM, THEY JUST HAVEN'T BEEN ON THE COURT TEAM. THAT'S, THAT'S THE ONLY, BUT WE'VE HAD, UH, DCFS AND PROBATION. I WILL SAY CO COVID SLOWED DOWN AND SHIFTED PARTICIPATION IN THE TASK FORCE, BUT THE TASK FORCE KEPT MOVING FORWARD. BUT, UM, WE WOULD LOVE IF, IF YOU HAVE AN IDEA OF WHO SHOULD GET INVOLVED, UM, INCLUDING [01:00:01] YOURSELF, UM, YOU JUST LET US KNOW. WE ARE LIVING FOR COURT TEAM MEMBERS, SO, AND THANK YOU. THANK YOU, THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS? OKAY. I THANK YOU SO MUCH, UM, FOR COMING, FOR SHARING YOUR WISDOM AND EXPERIENCES. I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT YOU'RE ALL VOLUNTEER, ESPECIALLY WITH THE AMOUNT OF IMPACT YOU HAVE. SO I'M VERY IMPRESSED BY THAT. UM, I DO HAVE A FEW QUESTIONS MYSELF, UM, WHICH I WILL TRY TO KEEP CONCISE. SO I WANTED TO ASK, UM, ABOUT ANY INSIGHTS YOU HAVE INTO THE RESPONSES OR THE SYSTEM, SYSTEMS OR PROGRAMS THAT THE CITY GOVERNMENT HAS IN PLACE, UM, TO ADDRESS HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE COMMUNITY. IF YOU FEEL THAT THERE'S SUFFICIENT, NOT SUFFICIENT, AND DEPENDING ON YOUR RESPONSE, LIKE WHERE YOU COULD SEE SOME HIGH TOUCH POINTS, WHERE A DIFFERENCE COULD BE MADE SOONER RATHER THAN LATER. I DUNNO IF WE WANNA TURN TO TERESA BECAUSE SHE OFF THE CITY. UH, I'M SORRY. UH, FIRST OF ALL, I HAVE A, ONE OF OUR CORE TEAM MEMBERS WANTS TO KNOW IF THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO MAKE A COMMENT AT ANY POINT. I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S, UH, UM, I'M SORRY, WHAT WAS THE QUESTION? UM, THE QUESTION WAS LONG-WINDED AND IT WAS, UM, DO YOU SEE IN REGARDS TO THE SYSTEMS AND PROGRAMS THAT THE CITY OF LONG BEACH, THE GOVERNMENT HAS IN PLACE, ARE THEY SUFFICIENT? IF THEY'RE NOT SUFFICIENT, WHERE ARE THE GAPS OR WHAT ARE, WHAT ARE THE HIGHEST TOUCH POINTS THAT COULD BE ADDRESSED, ADDRESSED SOONER RATHER THAN LATER TO FILLING SOME GAPS, SOME HIGH PRESSURE GAPS? UM, WHAT WE REALLY WOULD LIKE TO SEE, HONESTLY, IS, UM, MORE PARTICIPATION HONESTLY, FROM OUR POLICE DEPARTMENT. NUMBER ONE ON, THEY HAVE BEEN A PARTNER IN THIS WORK, BUT I UNDERSTAND THE SHORTAGE, STAFFING, ALL THOSE RESTRICTIONS AS FAR AS ANY OTHER PART OF OUR SYSTEM, WE, THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT HAD, WERE FUNDED BY CALIFORNIA STATE, UH, DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY SERVICE. THAT FUNDING ENDED WHEN WE FUNDED THESE ORGANIZATIONS. AND THAT WAS MY ROLE IS TO ADMINISTER THOSE GRANTS. AND THOSE GRANTS ARE NO LONGER AVAILABLE. UM, MAYBE THE ADVANCES WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, AS FAR AS THIS, THIS ADVOCACY TO OUR GOVERNOR TO INCREASE THAT FUNDING AND TO OUR CONGRESSMEN, YOU KNOW, THOSE AREAS. BUT OTHER, ANYTHING THAT'S IN PLACE NOW TO SUPPORT HUMAN TRAFFICKING AWARENESS IS BASICALLY JUST MYSELF. AND I'M GLADLY AND PROBABLY DO IT. I, I HAVE A FOLLOW UP AND I, I DON'T WANNA BE TOO LONG THE MOST OF TIME. UM, BUT YOU SAID YOU LIKE MORE PARTICIPATION WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT, AND YOU MENTIONED ABOUT YOUR STAFFING. I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR ON WHAT YOU MEAN BY MEETING MORE PARTICIPATION FROM THEM. UM, JUST A, A MEMBER ON OUR COURT TEAM THAT IS CONSTANTLY THERE TO GIVE US UPDATES, TO LET US, SO THAT WE KNOW THAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING IS BEING ADDRESSED AT THE LEVEL THAT THE, WHATEVER LEVEL THAT IS, THAT WE UNDERSTAND WHAT IS HAPPENING AND HOW ARE THEY ADDRESSING IT, WHAT CAN WE DO TO SUPPORT OUR DEPARTMENT. UM, HOW I THINK THAT THERE IS A BENEFIT WHEN WE HAVE A REALLY ACTIVE PERSON FROM LONG BEACH PD ON OUR CORE TEAM, LIKE WE'VE HAD A DECADE AGO OR SO. WHAT HAPPENS IS THAT GAP IN THE DATA I TALKED ABOUT, MM-HMM. , WHERE YOU SEE, UM, ARREST RATES VERSUS NON-PROFIT ENGAGEMENT RATES ON, ON THESE, THAT GAP, I THINK IS UNDERSTOOD DIFFERENTLY AND MAYBE LESSENED SO THAT WE CAN BE REALLY WORKING IN CONCERT. UM, BUT CURRENTLY WE HAVE A LARGE GAP AND, UM, AND THE DATA REPRESENTS THAT. AND SO IT IS POWERFUL TO HAVE HOMELAND SECURITY AT OUR TABLE EVERY MONTH TO BE ABLE TO SAY WHAT'S GOING ON IN THAT PERSPECTIVE. UM, AND SO TO HAVE THAT LEVEL OF ENGAGEMENT, I THINK FROM LONG BEACH PD WOULD BE PHENOMENAL. WE'VE HAD IT BEFORE, BUT I THINK THAT AS, AS THERESA SAID, THERE'S SHIFTING PRIORITIES AND SHIFTING STAFFING AVAILABILITIES. AND SO I DON'T HAVE THAT MAGIC ANSWER, UM, AS TO HOW TO GET THAT TO BE MORE CONSISTENT. BUT WE COULD LESSEN THAT GAP TO SHOW THAT OUR NONPROFITS WHO ARE BOOTS ON THE GROUND ARE IN TUNE WITH WHAT'S GOING ON WITH LONG BEACH PD. 'CAUSE THAT'S REALLY A, AN INCREDIBLY KEY PARTNERSHIP THAT HAS TO BE IN PLACE FOR SUCCESS TO MAKE A COMMUNITY IMPACT. UM, I COULD CONTINUE ASKING YOUR QUESTIONS ALL NIGHT, BUT IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, I'M GOING TO, UH, TO STOP. BUT I, I, I DO HOPE, AND [01:05:01] TO YOUR POINT, COMMISSIONER , OUR VICE CHAIR, I DO HOPE THERE ARE SYNERGIES HERE AND OPPORTUNITIES TO WORK TOGETHER. AND I LOOK FORWARD TO TO THOSE. UM, SO TO THAT END, UM, I WOULD LIKE MME. SHARP TO PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE. AND IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND, UH, RE BREATHING THE ITEM TIME. IS IT POSSIBLE FOR ONE MORE COMMENT FROM OUR MEMBER PHONE? OH, YES. MARY WHITE. YOU CAN GO AHEAD AND UNMUTE YOURSELF. MARY, CAN YOU HEAR ME OKAY? YEAH. YES. VERY GOOD. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR INVITING US TO SHARE, YOU KNOW, OUR HEARTS ABOUT WHAT'S GOING ON WITH REGARDS TO HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND THE REPORT AND THE PRESENTATION GIVEN PRETTY MUCH, UM, IS, YOU KNOW, SPOT ON. WE HAD A, A, AN AMAZING RELATIONSHIP WITH LONG BEACH PDS FOR THE PAST, OH, I WOULD SAY FOUR YEARS. BUT WITH THE CHANGES MADE IN, UH, UH, STAFFING AND, AND CHANGES IN DEPARTMENTS, THAT HAS DECLINED. BUT LONG BEACH PD HAS ALWAYS BEEN ON POINT, HAS ALWAYS BEEN A TREMENDOUS PARTNER. HOWEVER, THAT HAS CHANGED. AND SO THE, UM, UH, THE RELATIONSHIP HAS CHANGED, THE INVOLVEMENT HAS CHANGED. AND ONE OF THE CALLS TO ACTION THAT YOU KNOW, WAS, UH, MENTIONED IS FOR YOU TO BE OUR VOICE ABOUT WHAT'S HAPPENING. THAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING HAS NOT ENDED, IT'S STILL HERE. AND THAT IS ONLY GONNA GROW WORSE WHEN 2024 COMES, OR EXCUSE ME, 2028 COMES WITH THE OLYMPICS. IT'S GONNA BE BIGGER THAN WHAT YOU CAN IMAGINE. AND CURRENTLY WE HAVE DIFFICULTIES IN PLACING VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING. WHAT IS GOING TO HAPPEN WHEN 2028 COMES AND THERE ARE GOING TO BE VICTIMS THAT NEED ASSISTANCE, NEED HOUSING, THAT'S GONNA CHANGE EVERYTHING. WITH REGARDS TO THE SOLICITATION THAT WAS TAKING PLACE IN FRONT OF STAR KING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, I SENT ONE OF OUR TEAMS THAT DOES OUTREACH JUST TO CHECK OUT WHAT, WHAT, WHAT'S REALLY GOING ON HERE. AND SO WE DID, WE DID SEE YOUNG LADIES IN THEIR AGE WAS ABOUT 20 YEARS OLD, AND THEY WERE ON VARIOUS STREETS IN FRONT OF THE SCHOOL. AND MIND YOU, THESE YOUNG LADIES, PART OF WHAT THEY DO IS RECRUIT. SO THEY RECRUIT KIDS TO BE A PART OF WHAT THEY'RE DOING. THERE IS A BILL OUT THERE, A LAW NOW AB 1227, THAT MANDATES SCHOOLS TO TEACH STUDENTS ABOUT HUMAN TRAFFICKING. LONG BEACH UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT IS PRETTY GOOD ABOUT ENSURING THAT. AND WE AS A TASK FORCE DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO HELP AND SUPPORT THEM WITH REGARDS TO THAT EDUCATION THROUGH OUR YES EVENT. AND THE YES EVENT IS YOUTH EMPOWERMENT SAFETY SYMPOSIUM. THAT'S DONE ANNUALLY. AND I THINK WITH REGARDS TO PARTNERING WITH LONG BEACH, UM, PD IS CRITICAL TO WHAT WE DO. AND AS, UH, AN ORGANIZATION THAT HELPS WOMEN WHO ARE SURVIVORS, YOUTH THAT ARE SURVIVORS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING OR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING TO GET OUT OF THE LIFE, IT'S VERY IMPORTANT. YOU KNOW, THERE HAS BEEN A DECREASE IN GRANTS THAT HELP SUPPORT, FOR INSTANCE, UH, THE LONG BEACH TRAUMA RECOVERY CENTER WHERE WE WOULD ALSO HELP, UH, SEND OUR LADIES TO RECEIVE MENTAL HEALTH. THEY HAD A HUGE DECREASE IN THEIR GRANT FUNDING. CITY HAS HAD A HUGE DECREASE IN THEIR FUNDING. IT'S LIKE, HOW ARE WE TO HELP PEOPLE IN OUR CITY IF THE FUNDING IS NOT THERE? SO SUPPORT WITH YOU ALL, VOICE SPEAKING TO THE CITY THAT HUMAN TRAFFICKING STILL EXISTS. THANK YOU, MARY, FOR YOUR COMMENTS. UM, JUST, IS THERE ANY ADDITIONAL PUBLIC COMMENTS SINCE WE OPENED BACK UP A QUESTION? UH, FIRST LET'S CONCLUDE THE PUBLIC COMMENT. IF THERE'S NO FURTHER PUBLIC COMMENT, I JUST WANTED TO SAY, OKAY. YOU KNOW, IT'S INTERESTING BECAUSE, UM, WE'RE A TWO BAD FAMILY AND OUR DAUGHTER IS COMMISSIONER ON STAFF. AND SO, UH, HE'S ALSO RETIRED, FIVE ATTENDANT. SO HE IS HAD THAT TRAINING. AND SO, UH, YOU KNOW, FOR, UH, UNTRADITIONAL FAMILIES ON OUR OWN, WE'D HAVE TO CARRY OUR ADOPTION NEIGHBORS ON US ALL THE TIME WHEN WE TRAVEL. AND OUR EXPERIENCE WITH, UH, [01:10:01] TRAFFICKING HAS BEEN, UH, PEOPLE QUESTIONING US AND QUESTIONING HOW ON THAT, UH, TO SEE IF SHE'S COMFORTABLE WITH, YOU KNOW, ALL THE OUTLETS YOU GO INTO. SO FOR THOSE OF US WHO ARE NONTRADITIONAL, YOU KNOW, WORDING EXAMPLE OF A FAMILY THAT I THINK EXPERIENCE THE BEST PART OF THIS, WHICH IS PEOPLE QUESTIONING US TO MAKE SURE THAT THIS JOB IS SAFE. AND ALSO, UM, I'M AN EDUCATOR, SO YOU KNOW, I'LL BE ABLE TO INCLUDE THIS IN SOME OF THE GENDER STUFF THAT I TEACH TO FUTURE TEACHERS. SO I APPRECIATE, UH, JUST INCREASING OUR, OUR KNOWLEDGE BASE AND GIVE US RESOURCES SO THAT WE CAN SPREAD THIS MESSAGE MORE. ANY FURTHER COMMENT? DANA, THAT CONCLUDES THE COMMENT FOR ITEM TWO. JUST TO OPEN THIS BACK UP TO THE COMMISSION COMMENTS. I KNOW CAN UNDERSTAND THAT IT'S PROCEDURAL POINT OF ORDER. UM, THIS IS THE FIRST TIME WE'VE HAD A PRESENTATION. CAN YOU TELL US, UH, WILL BE, WILL WE BE COMMISSIONERS, BE GIVEN CONTACT THEIR NAMES AND CONTACT WAYS TO REACH THEM? UH, AND SO WE KNOW WHO CAME AND SPOKE TO US AND, AND IF WE ARE, IF IT IS APPROPRIATE FOR US INDIVIDUALLY TO REACH OUT. THANK YOU. I DUNNO THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. SO I WOULD HAVE TO ASK OUR CITY STAFF AND THEN ASK OUR SPEAKERS WHAT IT WOULD BE, WHAT CONTACT INFORMATION IT WOULD BE COMFORTABLE WITH SHARING. I'M COMFORTABLE SHARING IT ALL. I MEAN, THE MORE BARRIER YOU GUYS WANNA GET AHOLD OF US, WE WANNA GET AHOLD OF YOU. SO, UM, YOU CAN ALWAYS REACH OUT TO THE TASK FORCE EMAIL AND WE CAN DISPERSE OUR INFORMATION THAT WAY. AND THEN IT COULD BE TO YOU GUYS VIA EMAIL. AND AS A POINT OF CONTACT, THERESA GOMEZ WAS WITH THE CITY AND WE HAD BEEN IN TOUCH WITH LON GRANT AS WELL. SHE ALSO HAS ALL OF OUR EMAILS. UM, THE TASK FORCE EMAIL IS LB H TTF@GMAIL.COM. THAT SHOULD BE LONG TASK FORCE, RIGHT GOES THOSE LETTERS. LETTERS LB HT TF TWO T, YEAH. AT GMAIL.COM. AND THAT IS A GENERAL EMAIL AND I CHECK THOSE EMAILS, SO I'LL FIND IT. UH, BUT OF COURSE EVERYTHING'S FASTER IF YOU HAVE A REAL PERSON EMAIL AND ALANA HAS THOSE. AND YOU ALSO HAVE THERESA, SO YOU CAN REACH US THROUGH ANY OF, UH, OF THOSE CONTACTS. SO FOLLOWING ON THAT, I WILL HAPPILY DISTRIBUTE THAT IN OUR FOLLOW UP EMAIL AND YOU CERTAINLY CAN GIVE MY NUMBER TO ANYBODY THAT ASK TO. OH, THANK YOU FOR THAT. OH, COMMISSIONER . OKAY. THIS QUESTION IS FROM YOUR WIFE. UH, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US VIA PHONE. UM, YOU SAID THAT, UM, TEACHERS ARE SUPPOSED TO TEACH THIS IN THE CLASSROOM AND PROVIDE THIS EDUCATION. WHO TEACHES THE TEACHERS HOW TO TEACH THIS EDUCATION? UM, THERE ARE A COUPLE OF EDUCATORS AT THIS TABLE IN ON OUR COMMISSION, AND I KNOW I'M NOT FAMILIAR WITH IT, IT'S NOT ACTUALLY THE TEACHERS THAT WOULD BE DOING IT. IT WOULD BE INDIVIDUALS BROUGHT IN TO TEACH THE STUDENTS DURING THE CLASS TIME IN THEIR CLASS. SO WE WOULD BE BROUGHT IN AND WE WOULD LEAD A PRESENTATION, UH, FOR THE, EITHER IT BE JUST A SINGLE CLASS OR IT COULD BE AN ASSEMBLING AND IT COULD BE DONE THROUGH THE TEACHER WHO TEACHES HEALTH OR THE TEACHER WHO TEACHES SCIENCE OR SOMETHING. NOT EVERY TEACHER HAS TO TEACH IT, BUT THERE HAS TO BE A CERTAIN NUMBER OF HOURS TAUGHT PER GRADE ON THIS TOPIC. AND THEN IT'S UP TO LONG BEACH UNIFIED, FOR EXAMPLE, TO DECIDE WHO IS THE TEACHER IN THAT SCHOOL, IN THAT GRADE, WHO HAS TO HAVE IT IN THEIR CURRICULUM. OKAY. WHO'S PROVIDING THE, DO YOU KNOW WHO'S PROVIDING THE EDUCATION, HEALTH TEACHER, ET CETERA? WHO'S PROVIDING THEM WITH THE EDUCATION THAT FOUND TO TEACH IT? IN OUR, UM, LINE OF WORK, IT WOULD BE FROM SOMEONE FROM THE CORE MEMBERS OF LONG BEACH TASK FORCE. I HAVE GONE IN AND DONE PRESENTATIONS AT HIGH SCHOOL, AT HIGH SCHOOL. UM, I THINK IN THREE, HAVING, HAVING WORKED IN K 12 BEFORE MM-HMM. BEFORE GOING TO THE COLLEGE. UM, I CAN IMAGINE WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE. AND IT'S PROBABLY UP TO EACH DISTRICT TO INTERPRET HOW THEY WANT THAT TO BE DONE BASED ON THE LAW. SO SOME DISTRICTS MAY CHOOSE TO TRAIN THE TRAINER AND, AND OR EDUCATE THE EDUCATOR, OR THEY MAY, UM, CHOOSE TO OUTSOURCE. AND WE HAVE EXPERIENCED THE OUTSOURCING COMPONENT, UM, NOT CONSISTENTLY ALL THE TIME, BUT WE HAVE HAD TIMES WHERE, AS A TASK FORCE WE'VE GONE INTO DIFFERENT SCHOOLS AND EDUCATED YOUNG PEOPLE. BUT THAT I THINK WOULD BE A QUESTION FOR THE SCHOOL DISTRICT TO ASK [01:15:01] HOW ARE THEY PROVIDING THAT EDUCATION BASED ON THE LAW, OR ARE THEY ALL BECAUSE WE CAN'T FORCE 'EM TO DO IT. RIGHT. ARE THERE ANY FURTHER COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS FROM OUR COMMISSION? UM, SAME. NONE. MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU PLEASE CALL FOR A VOTE AND IF YOU WOULDN'T MIND REREADING THE ITEM JUST AS SOME REFRESH ON YEAH, OF COURSE. OKAY. SO THE RECOMMENDATION IS TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION FROM THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING TASK FORCE ON THEIR SERVICES AND ADVOCACY. THANK YOU. IF YOU COULD PLEASE CONFIRM THE VOTE. COMMISSIONER ALLEN HARPER. COMMISSIONER KEL? YES. COMMISSIONER ARCHULETA? YES. COMMISSIONER CHIEF PATTERSON? YES. COMMISSIONER ? YES. COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ? YES. COMMISSIONER LA VIOLETTE? YES. COMMISSIONER MSTA? YES. VICE CHAIR NICHOLSON? YES. CHAIR MEER? YES. MOTION CARRIED. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. UM, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, WE DO HAVE AN ACTION ITEM ON THE AGENDA THAT I WOULD LIKE TO REMOVE UP, UH, JUST SO THAT WE CAN MAKE SURE WE HAVE THAT DISCUSSION. AND THAT IS AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FIVE, RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS OR COMMISSION MEETINGS. AND I JUST READ THE ITEM. I APOLOGIZE. , UH, CAN I HIT A MOTION ON THIS ITEM? SECOND. COMMISSIONER DR. , WHO'S THE US COMMISSIONER PATTERSON. AND SECOND, THANK YOU SO MUCH HEARING. THANK YOU EVERYONE. OH, THANK YOU. IF WE COULD QUEUE UP THAT PRESENTATION. THANK YOU. I'LL BE IN TOUCH. YES. YOU GOT THE HOME? YES, I DO. . UM, LEMME START BY SAYING, I APOLOGIZE IF I SAY WHAT, OR I HAVE A HARD TIME HEARING TODAY. I AM COVERING FROM THE AIR INFECTION, SO IT'S A LITTLE ECHOY FOR ME. SO I APPRECIATE YOUR PATIENCE. UM, SO TO ENSURE OUR COMMISSION IS WORKING TOGETHER WITH EFFECTIVE AND THOUGHTFUL AND RESPECTFUL COMMUNICATION, UM, AND PROPOSING THAT WE ADOPT COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS. SO COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS ARE COMMON FOR BODIES OR, YOU KNOW, VOLUNTEER BOARDS, WHETHER THAT'S, YOU KNOW, AT THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF LONG BEACH OR EVEN THE LONG BEACH CITY COUNCIL AND UNDERSTAND HAS COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS AND HAS . UM, THEY BASICALLY HELP SHAPE EXPECTATIONS FOR, UM, INTERACTING WITHIN OUR SHARED SPACE. THEY COME TO , SO GRIEVANCE ESTABLISH BOUNDARIES. THEY ACKNOWLEDGE GROUP POWER DYNAMICS. THEY FOSTER SELF-AWARENESS TO DISRUPT INEQUITIES USE, AND THEY ENSURE THAT ALL PARTICIPANTS CAN FULLY ENGAGE IN, UM, IN THE DISCUSSION OR ACTIVITY. SO I'M GONNA ROLL FOR A FEW EXAMPLES AND THEN I DO HAVE SOME SPECIFICS THAT I'M SUGGESTING, AND WE CAN TALK ABOUT THAT NEXT SLIDE, PLEASE. THANK YOU. SO HERE'S AN EXAMPLE OF A COMMISSION THAT HAS COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS. THE EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS, UH, HAS SOME GREAT AGREEMENTS. UM, THESE ARE SOMETHING THAT THEY WORKED ON TOGETHER AND APPROVED EXAMPLES INCLUDE, EMBRACE YOUR POSITION AS A LEADER AND A LEARNER I THINK IS A GREAT ONE, WHICH IS JUST ACKNOWLEDGING IS A GROUP THAT EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO OFFER AND EVERYBODY HAS SOMETHING TO LEARN. UM, OTHER EXAMPLES, UM, ARE SHOWN HERE. WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE AS WELL. EXPECT AND ACCEPT NON CLOSURE IS ANOTHER ONE WHERE WE UNDERSTAND THAT IF WE'RE HAVING A GROUP DIALOGUE, WE'RE NOT ALWAYS GOING TO AGREE WITH EACH OTHER, AND WE CAN HAVE CIVIL DISCOURSE ABOUT THAT AND, AND UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, THE TAKEAWAY AS WELL. UM, SO AFTER, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS, THEY FOSTER A CONSENSUS, CONSENSUS DRIVEN PROCESS FOR COMMISSIONS WHERE ALL THE MEMBERS HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD IN A SPACE. IT'S WELCOMING, RESPECTFUL, AND INCLUSIVE. AND I BELIEVE IF YOU GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE, THERE'S KIND OF, UH, THESE ARE, SO WE DID A LITTLE RESEARCH, OR I DID A LITTLE RESEARCH AND LOOKED AT SOME OTHER EXAMPLES. THESE ARE EXAMPLES THAT I FOUND FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT, FROM CITY COMMISSIONS, FROM NON-PROFIT BOARDS. UM, ONE OF OURS THAT I'M ACTUALLY PROPOSING, I'LL, I'LL READ THROUGH THOSE IN A MOMENT, IN CENTERING WOMEN AND GIRLS. ONE THAT'S VERY COMMON WITH COMMISSIONS IS ONE MIC, ONE VOICE AT A TIME, RESPECTING OPINIONS OF OTHERS, YOU KNOW, ACKNOWLEDGING JUDGMENTS AND ASSUMPTIONS, UM, ET CETERA. GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. SO AGAIN, THIS IS ABOUT FOSTERING A CONSENSUS DRIVEN PROCESS FOR COMMISSIONS WHERE WE ALL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE HEARD. [01:20:01] WE ALL FEEL LIKE WE'RE WELCOME TO BE HEARD. AND IT CREATES AN INCLUSIVE FRAMEWORK FOR, FOR THE DIALOGUE, WHILE ALSO ACKNOWLEDGING THAT WE ALL COME FROM DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS, WE'RE ALL DEALING WITH DIFFERENT INEQUITIES THAT INFORM HOW WE HAVE CONVERSATIONS IN THIS SPACE. UM, AND APART FROM THIS SPACE, AND IT'S JUST ABOUT CREATING A SAFE SPACE FOR US TO DO DIALOGUE. UM, SO I BELIEVE, IS IT ALL RIGHT IF I READ THROUGH MY SUGGESTIONS OR DO WE NEED TO JUST SO THE ENTIRE COMMISSION KNOWS, IT IS IN YOUR PACKET OF HANDOUTS OF THE DRAFT AGREEMENTS THAT CHAIR IS GOING TO WALK YOU THROUGH. AND I'M GONNA TRY MY BEST TO FIND IT SO I CAN PROJECT IT ON THE SCREEN. YOU GIMME A MINUTE? SURE. IT WILL BE CLOSER TO THE END, . OKAY. SO THESE, THERE SOME DRAFT AGREEMENTS THAT I'M PROPOSING OR DRAFT. I WOULD LIKE EVERYBODY'S INPUT AND COMMENTS WHEN WE GET TO IT, WHETHER YOU WANNA CHANGE IT, WHETHER YOU WANT MORE TIME TO WORK ON IT. UM, THIS IS JUST THE PROPOSAL THAT I, UM, SO DRAFT AGREEMENTS FOR THE LONG BEACH COMMISSION FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS CENTER, WOMEN AND GIRLS IN ALL COMMISSION, WORK AND MEETINGS CENTER, THE NEEDS AND LIVED EXPERIENCES OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN OUR COMMUNITY. ONE MICROPHONE, ONE PERSON SPEAKS AT A TIME ING FROM INTERJECTING, DISRUPTING, OR HAVING SIDE CONVERSATIONS WHEN SOMEONE ELSE IS SPEAKING. ALL VOICES MATTER. EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE. ONE PERSON DOES NOT KNOW EVERYTHING, BUT TOGETHER, INDIVIDUAL KNOWLEDGE COALESCES INTO GROUP EXPERTISE. USE I STATEMENTS. WE SPEAK FROM OUR OWN EXPERIENCES, NOT GENERALIZATIONS. DO NOT ASSUME OTHERS. SHARE YOUR EXPERIENCES. WAIT OR WAIT, WHY AM I TALKING ANOTHER COMMON ONE? CREATE SPACE FOR ALL VOICES TO BE HEARD. BE CONSIDERATIVE TIME SO THAT ALL MAY SPEAK. IF YOU'RE REPEATING YOURSELF, COMMENTING SEVERAL TIMES WHEN OTHERS HAVE NOT OR ARE GOING OFF TOPIC, CONSIDER WAITING TO SPEAK AGAIN UNTIL OTHERS HAVE BEEN HEARD. TRUST INTENDS. ACKNOWLEDGE IMPACT WHEN SOMEONE SHARES SOMETHING THAT CHALLENGES US IN SOME WAY. TRUSTING THAT PERSON'S INTENT WAS NOT PURPOSEFULLY MALICIOUS ENCOURAGES US TO REMAIN PRESENT IN THE DIALOGUE. NAMING THE IMPACT THAT THE WORDS OF OTHERS HAVE ON US ALLOWS US TO BE AUTHENTIC IN OUR EMOTIONS AND REACTIONS WHILE PROVIDING THE OPPORTUNITY TO IDENTIFY ASSUMPTIONS OF POWER DYNAMICS AT PLAY. BOTH TRUSTING INTENT AND NAMING IMPACT TOGETHER ARE VITAL IN ORDER TO ENGAGE SOFTLY AND CRITICALLY WITH THE IDEA AT HAND. CHALLENGE THE IDEA NOT THE PERSON. CRITICAL DIALOGUE MEANS LISTENING TO QUESTIONING AND CRITIQUING IDEAS RATHER THAN THE PERSON PRESENTING THEM. THIS ENCOURAGES EVERYONE TO SHARE THEIR IDEAS WITHOUT FEAR OF PERSONAL REVIEWS. AND THEN WE EXIST IN CONTEXT. OUR BACKGROUNDS UNIQUELY SHAPE OUR EXPERIENCES, OUR PERSPECTIVES AND OUR UH, OUR UNDERSTANDING. SO THOSE ARE, THOSE ARE MY SUGGESTIONS. UM, IF WE'VE GONE BACK AND FORTH, I'VE NOTICED IN THE SCRIPT ON, ON ORDER OF A COUPLE THINGS, BUT CAN, WOULD IT BE APPROPRIATE TO MOVE TO PUBLIC COMMENT FIRST? OKAY. THANK YOU. CAN WE NOW TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT? OKAY. CLAIRE, YOU MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC ELECTION BY PUBLIC COMMENT ON ITEM NUMBER FIVE IN PERSON, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND IF THERE ARE ANY IN THE ZOOM, WE NEED YOU TO THE RAISE HAND NOW, SEE NONE, BOTH IN ZOOM AND IN PERSON THAT COULD PUT COMMENT, BUT ITEM NUMBER FIVE. OKAY. IF MEMORY SERVES ME CORRECTLY, I THINK COMMISSIONER, SHE PATTERSON MOVED AND COMMISSIONER DR. ENGLE SECONDED. SO IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT, NO HONOR, DR. UH, COMMISSIONER DR. ENG ENGLE, YOU WOULD LIKE TO MOVE A COMMENT, QUESTIONS COMMENT. UH, IN THAT CASE, DOES THE COMMISSION HAVE ANY COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, DISCUSSION AROUND THIS ITEM? I HAVE A QUESTION. UM, I, I, I DIFFERENTIATED BETWEEN THE COLOR ONE AND THIS ONE. AND DOES THIS VOTE INCLUDE BOTH? SO THE PROPOSAL IS JUST THOSE, THE COLORED ONES WERE EXAMPLES? YEAH. THE, THIS ONE SHEET IS THE PROPOSAL AND THAT'S WHAT THE VOTE IS ON? YES. OKAY. COMMISSIONER LA I JUST THANK YOU FOR PUTTING THE TIME INTO DOING THIS, AND I, I, IT LOOKS REALLY WELL THOUGHT OUT AND VERY, UH, VERY DIFFICULT. DOES ANYBODY ELSE HAVE QUESTION, COMMENTS, CRITIQUE? [01:25:03] UM, IF YOU WANTED TO ADD SOMETHING IN THE FUTURE, LISA, WE WOULD BE ABLE TO, I CAN'T HEAR ANYBODY. I'M TIRED OF ASKING. OH, I'M SORRY. I ASKED IF IT WAS OKAY IF, UH, IN THE FUTURE IF WE HAD ANYTHING TO ADD, WOULD IT BE OKAY BUT TO REVISIT THIS? UH, I BELIEVE THE ANSWER TO THAT IS YES. YES, WE CAN. THANK YOU. PERMISSION SCAP? I HAD A SIMILAR, UH, COMMENT. I WAS JUST THINKING LIKE ALSO, THANK YOU. UM, IT'S VERY THOROUGH AND, AND APPRECIATED. AND I WAS WONDERING IF MAYBE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE IN A YEAR OR WE COULD, YOU KNOW, SET ASIDE SOME TIME TO, TO REVISIT AND THEN IF THAT, THAT TIME WE FEEL LIKE THERE SHOULD BE SOMETHING TO ADD OR, YOU KNOW, BASED ON OUR EXPERIENCE, UM, IF WE COULD DO THAT. BUT IT SOUNDS LIKE WE CAN DO THAT, CORRECT? YES. I BELIEVE AT ANY TIME WE CAN BRING US BACK. UM, AND I THINK AS WE ALL CONTINUE TO WORK TOGETHER, WE'LL PROBABLY FIND OTHER OPPORTUNITIES OR THINGS THAT WE MIGHT WANT TO INCLUDE. GREAT. OKAY. ALL RIGHT. LET ME GET BACK TO MY, MY RULES OF ORDER HERE. UM, GIVEN THE WAY THAT THIS ITEM IS DRAFTED, WE HAVE TO SPECIFICALLY SAY RECOMMENDATION TO ADOPT THE, THIS, THE DRAFT COMMUNITY AGREEMENTS FOR LONG BEACH MISSION FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS. IS THERE ANYTHING WE'RE GOOD WITH THIS LANGUAGE? YES. THANK YOU. OKAY. HYPER-SPECIFIC TO SOMETIMES, UM, SEEING NO FURTHER DISCUSSION, MADAM CLERK, IF YOU COULD PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE. WELL, WE DON'T HAVE, BUT WE'RE VOTING ON THIS, UH, RECOMMENDATION. AND THEN WHAT YOU VOTING ON IS THE ATTACHMENT. I THOUGHT WE WERE ONLY VOTING ON THE ATTACHMENT. WE'RE ONLY VOTING ON THIS ONE. THIS WILL BE THE MOTION AND LANGUAGE, AND THEN THAT IS THE TEXT THAT YOU WOULD BE ADOPTING THROUGH THIS MOTION. THAT'S WHAT I WANT TO KNOW. OKAY. THIS ISN'T THE COLOR ONE. NO, THAT'S WHAT I JUST WANNA BE CLEAR. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. OKAY. COMMISSIONER ALLEN HARPER. YES. COMMISSIONER KEL? YES. COMMISSIONER ULTA? YES. COMMISSIONER CHIEF PATTERSON? YES. COMMISSIONER . COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ? YES. COMMISSIONER ? YES. COMMISSIONER ? YES. VICE CHAIR NICHOL? YES. CHAIR MEMBER? YES. MOTION CARRIED. THANK YOU FOR YOUR PATIENCE AND MOVING THINGS OUT OF ORDER. UM, MADAM CLERK, IF ORDER READ AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE? YES. ITEM NUMBER THREE IS A RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE AND FILE A PRESENTATION FROM THE CITY ATTORNEY'S OFFICE REGARDING THE ADVISORY AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION. GET A MOTION ON THIS ITEM. SO MOVED. MOVE BY COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ, SECONDED BY COMMISSIONER VIOLET. UM, SO JUST AS A BRIEF INTRO AND I'LL GIVE IT TO YOU, TO OUR DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY, JUST AS WE, UM, PROGRESS THROUGH OUR WORK AND CRAFT RECOMMENDATIONS, WE JUST THINK IT'S KEY THAT EACH OF US UNDERSTANDS THE CAPABILITIES AND THE AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION. SO, UM, I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU TO OUR DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY, ANINA ANI, WHO WILL PROVIDE US WITH AN OVERVIEW. YAY. THANK YOU FOR THE INTRODUCTION. UM, I WILL BE GOING OVER THE ADVISORY AUTHORITY OF THE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS. UM, WITH THIS BEING THE FOURTH MEETING, I KNOW THAT EVERYONE IS STILL LEARNING, UM, ABOUT COMMISSIONS, HOW WE WORK, AND ESSENTIALLY WHAT YOU'RE ABLE TO DO WHILE BEING ON THIS COMMISSION. UM, SO I'LL JUST GO AHEAD AND JUMP RIGHT IN. UM, ESSENTIALLY ADVISORY COMMISSIONS PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL. BUT BEFORE I DIVE IN, I WANNA INTRODUCE MY HANDY DAN ASSISTANT WITH ME TODAY JUST TO MAKE IT MORE FUN ON THE PRESENTATION. UM, SO YOU'LL SEE ME AND MY ASSISTANT, UM, , UH, MY CO-HOST. UH, SO ADVISORY COMMISSIONS PROVIDES RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL. UH, COMMISSIONS ARE ESSENTIALLY THE EXPERTS IN THE FIELD OF THE COMMISSION'S DUTIES. SO THE COMMISSIONERS ARE TASKED WITH LEARNING ABOUT THE SUBJECT MATTER AND GATHERING ALL THE DATA AND THEN PRESENTING RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL. WHILE THE COMMISSIONERS ARE, UM, GATHERING THIS DATA, THEY'RE GOING TO BE INTERACTING WITH PEOPLE OF ALL AGES, INTERESTS AND BACKGROUNDS. UM, COMMISSIONERS ARE, UM, TO COLLECT VIEWPOINTS FROM THE COMMUNITY ON THE SUBJECT MATTER AND, UM, AND FROM THE COMMISSIONERS THEMSELVES. SO IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE [01:30:01] GATHER DATA FROM PEOPLE RESPECTFULLY AND ALSO OUR PUBLIC COMMISSIONERS. UM, JUST REALLY QUICK, I'M GONNA GO OVER WHAT THE DUTIES FOR THE COMMISSION, UH, ARE. IT'S ALREADY IN THE MUNICIPAL CODE. IT'S IN CHAPTER 2.45 IF YOU'RE EVER INTERESTED IN LOOKING IN A MUNICIPAL CODE. UM, SO THE DUTIES THAT YOU'VE BEEN TASKED WITH WEEKLY ARE TO GATHER INFORMATION AND EVALUATE THE NEEDS AND CONCERNS OF WOMEN AND GIRLS IN LONG BEACH. UM, YOUR DUTY IS TO INFORM AND ADVISE THE CITY COUNCIL ON ISSUES AND INEQUITIES AFFECTING WOMEN AND GIRLS IN LONG BEACH. AND I FOLDED JUST THE KEY TERMS HERE. UM, I WON'T GO THROUGH EVERY SINGLE ONE, BUT ESSENTIALLY YOU CAN RECOMMEND CHANGES, UM, RELATED TO GENDER EQUALITY. UM, YOU COULD RECOMMEND NEW POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND PROCEDURES IN THE CITY. UH, YOU COULD RECOMMEND CHANGING CURRENT POLICIES IN THE CITY. UM, YOU CAN IDENTIFY MATTERS OF DISCRIMINATION, PREJUDICE, OR, UM, ANY HEALTH AND SAFETY ISSUES, SUCH AS, UH, THE ITEM THAT WE HEARD TODAY THAT CAME IN TRAFFICKING. UM, YOU COULD ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO PARTICIPATE AND BECOME LEADERS IN THE CITY. UM, SO THERE ARE A LOT OF DUTIES THAT YOU ALL ALREADY HAVE ENCOMPASSED IN THE MUNICIPAL CODE. AND I'LL GO ON TO THE NEXT ONE BECAUSE WE HAVE A LITTLE BIT MORE. UM, YOU ARE ABLE TO CONSULT AND COORDINATE WITH OTHER PUBLIC AGENCIES. YOU'RE ABLE TO CONDUCT STUDIES AND SURVEYS, UM, AND THEN AT THE END OF THE YEAR, UM, YOU SUBMIT A REPORT TO THE CITY COUNCIL EVERY YEAR ON, UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR STATUS AND YOUR PROGRESS AND WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS YOU WANNA DO. UM, SO I'LL DIVE RIGHT IN. THIS IS JUST ANOTHER CODE THAT OUTLINES THAT THE COMMISSION IS ABLE TO MAKE ONLY ADVISORY RECOMMENDATIONS. SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE CITY COUNCIL WITH ADVICE, UM, BUT YOU CAN'T, UH, ADOPT A PARTICULAR, UM, YOU KNOW, COMMON PRACTICE YOURSELF. BUT YOU CAN MAKE THAT RECOMMENDATION TO THE CITY COUNCIL, LET'S SAY. UM, AND IF YOU WANT TO MAKE ANY RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE CITY COUNCIL, YOU HAVE TO FOLLOW WHAT'S IN THE COMMISSION HANDBOOK THAT IS MADE BY CITY STAFF AND THAT, UH, OUTLINES EVERYTHING THAT YOU NEED TO DO, UM, TO HAVE CITY COUNCIL READ YOUR MEMO OR ANY REPORT OR ANY RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU HAVE. SO I'LL GO OVER WITH YOU THE PROCESS FOR, UM, MAKING A RECOMMENDATION TO COUNCIL. UM, SO NEXT SLIDE PLEASE. THANK YOU. UM, IF THE COMMISSION WANTS TO TRANSMIT A RECOMMENDATION, SO THIS IS JUST THE NITTY GRITTY PROCEDURE PART, UM, YOU WOULD HAVE A MEMO DRAFTED. THE COMMISSION WOULD WORK TOGETHER TO DRAFT A MEMO, LET'S SAY ON A PARTICULAR TOPIC, UM, AND WORK ON THAT RECOMMENDATION. LET'S SAY AN AD HOC COMMITTEE WAS ESTABLISHED AND THAT AD HOC COMMITTEE WORKED ON, UM, CREATING A SURVEY. THEY SPOKE TO THE COMMUNITY, THEY GATHERED DATA, THEY CAME BACK, UM, TO PRESENT THEIR RECOMMENDATION TO THE COMMISSION. AND, UH, THE COMMISSION TOGETHER WITH THE AD HOC WOULD POTENTIALLY APPROVE A MEMO OR RECOMMENDATION TO CANCEL. THAT MEMO WOULD NEED TO BE APPROVED BY THE ENTIRE COMMISSION BY A MAJORITY VOTE, AND THEN THAT MEMO WOULD GO TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. AT THAT POINT, THE CITY MANAGER WOULD PUBLICLY POST YOUR RECOMMENDATION ON, UM, ON THE WEBSITE. AND, UM, THIS ALLOWS FOR TRANSPARENCY. UM, IT ALLOWS FOR EVERYONE TO SEE WHAT YOU ALL HAVE DONE. UM, AFTER THAT, UH, THE CITY COUNCIL HAS THE DISCRETION TO THEN BRING THAT ITEM FORWARD ON A CITY COUNCIL AGENDA SO THAT THEY CAN MAKE AN APPROPRIATE ADOPTION IF THEY SO CHOOSE. UM, AND THEN I JUST WANTED TO GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE OF MAYBE AN AGENDA ITEM THAT COULD COME FORWARD ONE DAY. UM, AFTER THE COMMISSION HAS MAYBE CONDUCTED A POLICY RECOMMENDATION, UM, YOU CAN SEE UP TOP ON THE AGENDA, IT COULD BE SOMETHING THAT SAYS, RECOMMENDATION TO APPROVE A MEMO TO BE SENT TO THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL REGARDING A NEW CITY POLICY ABOUT EQUAL RIGHTS FOR ALL GENDERS IN LONG BEACH. AND THEN THAT MEMORANDUM, UM, ATTACHED TO THIS ITEM WOULD HAVE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE THREE OR FOUR OR 5, 6, 10 RECOMMENDATIONS ON HOW TO BETTER CITY PRACTICES, UM, ON GENDER EQUALITY. AND THEN ANOTHER OPTION COULD JUST BE, IF THERE'S ALREADY AN EXISTING POLICY, YOU COULD RECOMMEND A CHANGE TO THAT EXISTING POLICY. SO JUST WANTED TO GIVE A COUPLE OF EXAMPLES OF HOW YOU COULD BRING SOMETHING TO CITY COUNCIL'S ATTENTION, UM, AND, UM, PRESENT, YOU KNOW, THE WORK THAT YOU'RE GONNA BE DOING IN THE FUTURE. THAT CONCLUDES THE ATION. OKAY. THANK YOU PRETTY MUCH FOR DEPUTY CITY ATTORNEY. WE APPRECIATE IT. UM, WE'LL NOW MAKE PUBLIC COMMENT. CLERK, PLEASE CHECK TO SEE IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO COMMENT ON THIS ITEM. YES. IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE [01:35:01] FOR ITEM NUMBER THREE IN PERSON, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND. AND THEN IN THE ZOOM, USE THE RAISE HAND FEATURE. NOW SEEING NONE IN PERSON AND IN THE ZOOM THAT CONCLUDE PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM NUMBER THREE. OKAY. UH, AGAIN, CAN I, LET'S SEE, WE HAD OUR MOTION WAS COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ, DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS TO BEGIN WITH? AND THEN COMMISSIONER LEVIT, I BELIEVE WAS THE SECONDER. DO YOU HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? NOT ANY QUESTIONS. WE LEFT ANY QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, OR QUESTIONS? I'M NOT CLEAR ABOUT THAT WHEN YOU GET WHAT ARE QUESTIONS RIGHT NOW? SO COMMISSIONERS, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION, QUESTIONS, COMMENTS ON THIS ITEM? UM, MADAM VICE CHAIR, THANK YOU. THIS IS EXACTLY PRECISELY HOW THIS COMMISSION CAME TO BE. THE EHRC DID THIS EXACTLY TO THE LETTER AND COUNCIL VOTED ON IT AUGUST 9TH, THAT WAS SIGNED IN. THAT'S HOW IT HAPPENED. SO THIS IS JUST THE MATTER OF COURSE EXPLAINED. THANK YOU SO MUCH. IT'S REALLY WILDLY HELPFUL. I DO HAVE A QUESTION, TWO SMALL QUESTIONS. ARE THERE RULES OF HARVESTING DATA? FOR EXAMPLE, I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU A REALLY WICKED EXAMPLE. . LET'S SAY SOMEBODY WAS INTERESTED TO FIND OUT IF THERE WAS PAY EQUITY IN THE CITY. WOULD THE CITY BE OBLIGATED TO GIVE, TO COMMISSION THEIR SALARY, UH, BROKEN DOWN BY GENDER SO WE COULD ASSESS PAY EQUITY IN THE CITY OR THEIR RULES ABOUT HARVESTING DATA? SO AS LONG AS, UM, THAT INFORMATION HAS BEEN COLLECTED BY THE CITY AND IS, IS ABLE TO BE MADE PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, UM, JUST LIKE ANYONE WOULD SUBMIT A PRA REQUEST, YOU KNOW, THE COMMISSIONERS WOULD BE ABLE TO OBTAIN THAT DATA AND IT WOULD JUST BE GIVEN DIRECTLY TO THE COMMISSION. UM, I WOULD WORK WITH YOUR, UM, WITH THE STAFF LIAISON, UM, IF YOU HAVE ANY LIKE PARTICULAR ITEMS THAT YOU'RE INTERESTED IN TAKING A LOOK AT, AND THEY COULD CHECK TO SEE IF IT'S PUBLICLY, UM, AVAILABLE FOR YOU TO, TO DIVE IN ON, ON THAT. AND IF IT ISN'T, COULD I INVESTIGATE WHY IT ISN'T PUBLIC? YOU COULD CERTAINLY INVESTIGATE IT OR WE COULD HAVE A DISCUSSION, UM, ABOUT WHY IT'S NOT UNDER THE GOVERNMENT CODE. WE COULD CERTAINLY HAVE THAT DISCUSSION. I THINK A LOT OF THINGS WE WANNA LOOK AT PROBABLY AREN'T PUBLIC. AND, UM, LASTLY, VERY SIMPLY, AS WE TRAVEL THROUGH THE WORLD, UM, ARE WE AT LIBERTY TO SAY, HI, I'M A COMMISSIONER. LET'S SAY YOU WERE HARVESTING IN A DISTRICT LIKE I TALKED ABOUT, OR GOING TO GET OPINIONS FROM THE DISTRICT. YOU, WE ARE FREE TO USE THAT TITLE AS WE DO THIS WORK. IS THAT RIGHT? RIGHT. YOU CAN INTRODUCE YOURSELF AS, UH, COMMISSIONER, HI, VICE CHAIR NICHOLSON FROM THE COMMISSIONER, WOMEN GIRLS. THERE WAS SOME CONCERNS ABOUT, UM, IF, YOU KNOW, THERE ARE THE BROWN ACT, UM, YES. THAT WE HAVE TO KEEP IN MIND. OF COURSE, IF THERE ARE A LOT OF YOU AT A PUBLIC EVENT, I WON'T DEEP DIVE INTO THAT RIGHT NOW, BUT AS LONG AS THERE ARE OTHER, UM, YOU KNOW, BROWN ACT CONSIDERATIONS, UM, AND IF YOU'RE NOT MAKING ANY, UM, YOU KNOW, I'M TRYING TO THINK OF A HYPOTHETICAL, BUT YEAH. UH, ANY, UH, DECISIONS ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT, THAT CERTAINLY CAN'T BE DONE. BUT AS, AS FAR AS LIKE SHARING THAT YOU ARE A COMMISSIONER, UM, YOU ARE JUST NOT WORKING OUTSIDE OF THE DUTIES THAT YOU HAVE, THAT'S COMPLETELY FINE. I THINK I JUST ALWAYS NEED TO SAY I DO NOT SPEAK FOR THE COMMISSION. CORRECT. THAT'S THE KEY. OKAY. THANK YOU. UNLESS THERE'S AN ITEM THAT WAS APPROVED. YEAH, GO AHEAD. I JUST WANTED TO KIND OF GO BACK TO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING ABOUT PUBLIC DATA. YES. SO THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DATA THAT'S PERHAPS PUBLIC AND DATA THAT'S PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, RIGHT? SO ANYTHING THAT'S PUBLICLY AVAILABLE, IT MAY NOT BE STUFF THAT'S PUBLISHED AND PUT OUT THERE, BUT IT'S STUFF THAT ANYBODY HAS ACCESS TO IF THEY ASK FOR IT, RIGHT? AND SO, NAMES OF PEOPLE WHO GET GRANTS, THERE MAY NOT BE A DOCUMENT THAT SAYS, HERE'S THE NAMES THAT PEOPLE GET THE GRANTS, BUT IF YOU DO A RECORD REQUEST, BUT YOU CAN GET THEIR NAMES, JUST PERSONAL INFORMATION WILL REDACTED, LIKE, YOU KNOW, THEIR HOME ADDRESS, THEIR TELEPHONE NUMBER. BUT YOU CAN GET CERTAIN TYPES OF DATA THAT, UH, ANYBODY IN THE PUBLIC CAN REQUEST IT. IT JUST MAY NOT BE OUT THERE FLOATING ALREADY. THIS TYPE OF DATA YOU CAN'T GET ARE CONFIDENTIAL DATA, LIKE WHERE SOMEONE LIVES OR, YOU KNOW, CERTAIN PRIVACY TYPE THINGS. AND THAT'S NOT PUBLICLY AVAILABLE. THAT'S JUST TRYING TO DRAW A STICK BETWEEN WHAT'S ALREADY OUT THERE AND WHAT'S AVAILABLE. GOOD, GOOD. GOOD. THANK YOU. COMMISSIONER ARCH HAS, YEAH, TO, TO THAT END. I SAY WHEN WE DO THAT KIND OF, UM, [01:40:01] INVESTIGATION OR QUERY ABOUT DATA, IT WOULD HAVE TO BE SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN APPROVED BY THE BODY, RIGHT? WE COULDN'T JUST GO ON OUR OWN AND SAY, I'M A COMMISSIONER AND I WANT THIS INFORMATION. IT HAS TO BE SANCTIONED BY THE WHOLE COMMITTEE BEFORE WE CAN MOVE FORWARD. RIGHT? IF, IF THE, UM, DOCUMENTS ARE BEING REQUESTED ON BEHALF OF THE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS, YES, IT WOULD'VE MADE TO HAVE BEEN, YOU KNOW, UM, AN ITEM THAT THE COMMISSION WANTED TO TAKE A LOOK AT. UM, BUT ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? UM, SEEING NONE, I DON'T, CLERK COULD YOU PLEASE CALL FOR WE VOTE? YES. UM, COMMISSIONER ALLEN HARPER. YES. COMMISSIONER AMPLE? YES. COMMISSIONER ARCHULETA? YES. COMMISSIONER CHIEF PATTERSON? YES. COMMISSIONER ACK. YES. COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ? YES. COMMISSIONER LA VIOLETTE? YES. COMMISSIONER QUEDA? YES. VICE CHAIR NICHOLSON? YES. CHAIR MELLINGER. YES. MOTION. SO, UM, IN THE INTEREST OF TIME, WE DO HAVE ONE MORE ITEM. I DO BELIEVE THE PRESENTATION IS BRIEF. SO IF WE COULD, UM, NOW YOU COULD READ AGENDA ITEM NUMBER FOUR. YES. ITEM NUMBER FOUR IS A RECOMMENDATION TO RECEIVE A FILE UPDATES FROM THE OFFICE OF EQUITY. OH, CAN I GET A MOTION ON THIS SIDE? SO SECOND, UH, I, WHAT I SAW FIRST WAS MOVED BY COMMISSIONER SHA PATTERSON, SECONDED BY, UH, COMMISSIONER ETT. THANK YOU. AND THEN ALANA GRANT, OUR EQUITY OFFICER, AND INSTEAD, LIAISON, I BELIEVE WAS GOING TO GET PRESENTATION AND TALK IS, IS VERY, VERY DIFFICULT NOT WALKING TO HIM. BUT THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR PATIENCE. SO I HOPE THINGS HAVE GONE WELL TONIGHT. UM, HONESTLY, THIS IS NOT LIKE A FORMAL PRESENTATION OR ANYTHING, I JUST WANTED TO MAKE SURE WE INTRODUCED OUR OFFICE, WHO WE ARE, WHAT WE DO TO YOU ALL. SO THAT, YOU KNOW, AS YOU OBVIOUSLY BECOME FAMILIAR AND ACQUAINTING WITH US AS YOUR COMMISSION LIAISON AND YOUR COMMISSION STAFF, UH, YOU ALSO UNDERSTAND, YOU KNOW, OUR APPROACH TO, TO, UH, HOW A CITY DELIVERS, UH, PROGRAMS AND SERVICES TO COMMUNITY, HOW WE, UH, YOU KNOW, APPLY EQUITY LINES. SO WITH THAT, UH, YOU HAVE OUR, UH, LATEST DRAFTER OF OUR ORG CHART. FOR QUICK CONTEXT, THE OFFICE OF EQUITY WAS ESTABLISHED IN 2017 IN THE HEALTH DEPARTMENT, AND, UH, ITS ADDITIONAL SCOPE OF WORK WAS RELATED TO BOTH LANGUAGE ACCESS AND VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS. WE HAVE SINCE MOVED TO THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE, UH, IN 2020, AND OUR SCOPE HAS EXPANDED SO SIGNIFICANTLY THAT, UM, WE'RE STARTING TO UNDERSTAND WHO WE ARE, HOW WE CONNECT, UH, OUR PROGRAMS CONNECT TO EACH OTHER. SO, UH, WHAT YOU'RE SEEING BEFORE YOU IS A LOT OF INTENTIONAL REFLECTION THAT OUR TEAM HAS BEEN DOING OVER THE LAST, UH, YEAR. SO WITH THAT, UH, JUST YOU, YOU'RE, YOU'RE THE FIRST PUBLIC ENTITY THAT GETS TO SEE OUR DRAFT MISSION STATEMENT, UM, AS WELL AS OUR, OUR ORG CHART AND ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES. AND I JUST WANNA USE THIS TIME TO INTRODUCE THAT AS WELL AS YOUR, THE STAFF THAT YOU'VE BEEN SEEING IN EMAILS AS WELL AS HERE AT THESE MEETINGS. UM, SO WE, AS THE OFFICE OF EQUITY EXIST TO CREATE PURPOSEFUL DISRUPTION TO SYSTEMS OF AN EQUITY AND TO BUILD AN ACCESSIBLE, INCLUSIVE, AND JUST CITY. UM, WE DO THIS THROUGH INTERSECTIONAL IMPACT AND AS SUCH, WE'VE, UH, UNDERSCORED THREE OF OUR SERVICES, UH, ONE OUR STAFF SUPPORT TWO, THE COMMISSION, UM, THE CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMISSION ON DISABILITY, UH, THE OTHER BEING THE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS, THINKING ABOUT HOW OUR IDENTITIES INTERSECT, UM, AND HOW WE, YOU KNOW, ADVANCE E EQUITY, THINKING ABOUT THOSE NUANCED IDENTITIES. WE ALSO HAVE, UH, OUR, THE CITY'S COMPLIANCE WITH THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT IS ANOTHER ROLE THAT OUR OFFICERS IS RESPONSIBLE FOR. SO THOSE ARE SOME OF THE, THE ITEMS THAT FALL WITHIN OUR PILLAR FOR INTERSECTIONAL IMPACT UNDER COMMUNITY EMPOWERMENT, UM, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LANGUAGE ACCESS, THE LONG BEACH JUSTICE FUND AND DISABILITY JUSTICE, MAKING SURE THAT, UM, COMMUNITIES WHO HAVE HISTORICALLY BEEN RELEGATED TO MARGINS HAVE NOT SEEN THEMSELVES REFLECTED IN, UH, CRITICAL DECISIONS THAT ARE MADE AS WELL AS EVEN JUST IN THE DESIGN OF PROGRAMS AND SERVICES THAT WE ARE GIVING THEM WHAT THEY NEED, UH, TO PARTICIPATE. AND SO LANGUAGE ACCESS IS A VITAL WAY IN WHICH WE DO THAT. UM, ACCESS AND INCLUSION, UH, IS US BUILDING BRIDGES, UH, TO OPPORTUNITIES THROUGH MEANINGFUL ENGAGEMENT. SO, UH, MOST RECENTLY, AND THIS IS THE, THE NEWEST ADDITION TO OUR OFFICE, WE SERVE AS THE LIAISON TO THE LONG BEACH COLLEGE COMMERCE. AND SO, UH, EDUCATION, THINKING ABOUT EDUCATIONAL EQUITY [01:45:01] IS ANOTHER ROLE IN OUR OFFICE PLAYS. UM, AND JUST CONNECTION TO OTHER INSTITUTIONS. FINALLY, RACIAL EQUITY. UM, OUR OFFICE IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE COORDINATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CITY'S RACIAL EQUITY AND RECONCILIATION INITIATIVE. AND THEN WE ALSO SUPPORT THE, THE CITY'S EQUITY AND HUMAN RELATIONS COMMISSION. UM, AND IN ADDITION TO ALL THOSE THINGS, OUR APPROACH TO ADVANCING EQUITY IS ALSO, UM, YOU KNOW, INTERNAL THINKING ABOUT HOW WE BUILD THE CITY'S CAPACITY. WE DON'T JUST WANNA BE THE ONES WITH EQUITY IN OUR TITLE AND LEADING THAT WORK. WE REALLY BELIEVE THAT IN ORDER FOR EQUITY TO BE, UH, BAKED INTO, UH, THE CITY'S, YOU KNOW, BEING LIKE THIS TRULY NEEDS TO BE EMBODIED. AND SO WE DO THAT THROUGH CAP CAPACITY BUILDING EFFORTS, UH, SUCH AS TRAINING TOOLS, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROGRAMS, AND POLICY ANALYSIS. UM, FINALLY JUST TO CLOSE OUT WITH OUR, UH, ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES, WHICH I LOVE TO SHARE. UH, YOU KNOW, AND WE DID A REALLY, REALLY INTENTIONAL EXERCISE AROUND THIS. UH, OUR OFFICE IS COMMITTED, UM, TO, UH, HOLDING THESE VALUES AS OUR NORTH STAR AND OUR GUIDE. AND SO BELONGING, COMMUNITY, COMPASSIONATE SERVICE, FUTURE GENERATIONS, JUSTICE AND RADICAL LOVE ARE, UM, VERY MUCH WHAT OUR WORK IS ANCHORED IN. AND LASTLY, JUST TO INTRODUCE OUR OFFICE OF EQUITY STAFF, WE REPORT TO DEPUTY CITY MANAGER TERESA CHANDLER, UM, IN THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE. TONY DEL IS OUR E EQUITY AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PROGRAM SPECIALIST. UM, AND HOPEFULLY HE'S OUR, UH, COMMISSION EXPERT AS WELL. SO HOPEFULLY WE'RE ABLE TO WEAN HIM OFF OF BEING IN THIS SPACE, UM, VERY SOON SO THAT JESSICA AND I CAN BE, YOU KNOW, EXPERTS IN SUPPORTING THE COMMISSION. UH, JESSICA, UM, IS OUR NEWEST ADDITION. SHE IS LITERALLY, WE HAVE THIS POSITION BECAUSE WE HAVE THIS COMMISSION. UM, SO SHE IS THE NEWEST ADDITION TO OUR TEAM AND, UH, HER POSITION COMES WITH FUNDING TO SUPPORT THE COMMISSION FOR WOMEN AND GIRLS. SO SHE IS GOING TO BE, UM, THE, THE PERSON THAT YOU START GETTING EMAILS FROM MOVING FORWARD. UM, AND I'LL BE COPIED AND THEN IF YOU NEED HELP OR IF IT'S A POLICY THING, THAT'S WHEN YOU'LL TAP ME AND I'M THE CITY EQUITY OFFICER. SO THAT'S JUST A QUICK INTRODUCTION TO THE OFFICE. IF EVER YOU WANNA HEAR MORE ABOUT OUR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES OR THE WORK WE'RE DOING IN THE CITY, I WOULD GLADLY MAKE MYSELF AVAILABLE TO PRESENT THAT TO YOU ALL. UM, BUT YEAH, I JUST WANTED TO TAKE AN OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE OURSELVES, WHAT WE DO, UM, SO THAT YOU CAN THINK ABOUT THE ALIGNMENT OR, SO YOU CAN SEE HOW WE SEE YOU AS PART OF, UH, OUR WORK. UM, AND THAT INCLUDES MY PRESENTATION. THANK YOU MUCH. THANK YOU. SO, WE'LL NOW TAKE PUBLIC COMMENT. UH, MADAM CLERK, COULD YOU PLEASE CHECK TO SEE IF ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON THIS ITEM? YES. IF THERE'S ANY MEMBERS HERE IN PERSON THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON ITEM FOUR, PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND AND IF THERE'S ANY IN THE ZOOM, PLEASE USE RAISE TIME FEATURE NOW. SEEING NONE, THAT CONCLUDES PUBLIC COMMENT FOR ITEM NUMBER FOUR. OKAY, THAT'S OUR, PARDON ME? DOES OUR MOVER, UH, COMMISSIONER CHIEF AXON OR SECONDARY COMMISSIONER, LEVI? VIOLET COMMENTS, UH, COMMISSIONERS, IS THERE ANY DISCUSSION ON THIS ITEM? COMMENTS? I WOULD JUST LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU SO MUCH. UM, I THINK THAT'S REALLY INSPIRING THAT WE HAVE A DEPARTMENT OR AN OFFICE LIKE THIS IN THE CITY AND I THINK JUST, I COULD SPEAK FOR MYSELF 'CAUSE WE'RE USING MY STATEMENTS, BUT, UM, IT IS BEEN VERY IMPRESSIVE WORKING WITH ALL OF YOU AND, UM, YOU REALLY, REALLY PHENOMENAL IN SUPPORTING THIS COMMISSION. SO I, I APPRECIATE ABSOLUTELY. I'LL GET COMMISSIONER OR LIKE, I JUST WANNA KNOW WHAT RADICAL LOVE IS. . I LOVE SEEING LOVE. NEVER SEEN THE WORD LOVE IN, UH, ANY PUBLIC. I LOVE IT. YEAH, WE'RE COMMITTED TO REALLY NORMALIZING THAT. UM, PART OF WHY, YOU KNOW, OUR TEAM MANAGES THE PROGRAMS THAT THEY DO, SERVES THE COMMUNITIES OR REPRESENTS THE COMMUNITIES THAT THEY DO IS VERY MUCH ROOTED IN LOVE. AND SO IT JUST FELT LIKE WE WERE BEING DISINGENUINE IF WE DID NOT HAVE LOVE, UM, AS PART OF OUR ORGANIZATIONAL VALUES BECAUSE IT IS SO HARD TO WAKE UP AND COME BACK TO THE OFFICE THE NEXT DAY AFTER YOU'VE, YOU KNOW, BEEN HIT WITH A BUNCH OF NOS OR BUREAUCRATIC RED TAPE. UM, SO RADICAL LOVE IS VERY MUCH A PART OF WHY WE ARE COMMITTED TO THIS. UM, I'M ALSO A BELL HOOKS ENTHUSIAST, SO HAPPY TO SHARE THE BELL THAT WE, UH, YOU KNOW, GROUND OUR CONVERSATIONS AND OUR WORK IN AS WELL. UM, STARTING A BOOK CLUB ON SOME OF BELL HOOK'S LITERATURE AS WELL. UM, THIS IS, UH, YOU KNOW, ANOTHER FEMINIST THAT, UH, HAS INSPIRED A LOT OF THE WORK AND MY APPROACH TO, TO THINGS AS WELL. SO YEAH, LOVE IS, IS VERY MUCH WHO WE ARE AND IT'S VERY MUCH OUR WHY. SO IT WE HAD TO, HAD TO LIVED IT. MAKE AMERICA QUITE AGAIN. YES. HOLDING MORE [01:50:01] LOVE. I, I JUST WANT SAY HELLO JENNIFER. GOOD LUCK BACK THERE. JESSICA. JESSICA AND I SAID IT OUT LOUD SO I COULD BE CORRECTED. THANK YOU. NOW I'LL REMEMBER. OH, BUT, UH, WELCOME ABOARD, UH, SHIFT WOMEN AND GIRLS. THANK YOU. AND FOR YOUR COMMENTS OR DISCUSSION, SEEING MADAM PERFECTLY, PLEASE CALL FOR THE VOTE. YES. COMMISSIONER ALL HARPER. YES. COMMISSIONER AN YES. COMMISSIONER ARCH? YES. COMMISSIONER CHIEF I, YES. COMMISSIONER ZACK? YES. COMMISSIONER GONZALEZ? YES. COMMISSIONER ETTE? YES. COMMISSIONER RA? YES. VICE NICHOLSON? YES. CHAIRMAN ME? YES. MOTION CARRIED. SO AT THIS TIME WE WILL TAKE NON AGENDA PUBLIC COMMENTS. THIS IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO ADDRESS THE COMMISSION FOUR MINUTE GIRLS ON NON AGENDA ITEMS. EACH SPEAKER IS LIMITED TO THREE MINUTES, ALTHOUGH THE INTEREST OF TIME, I WOULD ACTUALLY AMEND THAT TO ONE MINUTE, UM, TO MAKE THEIR COMMENTS UNLESS EXTENDED BY THE CHAIR. IF THERE ARE ANY MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK IN PERSON, PLEASE LINE UP. WELL WE DON'T HAVE A PODIUM. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND OR STAND UP. UM, AND WE WILL TAKE VIRTUAL PUBLIC COMMENT AFTERWARDS. UM, MADAM CLERK, IF YOU COULD PLEASE CHECK FOR FOLKS WHO WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A COMMENT. YEAH, IF THERE ARE ANY HERE IN PERSON, I WOULD LIKE TO PROVIDE NON AGENDA FOR THE COMMENT. PLEASE RAISE YOUR HAND SEEING NONE. AND THERE'S NO PARTICIPANT IN THE ZOOM. SO THAT CONCLUDES NON AGENDA OF THE COMMENT. OKAY. SO NOW AT THIS TIME, COMMISSIONERS WE REPORT ON ANY PREVIOUS OR UPCOMING COMMUNITY EVENTS OR SHARE ANY INFORMATION. UM, I WOULD AGAIN ASK IN THE INTEREST OF TIME THAT WE KEEP THESE TWO ONE MINUTE IN LENGTH. ARE THERE ANY ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM COMMISSIONERS? SEE NONE. THERE IS NO OBJECTION. I DECLARE THE MEETING ADJOURNED. YES, MADAM CLERK, PLEASE CALL THE TIME, TIME IS THREE 20. * This transcript was created by voice-to-text technology. The transcript has not been edited for errors or omissions, it is for reference only and is not the official minutes of the meeting.