E-Newsletter: February 2025

Montgomery County
Community Action Agency

Community Action Board Advocacy Continues

Throughout the Maryland legislative session, the Community Action Board’s (CAB’s) Advocacy Committee meets weekly to review legislation the board is tracking and to develop testimony for the board. This legislative session has been extremely busy, with numerous bills introduced in the General Assembly that address historic CAB priorities. So far this legislative session, the CAB has submitted testimony in support of:

• HB708/SB668 - Earned Income Tax Credit - Individuals Without Qualifying Children – Eligibility
• HB709/SB651 - Landlord and Tenant - Residential Leases and Holdover Tenancies - Local Good Cause Termination (Good Cause Eviction)
• SB666 - Maryland Community Action Agencies – Funding
• HB1431/SB977 - State and Local Agencies - Enforcement of Federal Immigration Law - Restrictions on Access to Information (Maryland Data Privacy Act)
• HB1014 - Fair Share for Maryland Act of 2025
• HB1006/SB828 - Immigration Enforcement - Sensitive Locations - Guidelines and Policies (Protecting Sensitive Locations Act)

Here in the County, CAB member Rachel Bonas (above pictured), a Head Start Parents Policy Council representative on the CAB, testified before the Board of Education on February 20th. The testimony, submitted jointly by the CAB and Policy Council, requested the Board of Education’s ongoing support for high-quality Early Care and Education and a mixed delivery ECE system.

On February 28th, CAB Chair Dr. Jeffery Johnson will receive the African and Caribbean International Leadership Conference’s Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award. As President of the National Partnership for Community Leadership, Dr. Johnson has dedicated his career to serving the community, with a focus on the needs of economically disadvantaged men and families. He is a longtime member of the People’s Community Baptist Church, which he represents on the CAB. Congratulations to Dr. Johnson on this well-deserved honor!

Free Tax Help Available at Community Action VITA

Head Start: Free pre-kindergarten for low-income families who qualify

Beginning on March 1, registration opens for Pre-kindergarten/Head Start for Fall 2025, for children who are four (4) years old on or before September 1, 2025, in low-income families who qualify. Free pre-kindergarten and Head Start programs are held in the public schools. Go to www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org and search “Head Start” for more details. There are also a few spaces still available for this year!

Fliers direct families to one link if they are new to MCPS, and another if they already have a child attending MCPS. Fliers in English, Spanish, French, Amharic, Chinese, Korean, Portuguese, and Vietnamese are posted on: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS-Program/OCA/CommunityAction/HeadStart.html.

Applications are accepted online via www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org and in-person at Rocking Horse Road Center, 4910 Macon Road, Rockville, Maryland, 20852, Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. The office phone number is 240-740-4530. Families can also register their children for Head Start/PreK at various locations throughout March. List of the documents needed to complete a Head Start application.

Do you have questions about Head Start? Check out the Common Questions.

Spotlight on Community Action Partners: Women Who Care Ministries & CASA

Each fiscal year, Community Action's Contract Monitors conduct monitoring visits and review contracts for services provided by nonprofit partner organizations. Monitors observe the program activities, review the contracts' scope  of services, and answer any questions partners may have. Below are pictures from recent visits to Women Who Care Ministries (WWCM) in Montgomery Village and CASA’s Rockville Center.

WWCM provides and maintains a food collection and distribution program to supply food packages for families. 

These packages include non-perishable food items, produce, meats, fish, and dairy products (when available).

WWCM also provides weekend food bags for low-income families with students in select Montgomery County Public School through the “Helping Families and Kids Eat Weekend Meal Program.” CASA’s Employment & Training program teaches participants about the Green Economy and green jobs. The program operates out of locations in Wheaton, Rockville, and Silver Spring.  Training is provided in English, Spanish, and French. The session pictured below started with an introduction to composting, which is now a feature at this center.

On the other side of the room (behind the screen) there is a self-paced class in English for Speakers of Other Languages.

For information on contract opportunities with the Department of Health and Human Services, go to: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/HHS/DoingBuswDHHS.html.

Information on Montgomery County grant opportunities are posted by the Office of Grants Management: https://montgomerycountymd.gov/ogm/.

Celebrating Black History Month: Workers Behind the Scenes

Across local and national history, there are countless unsung heroes who have worked behind the scenes to make lasting differences in their communities. One local notable person is Lillian Beatrice Brown (1912 – 2002). Born in Rockville as the granddaughter of people who had been enslaved, Brown’s education past elementary school was not permitted in Montgomery County’s segregated schools. She then attended junior and senior high schools in Washington, DC. In 1937, Brown earned a degree from Maryland Normal College, now Bowie State University. She later earned additional degrees from Morgan State and New York University. When Brown began teaching in 1938 at Germantown Colored Elementary School, the supplies and building were in poor condition. Through her efforts, the school established a PTA to improve building maintenance. Brown’s teaching career extended past the desegregation of local schools in 1955 until she retired in 1973. In 1978, Brown coauthored with Nina Clarke A History of the Black Public Schools of Montgomery County, Maryland 1872–1961. More of Lillian Beatrice Brown’s story can be found in the Commission for Women’s Archives.  Another hero behind the scenes is Marie Van Brittan Brown (1922 – 1999). Van Brittan Brown was a nurse born in Queens, New York, who married to an electrician, Albert Brown. With their different work schedules, Marie and Albert Brown were concerned about times she was alone in the home. They devised a motorized camera that captured images from four peepholes to allow people who were indoors to determine whether to push a button to unlatch the building’s front door, or another button to alert a night watchman or sound an alarm. This became a prototype for today’s security cameras. More information about Marie Van Brittan Brown’s invention, including a sketch of the prototype, can be found on the Black Past website on African American History.  Many more stories of “Invisible Changemakers of Industry,” are on the website of National Museum of African American History & Culture.

Montgomery County 
Community Action Agency
1401 Rockville Pike, 3rd Floor
Rockville, MD 20852
Phone: 240-777-1697

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TESS is Reopening  on Tuesday, March 4!

Community Action is thrilled to announce that the Takoma-East Silver Spring (TESS) Community Action Center will reopen on Tuesday, March 4, for in-person services at 8703 Flower Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20901.

On-site Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) services begin on Tuesday, March 4. On Wednesday, March 5, the Pro Bono Legal Advice Clinic will also return. The Pro Bono program is a service of the Montgomery County Maryland Bar Foundation. 

For more information on TESS services and hours, please see this flier.

Mobile Job Center in the Neighborhood

WorkSource Montgomery's Mobile Job Center will be at 1401 Rockville Pike on Tuesdays March 4, 11, and 18. Professionals will be available to help job seekers search for and apply to jobs.

WorkSource Montgomery (WSM) is the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) designee for Montgomery County and works in partnership with Community Action, area businesses, and people seeking employment. WSM provides job training, career and aptitude assessments, operates a computer lab to assist job seekers in applying for positions, and much more.

For additional information, visit: https://worksourcemontgomery.com/home/about/who-we-are/.

Green Tip: Ride On Trip Planner App

In the 1970s, the Ride On system began as a Community Action transportation service from more rural areas of the county, such as Burtonsville, to jobs in or near Washington, DC. Today, the extensive Ride On commuter system connects neighborhoods to Metro bus and train stations across Montgomery County.

Are you taking advantage of the opportunity to Ride On, save gas, and avoid the stress of driving? To find out the routes that best serve you, download the Planner App: https://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/dot-transit/trip-planner/.

For the latest information from the Department of Environmental Protection, see Montgomery County Climate News.

Resources

NEW: Montgomery County's Resources for federal workers and United in Service and Support Online Informational Series. 

NEW: The Montgomery County Hospital Collaborative survey to help determine health services in our community. To access the survey, please see the press release.

TIP: From the Office of Consumer Protection, tips for identifying AI scams.

Office of Community Affairs, Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services:

Past editions of Community Action’s monthly e-newsletter.

African American Health Program

Asian American Health Initiative

Latino Health Initiative

Resource Directories:

Get Help website, Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center, Montgomery County, MD.

WorkSource Montgomery’s Community Assets Map.

Help Is Within Reach:
For a mental health crisis and listening support, call 988.

The Montgomery County Crisis Center: Call in, walk in, mobile outreach, community referrals, and substance use assessment and referrals (240-777-4000).

311: Weekday assistance, 7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., for health and human services, housing, transportation, and food assistance. Dial 311 from local phone numbers, or 240-777-0311.

Medical emergencies, fires, reporting crimes, disaster response, and life-saving situations: Call 911.

For non-emergencies, Montgomery County has a hate bias incident reporting tool. Or incidents can be called to 311 from local phone numbers, or 240-777-0311.

Maryland Office of the Attorney General's Hate Crimes Hotline: 1-866-481-8361 and online: https://nohomeforhate.md.gov/. Active incidents should be immediately reported to 911.

Health:

DHHS Mobile Health Clinic: Integrated medical, dental, behavioral health, and human services to underserved and vulnerable populations and communities. Residents of Montgomery County, with and without health insurance, are eligible for services.

Access HEARS, Inc.  Free over-the-counter hearing aids for County residents who are ages 60 (+) and have moderate to severe hearing loss and incomes below 250% of the Federal Poverty Level. 

DHHS testing for sexually transmitted infections in Silver Spring and Germantown.

Pregnant women who meet the other Medicaid enrollment requirements except for citizenship may be eligible for full Medicaid coverage. Contact the Healthy Babies: Pregnancy and Postpartum Care program of the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Never Use Alone, Overdose Prevention Lifeline: 877-696-1996. Peer operators are available 24-hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. https://neverusealone.com/

Housing – Repairs, eviction prevention, evictions:

Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development  home repair loans for assistance with paying for radon abatement and other repairs.

Rebuilding Together Montgomery County: Repairs and modifications to homes for aging in place.

Landlord-Tenant Affairs - Evictions information from the Department of Housing and Community Affairs.

Montgomery County Sheriff’s Evictions office: 240-777-7130

Montgomery County Renters Alliance – advocacy, education on tenants’ rights.

Limit on rent increases in Montgomery County.

Safety and Emergency Preparedness:

Sign up for Alert Montgomery notifications about emergencies in Montgomery County. Alerts can be sent via text, email, or voice message.

Standby Guardianship: https://www.peoples-law.org/standby-guardianship. Children’s guardianship protection, in case a parent/guardian is unable to care for their children.

The Montgomery County Family Justice Center helps people in domestic violence, child abuse, and elder abuse situations.

Montgomery County Family Violence Awareness and Prevention.

Food and Household items:

Department of Health and Human Services Food Resources website (available in English, Spanish, Amharic, French, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Korean).

Montgomery County Food Council: Food Assistance Resource Map.

How to protect SNAP benefits from fraud: Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT) Fraud - Maryland Department of Human Services

Greater DC Area Diaper Bank Nursery Project provides strollers, car seats, and a cloth diaper service.

Diaper distribution at Montgomery County hubs and other partners.

Financial empowerment:

CASHBACK– VITA Services, tax credit information, and financial education resources.

Gaithersburg Financial Empowerment Center: http://www.gaithersburgmd.gov/fec. Phone: 240-454-5199.

WorkSource Montgomery locations in Wheaton, Germantown, and a Mobile Jobs Center.

Montgomery County Office of Consumer Protection – A – Z Consumer Advice.

Montgomery County Commission for Women seminars on financial planning, intimate partner violence, separation and divorce, human trafficking, and more.

My Green Montgomery: How to lower your energy costs and much more!

Office of Home Energy Programs: Utilities assistance.

WSSC fliers in English and Spanish: QR codes to all WSSC assistance programs; Customer Assistance Program for water bill assistance; and a loan program for help with water or sewer pipe repairs or replacement.

Ban the Box : The Fair Criminal Record Screening Standards Law assists in reintegration of people with criminal records into the workforce.

Unemployment Insurance.

The Community Action Agency is part of the Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Community Affairs.