In 1963 Southeast-Mission Geriatrics pioneered the concept of psychiatric care specifically for the elderly. The concept was quickly expanded to four district Mental Health centers in San Francisco. SE-Mission Geriatrics has since served as a model in other counties, states, and other countries, like Canada, Japan, and Germany.

The elderly we serve suffer from a variety of mental illnesses, including depression and anxiety, as well as more serious psychotic illnesses. Our bicultural/bilingual staff speak English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Tagalog. 75% of our patients are women, and one third are Latina/Latinos.

Our current location is ideal. It is located in the middle of a large service area, including South of Market, Potrero, the Mission, the Excelsior and Bayview/Hunters Point. It has good public transportation, and parking. Our building was recently remodeled to make it 100% ADA-compliant and wheelchair acessible. It is in a residential neighborhood and has quiet surroundings. The elderly do better in these smaller, quieter facilities oriented to their needs.

The proposed new location is in a completly different section of town with heavy traffic congestion and little parking, making it intimidating to cross streets after taking public transportation or parking. The proposed building is already extremely crowded and would produce a potentially dangerous patient mix: the frail elderly, disturbed children, psychotic adults, and occasionally dangerous substance abusers. This has raised considerable safety concerns among staff.

In addition,the building is slated to be vacated soon because formaldehyde fumes from the dialysis clinic in the same building makes people sick. California's over-60 population will double over the next ten years. What kind of committment to seniors' mental health does DPH have if they are willing to move a flourishing geriatric facility into a location they will have to move from in a short while?

DON'T MOVE SOUTHEAST-MISSION GERIATRICS!

The financial foolishness of the Southeast-Mission Geriatric move shows that DHP's real commitment is to solving short-term financial problems, not preserving San Francisco's health structure.