media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com ​

Palm Springs Seeks Sister City
Local Business Leaders to Explore “Boost to Tourism”

6 December  2021 – Palm Springs, CA: With an eye towards building air bridges, economic and cultural ties and boosting tourism visibility, a group Palm Springs residents and business owners have spent the last 18 months exploring something new: A Sister City for Palm Springs. Now, with a newly l launched   Facebook page and following a series of community meetings, the group is ready to move to the next step: actual selection of a Sister City.

“Palm Springs is an international destination with an international brand,” said Jeffrey Bernstein, owner of Destination PSP and a board member for the Palm Springs Hospitality Association and Visit Greater Palm Springs.“This is a perfect time to begin exploring a sister city for Palm Springs as we look for creative and practical ways to revitalize our economy in the continuing wake of COVID 19.”

Bernstein, who spearheaded the concept, first presented his idea at a meeting of the Palm Springs City Council in 2019 just before the outbreak of COVID.   Soon thereafter, Bernstein drew in the participation of other local business and community leaders who have spent the last year as an all-volunteer effort, organizing the group and joining Sister Cities International, the governing body for such civic partnerships.  During the last year, the group has been comprised of Lauri Kibby, David Eugene Perry, Willie Rhine,  Ann Sheffer,  Peggy Trott and Al Jones who co-chairs the committee with Bernstein. In the coming weeks, this organizing committee will take the form of a coordinating committee to present its findings to the City of Palm Springs  as to options for the best possible match for an international Sister City and a domestic “Friendship City.” 

“Now is the perfect moment to explore a sister city for Palm Springs,”said Jones, former Chair of the Palm Springs International Airport Commission, board member for Dezart Performs  and former Presidential appointee to The Congressional Advisory Committee on Student Financial Aid by both George Bush and Barack Obama. “As challenging as the last almost two years have been, in 2022 we have the opportunity to expand, improve and diversify our tourism base. A sister city program is a great tool for that, especially with the recently announced new flights, both new destinations and new airlines for the Palm Springs International Airport.”

Over the next few weeks, Bernstein, Jones and Perry will speak with representatives from the Sister Cities International, the nonprofit that coordinates such relationship, to outline the process for setting up an official program. Created by President Dwight President Eisenhower during the 1956 White House conference on citizen diplomacy, the organization was envisioned as a hub of peace and prosperity by creating bonds between people from different cities around the world.

The Committee is seeking members of the public who live in Palm Springs interested in becoming volunteers with the Sister City initiative.  Volunteers must be willing to commit time to the goal of developing a long-term relationship with an international and domestic city. There will be multiple opportunities to serve on committees that will be established to support the Palm Springs Sister City program, e.g., fundraising, cultural programs and exchanges,  professional/technical, trade and commerce, hosting, and education and youth exchange committees.  Individuals interested in participating in this initiative should send a letter of interest along with resume to allisongjones@gmail.com.

Plans for involvement of, and a presentation to the greater community will be forthcoming to ensure stakeholder participation and support.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Friday, December 3, 2021

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

*** STATEMENT ***

MAYOR LONDON BREED ON THE PASSING OF CHARLOTTE SHULTZ

San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed today issued the following statement regarding the passing of Charlotte Mailliard Shultz.

“Charlotte Shultz was a woman of unparalleled grace and generosity who loved San Francisco like no other. In her decades of work as Chief of Protocol she did more than connect our City with the Consular Corps and the countries they represent — she showed the rest of the world what an incredible place San Francisco is and can be. She served as our host to diplomats, heads of state, and international leaders, and she outshone them all. I am deeply saddened by the loss of such an incredible woman and friend, and my heart goes out to her family and friends. We have lost our Grande Dame. The bright lights of San Francisco are forever diminished with the loss of Charlotte, but her impact, legacy, and love will live with us for generations.”

###

media contact: David Perry & Associates, Inc. (415) 676-7007 / news@davidperry.com  

Acclaimed Palm Springs Theatre Expands Network with Actress and Cultural Leader 

Nancy Bleiweiss-Nevil Named to Board for Nonprofit Dezart Performs
www.dezartperforms.org

1 December 2021 – Palm Springs, CA: Nancy Bleiweiss-Nevil of Rancho Mirage has been named to the board of directors for the nonprofit Dezart Performs theatre company of Palm Springs (www.dezartperforms.org) continuing its 14^th season – and first post-COVID productions – in January with the Olivier Award winning exploration of Dr. Martin Luther King’s final day The Mountaintop.

“Nancy has long been one of our biggest supporters, as well as a dear friend,” said Clark Dugger, Board President for Dezart Performs. “Her enthusiasm and love for theatre will be a definite asset to the board and the company.”

“I am truly looking forward to being a part of this wonderful group of people bringing high quality theatre to our valley,” said Bleiweiss-Nevil who moved to the area in 2005.

Bleiweiss-Nevil started her career in her hometown of San Francisco where she was the co-creator and original star of the hit show Beach Blanket Babylon that closed in 2019 after 45 years, making it the longest-running musical revue in United States history. From there, she moved to Los Angeles and was a cast member of the remake of the TV show Laugh In. She also had the honor of performing with the San Francisco Opera in The Merry Widow with Dame Joan Sutherland. From theatre and opera she moved onto the travel business where she ran a successful agency for 20 years. When she moved to the Coachella Valley, she looked for ways to get involved with creative outlets in her new community. She became a board member of Coyote Stage Works and also The Muses of the McCallum Theatre. Her true passion is bringing back arts into the schools. She and two other like-minded ladies started a support group for the existing charity, Tools for Tomorrow and formed a fundraising arm called The Visionaries of Tools for Tomorrow. She served on the board for several years and participated in its growth and success. She and her late husband Charles (also a former actor) got involved with several of the theatre companies in the valley and tried to support as many as possible.

“Charles and I always had a special place in our hearts for Dezart Performs and have supported them for years,” said Bleiweiss-Nevil. “We always loved their passion and love for what they do, as well as the caliber of the plays they chose to produce.”

Dezart Performs, one of the Coachella Valley’s preeminent theatre companies, recognizes that the performing arts enrich the life and culture of a community, promote greater understanding and provoke insightful discussion. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit theatre company, its mission is to provide an artistic home for bold and cutting–edge plays, creating an atmosphere of artistic growth for actors, writers, and directors who uniquely contribute to the diverse theatrical environment in the Coachella Valley.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Tuesday, November 30, 2021

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

*** PRESS RELEASE ***

SAN FRANCISCO CELEBRATES ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF STREET CRISIS RESPONSE TEAM

Street Crisis Response Team has responded to over 5,000 calls related to people suffering from mental health and substance use issues on City streets

San Francisco, CA — Mayor London N. Breed, the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH), and the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD) today marked the one-year anniversary of the launch of the Street Crisis Response Team (SCRT). SCRT has grown from a single team supporting the Tenderloin neighborhood to six teams providing San Francisco with 24/7 citywide coverage in one year. SCRT responds rapidly to people who are having a crisis on City streets with a behavioral health approach that deescalates situations and addresses a person’s immediate needs for care, treatment, and shelter. 

Data from the year show that SCRT has taken more than 5,000 calls and engaged with nearly 3,000 people in crisis. In early 2022, a seventh team with six additional staff will launch.

“The Street Crisis Response Team has proven that we can respond to calls of people in crisis with compassion and clinical skills without having to rely on emergency rooms, ambulances, and law enforcement,” said Mayor Breed. “Getting to the point when we can respond to everyone in need without continuing the cycle that keeps them in and out of our emergency rooms or our jails is going to take time. This anniversary is an important step forward and proves to cities and counties across the country seeking to replicate our model that it works.”

Demonstrating the program’s success as an alternative to law enforcement, SCRT diverted more than one-third of all 911 calls (38%) for “mentally disturbed persons” from law enforcement cumulatively during its first year of operation. With six teams launched, SCRT is now diverting over half (58%) of calls monthly for “mentally disturbed persons” from law enforcement. Once fully operational, SCRT seeks to divert 100% of calls.

“San Francisco is responding urgently with new approaches to transform how we deliver care to those hardest to reach and most in need,” said Dr. Grant Colfax, Director of Health. “Rather than wait for people to come to us, we are finding new, innovative ways of removing barriers to care by taking services directly to people in need. The Street Crisis Response Team shows that this approach works, and will build on our learnings from this first year of operation to further increase access to services and connect even more people in crisis to the resources they need.”

“The San Francisco Fire Department and our Community Paramedicine Division are incredibly proud of what SCRT has accomplished in its first year of operation,” said Chief Jeanine Nicholson of the San Francisco Fire Department. “Community Paramedicine is an emerging field in health care where paramedics operate in expanded roles to connect underserved populations to care. SCRT, like other community paramedicine programs of the San Francisco Fire Department, increase our ability to promote health and social equity among those with unmet medical, mental health, and social needs.”

Each SCRT team is staffed with a community paramedic from SFFD, a behavioral health clinician from HealthRIGHT360, and a peer specialist with lived experience from RAMS, Inc. (Richmond Area Multi-Services) who together have the range of specialty skills to engage on scene with a person in crisis. As of April 2021, SCRT is supported by a dedicated follow-up team that provides coordinated care linkages, often within 24-hours of the initial encounter. Since April, nearly a third (31%) of all people who interact with SCRT are successfully re-engaged with follow-up care such as being connected to a provider or treatment program.

SCRT is an important component of the City’s Mental Health SF initiative for improving the mental healthcare for people experiencing homelessness. Most people who SCRT serves (76%) are currently experiencing homelessness, a condition that puts them at significantly higher risk for negative health outcomes and creates challenges in accessing services and long-term mental health and medical care. SCRT’s street-based response offers a different approach from the traditional facility-based care by delivering support directly to communities.

If you see someone in a crisis, please call 911 and describe what you are seeing to the trained operators with the San Francisco Department of Emergency Services (DEM).  

More information about SCRT can be found at: sf.gov/street-crisis-response-team

###