Dear Ward 5 neighbors,
This week has been full of opportunities to remember that we are stronger when we tackle challenges together. From public safety, to food insecurity, to the work of the new Subcommittee on Libraries and Youth Affairs, we are coming together to build the healthy communities we deserve.
In August, neighbors in Woodridge began to organize after a disturbing increase in thefts, break-ins, and robberies. I held a meeting with the Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) for neighbors to share their concerns and for us to work together on an action plan. Since then, significant strides have been made. Just this past week, MPD announced their Crime Suppression Team made an arrest, the follow-up of which led to the closure of three burglaries and three unlawful entries. This significant breakthrough would not have been possible without the community working together to share videos, pictures, and information.
As the work of the Subcommittee on Libraries and Youth Affairs gets underway, we are also seeing the importance of working together across agencies. This committee oversees:
- the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS),
- the Juvenile Abscondence Review Committee,
- DC Public Library (DCPL),
- the DCPL Trust Fund,
- the Board of Library Trustees,
- the Commission on African Affairs,
- the Commission on African American Affairs,
- the Office of East of the River Services,
- the Office on African Affairs,
- the Office on African American Affairs,
- and Serve DC.
Each of these agencies, commissions, and boards plays a role in supporting neighbors across the District, and must work well with other agencies to be successful. DYRS, for example, leans on the mental health services of the Department of Behavioral Health (DBH), and assists families through the Child and Family Services Agency (CFSA) whose children may be in DYRS’ system. All of these interconnected parts make it clear: any challenge faced by one must be tackled by all.
And as I shared in last week’s newsletter, the District also faces unique challenges and opportunities when it comes to addressing food insecurity in our region. Today, I hosted colleagues from Maryland, Virginia, and the District for a tour of farms in DC. It was a remarkable time as we heard from trailblazing leaders in urban agriculture like Gail Taylor of Three Part Harmony Farm (founded in 2012) in Ward 5, explored educational programs like FreshFarm’s FoodPrints at Watkins Elementary in Ward 6, tasted the delicious food grown at DPR’s Lederer Communal Farm in Ward 7, and saw the innovative approach to food access unfolding through Dreaming Out Loud’s Marion Barry Avenue Market in Ward 8. Each of these different parts of our food system—small urban farms, educational programs, communal farms, and non-profit organizations and markets—must work together as we address food apartheid. The food insecurity we are seeing in our region is a racial justice issue, and when we tackle the challenge together, we create a healthier, more equitable community where no one goes hungry.
