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i of the Police and Fire departments. She expressed her concern regarding the Fire Department staffing handling a high volume of inedical calls. Kitty Lozez, Executive Director of the Samaritan House, asked for continued support for the HSFA (Human Services Financial Assistance) funding to help people. She spoke about their services, a 12% increase in client visits, their work in helping the County with backlogs, and her hope to continue this relationship. Wade Greene, Vice President of the Fire Fighters Association, provided an illustration of what reducing staffing could mean and examples of how they have done more with less. He believes they front loaded the savings and opined that they have nothing else to give. Maria Quinones, a client of the Shelter Nefinrork, spoke about how this program helped her family when they became homeless and integrated them back into a comfortable life. She thanked Council and introduced her son, Jorge. Jorge Quinones spoke positively about his experience at the Redwood Family Home. He said it did not feel like a shelter and there were activities he enjoyed. He added that the managers looked forward to helping people to get back on their feet. He thanked Council and the Shelter Network members for their help. Cherlene Wright, Housing and Human Concerns Committee Vice Chair, read a quote and spoke in support of how HSFA (Human Services Financial Assistance) funding serves residents of Redwood City. She provided statistical information on the benefits and asked Council to consider them as core services as they reflect the City's core values. Skye DeLano, representing Fresh Lifelines for Youth (FLY), expressed her appreciation of the discussions and debates Council has been having and she noted that her non-profit has met and exceeded the quota. She wanted to reassure the Council that their money has been well spent and she read a letter from a graduate regarding her positive experiences. She advocated against cutting HSFA funding. Lauren Zorfas, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society, spoke in support of HSFA funding and asked for consideration of the quality of life, leveraging resources, and the services provided by nonprofits. She spoke about service needs as a quality of life issue and she asked that funding be kept. Sheryl Munoz-Bergman, Program Director for the International Institute of the Bay Area and a board member of Thrive (The Alliance of Nonprofits for San Mateo County) spoke in favor of HSFA funding. She justified it as being cost effective, providing a safety net of services, promoting prevention and reducing 911 calls. She feels it increases the quality of life and she urged no cuts to the HSFA funding. Mark Manual, Chair of the Housing and Human Concerns Committee, spoke against eliminating HSFA (Human Services Financial Assistance) funding. He said this is his sixth year on this committee and it had been both an honor and a reward to represent Council in deliberating on how tax payers' funds are used. He expressed how these funds are leveraged to assist the most vulnerable people in this community and he opined that SPECIAL JOINT CITY COUNCIL/REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY BOARD June 30, 2010 MEETING MINUTES PAGE 5 MINUTE BOOK NO. 63 Page No. 133