October 7, 2022
Dear Washingtonians,
For years, Black Americans in Washington, DC and across the nation were intentionally excluded from opportunities to purchase homes and build wealth. Today, the legacies of those discriminatory policies are reflected in homeownership rates and disparities in generational wealth. For example, in Washington, DC, while nearly 49 percent of white residents own
their homes, only 34 percent of Black residents own their homes.
We know, especially with the rise in housing costs, that in order to overcome these legacies, close racial wealth gaps, and ensure more longtime DC residents can stay and build wealth in DC, we must think and act boldly. So, earlier this year, I launched a Black Homeownership Strike Force to set a goal for our community and to create recommendations for increasing Black homeownership rates in Washington, DC. I seeded our commitment with a $10 million Black Homeownership Fund.
This week, I received the recommendations of the strike force and, together, we set a new goal: to add 20,000 Black homeowners by 2030.
I have previously shared my own homeownership story – how buying a home in my late twenties, with the support of a home buying program, changed my life. Buying a home allowed me to think boldly about my own life and it has allowed me to think boldly about my daughter’s future. I know, in a city as prosperous as ours, that we can put homeownership in reach for more families.
Want to become a homeowner in DC? Start the process at frontdoor.dc.gov, our one-stop shop of District resources to help Washingtonians buy and maintain a home in DC.
Sincerely,
 Today, Mayor Bowser and Universal Health Services (UHS) cut the ribbon on the new Cedar Hill Urgent Care, GW Health in Ward 8.
The new facility, located on the ground floor of the Mapleview Flats building at 2228 Martin Luther King Jr Avenue SE, will open its doors to patients on Monday, October 10. The urgent care center will be open seven days a week, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and serve all District residents.
Cedar Hill Urgent Care, GW Health will offer comprehensive services for a broad range of illnesses including:
-
Allergic reactions and asthma
-
Colds and flu
-
Ear infections
-
Falls, minor sprains, and broken bones
-
Persistent cough
-
Pink eye
-
Minor cuts, burns, bug bites, and animal bites
-
Sinus pressure and sinus infections
-
Sore throat
-
Urinary tract infections
In addition, x-rays and basic lab work will be offered.
Owned and operated by UHS and in partnership with the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences and the GW Medical Faculty Associates, the $1.8 million full-service urgent care will provide comprehensive services for a wide range of illnesses. Cedar Hill Urgent Care, GW Health is the first location to open as part of a partnership between the District and UHS to create a comprehensive system of healthcare serving communities east of the Anacostia River. Learn more HERE.
Back to Top
 This week, District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) and XQ Institute (XQ) announced that Dunbar High School and the Cardozo Education Campus have been selected for the first cohort of DC+XQ, a multi-year partnership between DCPS and XQ Institute to rethink and redesign all DCPS high schools so all students graduate ready for college, careers, and life.
The two high schools will spend the current school year prototyping and piloting elements of their school models, testing ideas, and gathering further input from their communities with the promise of further scaling their designs at the start of the 2023-2024 school year.
Dunbar will reimagine the high school experience and deepen the academic achievement of its students through the lens of Afrofuturism, a cultural and intellectual movement that leverages knowledge of the past to create possibilities for the future. Cardozo will center its student experience around the goal of financial independence, including building an interdisciplinary approach that infuses rigorous high school academics with real-world business and financial skills.
To learn more about DC+XQ, visit DCXQ.US.
Back to Top
 Join Mayor Bowser and the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs on Tuesday, October 25 for the District’s 35th Annual 17th Street High Heel Race.
The High Heel Race is a favorite October tradition in DC. Each year, neighbors come to Dupont Circle to celebrate hundreds of drag queens and cheer them on as they race down 17th Street.
Are you interested in racing? Learn more HERE.
Back to Top
|
