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Neighbors,
This past week gave us our first taste of fall in the District, and with the return of cool weather also comes the DC Council’s return from recess on September 16. In this edition of the newsletter, I wanted to provide a brief preview of what to expect legislatively with about four months left in 2024 and Council Period 25. I appreciate each and every stakeholder we have engaged with on these bills and policy proposals.
The Committee on Health is planning to vote on a number of bills and nominations this fall, including the following legislation:
Local government is an everyday job and while recess is almost over, I am thankful to be able to get back to the full swing of legislative and oversight work. The rest of this newsletter is filled with hearing dates for the Committee on Health and great community events and initiatives.
In service,
Christina Henderson
Councilmember, At-Large
Upcoming Committee on Health Hearing Dates
Christina in the Community
On Thursday, September 5, Councilmember Henderson visited Mamatoto Village located in Ward 7. Mamatoto Village provides perinatal support services with the goals of equipping women with the necessary tools to make informed decisions in their maternity care, parenting, and lives. During her visit, Councilmember Henderson viewed their perinatal room for pregnant people and parents to relax and their supply room which holds various items such as maternity clothes and diapers. Senior Development Associate, Ashley Richardson, one of the tour's facilitators is pictured above.
In Case You Missed It: Councilmember Henderson in the News
Constituent Service Corner
Public Safety Job Fair
Members of the community are invited to a public safety job fair with representatives from MPD, Fire and EMS, Department of Corrections, Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services, Office of Unified Communications, Office of Human Rights, Office on Returning Citizen Affairs, and the Department of Forensic Sciences. The job fair will held on September 20, from 11am to 2pm and is free to the public. You can preregister for the event, here.
OUC Junior Academy
The Office of Unified Communications’ Junior Academy is a free of cost, five-week program that aims to familiarize young adults to OUC career opportunities with hopes to onboard participants who have a passion for public safety and serving residents. The next cohort of the OUC Junior Academy will begin on September 19. You can complete the OUC Junior Academy Interest Form, here.
Extended Spray Park and Select Pool Operations
The following pools will remain open six days a week, from 10am to 6pm, until Sunday, September 22.
You can find a complete list of spray parks that will remain open daily, from 10am to 6pm, until Sunday, September 22, here.
Car Free Day 2024
Car Free Day is a worldwide event that encourages greener methods of travel, meaning ways to get around other than driving alone by car. Car Free Day in the Washington, DC region is meant to bring awareness to the benefits of travel options such as transit, bicycling and walking, and also telework for people who can work from home. Carpooling and vanpooling count, too, and are considered “car-lite” since they are both lighter on the wallet and the environment than driving alone in a car. Councilmember Henderson signed the Car Free Day proclamation in July on behalf of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Transportation Planning Board (TPB), on which she serves as chair. You can take the free pledge to be car free on September 23 and be entered to win special promotions and prizes, here.
Art All Night
DC’s free overnight arts festival is back! Art All Night, presented by Mayor Bowser, will take place in all 8 wards on September 27 and 28 with different activations each night, bringing visual and performing arts, including painting, photography, sculpture, crafts, fashion, music, literary arts, dance, theater, film, poetry and more. DC Art All Night will occur from 7pm to 3am each night. You can find more information, here.
Emergency Preparedness Training
We are excited to invite you to a comprehensive hands-on training event, Hands on Heart Emergency Preparedness Training, presented by the Mayor's Office of Deaf, Deaf Blind and Hard of Hearing (MODDHH). The event will focus on emergency preparedness and will be hosted by MODDHH, DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services, and Gallaudet's Disaster and Emergency Planning Program. Gain practical skills and knowledge on emergency preparedness from experts in the field, the training will be held on Wednesday, October 9 at 11am at Gallaudet University (800 Florida Ave NE – LLRH6 Collab Room 103).
Shelter Locations
Low-barrier shelters are accessible for those experiencing homelessness, operate year round, and remain open 24 hours.
Shelters for Men
Shelters for Women
Shelters for LGBTQ+:
Information on Services
Prevention Services
Have a constituent service need related to the Health Committee or any of the other agencies in DC Government? Want Councilmember Henderson to come to your community event or meeting? Don’t hesitate to reach out to our Constituent Services Director Ana Berrios-Vazquez during regular business hours (9:00am - 5:30pm) at 202-724-8105, or ABerriosVazquez@dccouncil.gov.
Stay Connected
Thank you for reading! Please stay in touch.
Christina Henderson
At-Large Councilmember
chenderson@dccouncil.gov
Mike Shaffer
Chief of Staff
mshaffer@dccouncil.gov
Heather Edelman
Deputy Chief of Staff
hedelman@dccouncil.gov
Gabrielle Rogoff
Legislative Director
grogoff@dccouncil.gov
Ana Berríos-Vázquez
Constituent Services Director
aberriosvazquez@dccouncil.gov
Sierra Wallace
Communications Director
swallace@dccouncil.gov
Nicholas Pcholkin
Senior Legislative Assistant
npcholkin@dccouncil.gov
Taylor Coleman
Legislative Aide
tcoleman@dccouncil.gov
Health Committee
Ona Balkus
Committee Director
obalkus@dccouncil.gov
Marcia Huff
Senior Policy Advisor
mhuff@dccouncil.gov
Rebecca Cooper
Health Policy Advisor
rcooper@dccouncil.gov
Ashley Strange
Legislative Assistant
astrange@dccouncil.gov