February 19, 2021
Dear Washingtonians,
For the past year, many communities across the District have been burdened by two simultaneous public health emergencies. The first is the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has hit our Black and Latino communities the hardest. The second is the gun-related violence that continues to devastate many of those same communities. Both emergencies have inflicted painful trauma on so many and left too many communities hurting.
This week we took new action to address gun violence by launching a first-of-its-kind Gun Violence Prevention Emergency Operations Center (EOC), part of a new comprehensive gun violence prevention program, Building Blocks DC. Through the Emergency Operations Center, which is located at Shannon Place in Ward 8 and will be staffed with top personnel from across District government, we will deploy a whole-government, public health approach to gun violence prevention.
The focus of this new strategy is on people and places. Building Blocks DC will engage people most at-risk of becoming a victim or perpetrator of gun violence. And the EOC will use a place-based, data-driven approach. Using 2020 crime data, we have identified 151 blocks that represent less than 2% of all blocks in the District, but were the site of 41% of all gunshot-related crimes.
Building Blocks DC recognizes what we know to be true: by focusing our attention and resources and working together, we can reduce gun violence, save lives, and build safer neighborhoods across DC.
Sincerely,
 On Saturday, February 20, at 11:00 a.m., join Mayor Bowser's final Fiscal Year 2022 Virtual Budget Engagement Forum.
On Saturday at 11:00 a.m., you can:
- Watch live and participate at budget.dc.gov
- Dial-in at 844-881-1314
- Watch on DCN Channel 16
And while we hope you will join us for the forum, there are other ways to submit ideas and feedback:
- Call (202) 442-4755 and leave us a voicemail with your values, priorities, and ideas for the FY 2022 Budget
- Take the survey on budget.dc.gov
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 This week, individuals who work in four categories became eligible to book vaccination appointments through vaccinate.dc.gov or by calling the District’s coronavirus Call Center: individuals who work in a grocery store setting; outreach workers who work in health, human, or social services; individuals who work in manufacturing; and individuals who work in food packaging (e.g. persons who work at Food & Friends and other similar facilities).
Additionally, DC Health announced that going forward, vaccination appointments will become available on an alternating weekly schedule, with appointments becoming available at 6:00 p.m. on Thursdays and Fridays one week, and at 9:00 a.m. on Thursdays and Fridays the following week.
The week of March 1, DC will begin Phase 1C Tier 1, and DC residents who are 16-64 years old with qualifying medical conditions will become eligible for the vaccine. Find a list of the qualifying medical conditions HERE.
Learn more about the vaccine at coronavirus.dc.gov/vaccine
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 The deadline for the My School DC lottery application for grades PK3-8 is Monday, March 1. My School DC is the city’s common application and public school lottery for DC Public Schools (DCPS) and the majority of public charter schools (grades PK3-12).
Families must use the My School DC lottery application to apply to:
- DCPS PK3 / PK4 programs (including programs at in-boundary DCPS schools);
- DCPS citywide and out-of-boundary schools (PK3-12); and
- all participating public charter schools (PK3-12).
Have questions or need help with your application? Call the My School DC hotline at (202) 888-6336, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. or email info.myschooldc@dc.gov.
For more information and to apply, go to www.myschooldc.org.
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