Behavioral Health in Arlington
In 2023 and 2024, I joined VOICE’s efforts to combat the behavioral health crisis in Northern Virginia. Following deaths caused from fentanyl overdoses at Wakefield High School, VOICE volunteers and I went to Wakefield to engage in listening sessions to find out: why students were turning to drugs, why students felt overwhelmed and what Arlington’s County government could do to help. After many listening sessions, we settled on policy recommendations from students that advocated for free after school programming. I lobbied members of the County Board and we successfully earned annual funding for the establishment of such programs.
Expanded Housing Option Development
In 2022 and 2023, I was a part of the core alliance of advocacy groups that lobbied in favor of the the Expanded Housing Options/Missing Middle Housing Study. The aim of this project was to eliminate exclusionary zoning, by reclassifying all of Arlington County’s single family homes as eligible for development for up to six units per lot (with exceptions). The object of this action was to undo decades of discriminatory zoning that worked to segregate and limit Arlington’s economic growth and support unsustainable urban development. This coalition included local chapters of the NAACP, Sierra Club, Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement (VOICE) and YIMBY Action.
Reproductive Care in Arlington
Starting in late 2024, I began working with allies to advocate for clearer avenues for reproductive care in Arlington County. This effort is still ongoing, but I have worked with members of the County Board to pursue a number of policies to make Arlington friendlier for reproductive health programs. These include: executing a grant to provide free menstrual products across County facilities, changing the coding of absences from unexcused to excused in Arlington Public Schools for students seeking abortions, and extending that to paid leave for County government employees, as well as working with local groups to create an education campaign to provide individuals seeking an abortion a discreet way to inform themselves about the procedure.