Advocates Rally in San Francisco to Support a Charge for Harm Alcohol Mitigation Fee
MEDIA ADVISORYAugust 2, 2010
Advocates Rally in San Francisco to Support a
Charge for Harm Alcohol Mitigation Fee
Local Ordinance will help City Recover $17.7 Million in Alcohol-Related Health Care Costs
What: News Conference and Rally
When: August 4, 2010, 10:00 a.m.
Where: San Francisco City Hall (Polk Street steps)
Who (partial list of invited participants):
- John Avalos, Supervisor, City and County of San Francisco
- Sophie Maxwell, Supervisor, City and County of San Francisco
- Ross Mirkarimi, Supervisor, City and County of San Francisco
- Reverend Norman Fong, Program Director, Chinatown Community Development Center (CCDC)
- Tom O’Connor, President, San Francisco Firefighters Local 798
- Mitch Katz, M.D., Director of San Francisco Department of Public Health
- Larry Bevan, President, SEIU 1021
- Michael Rokeach, M.D., President, San Francisco Medical Society
- Dr. Mimi Silbert, President & CEO, Delancey Street
- Richard Jimenez, M.A., Vice President, Development, Walden House
- Jim Illig, President, San Francisco Health Commission
- Hene Kelly, Legislative Director, California Alliance for Retired Americans (CARA)
- Michele Simon, Research & Policy Director, Marin Institute
- Deborah Camarillo, Executive Director, Latino Commission
- Laura Thomas, Deputy State Director, Drug Policy Alliance
- Jimmy Loyce, Executive Director, Black Coalition on Aids
- Arthur Bosse, Executive Director, National Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Addictions (NCADA)
- Matt Rosen, Youth Leadership Institute (YLI)
Why:
To advocate for the passage of California’s first Charge for Harm local ordinance to assess alcohol wholesalers, distributors and others for a portion of San Francisco’s alcohol-related harm. Introduced by Supervisor John Avalos and cosponsored by Supervisors Sophie Maxwell and Russ Mirkarimi, the measure is supported by a San Francisco Controller’s “nexus” study that detailed over $17 million in costs to city funded services like treatment, prevention, medical transport and hospitalization for alcohol related illness. The fee ordinance will be discussed in a SF Board of Supervisors Finance Committee hearing at 11 a.m. in the Board’s main chambers.
To help the public understand the astronomical annual cost of alcohol-related harm in San Francisco, and the effects on a chronically under-funded health care system.
To elevate visibility of the Charge for Harm movement – a rapidly growing, diverse, statewide constituency of concerned individuals, treatment and prevention service providers, cities, counties, public health officials, enforcement, labor, community, youth and faith-based groups determined to pass fair and meaningful alcohol-harm mitigation fees in California.