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Former Fairfax elementary teacher arrested for sexual battery of a minor

M Colkitt — Sat, 11 Dec 2021 20:39:38 +0000

West Springfield Police detectives arrested 69-year-old Roger Allan McKay yesterday morning on two counts of against a minor.

Police first began investigating McKay in March 2021 after a survivor disclosed to their therapist that unlawful sexual contact had allegedly taken place during private music lessons at McKay’s house between 2010 and 2013.

Roger Allan McKay was taken into custody by Fairfax County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, December 10th at 10:02 a.m. on charges of aggravated sexual battery. (Courtesy of Fairfax County Police Department)

McKay formerly taught music at Fairfax Villa Elementary School, according to the school’s media relations manager, Julie Moult. He retired in 2017. He also offered private lessons to students at his home in Kings Park West, located in the 5400 block of Gainsborough Drive.

In a , police said they believe McKay used his FCPS contacts to connect with students interested in taking one-on-one lessons. Police also said they believe McKay continued to provide these lessons from the time of his employment with FCPS up until the time of his arrest yesterday afternoon.

Fairfax community members took to social media to express their shock following the announcement of McKay’s arrest.

Locals responded to Fairfax County Police Department’s with dismay. (M Colkitt/��Ӱ��)

This type of reaction is to be expected when accused predators are unmasked, according to experts.

“Niceness and likability will override a track record of child molestation any day of the week,” wrote Dr. Anna Salter, a leading voice on the psyche of sexual abusers, in her internationally-renowned 2003 book Predators. “Likability is such a potent weapon that it protects predators for long periods of time and through almost incomprehensible numbers of victims.”

from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that in 2019 alone, Child Protective Services agencies substantiated reports that nearly 61,000 children suffered sexual abuse.

According to from the National Center for Victims of Crime, 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 20 boys will endure childhood sexual abuse. The Bureau of Justice Statistics nearly 70% of all reported sexual assaults occur to children under the age of seventeen.

Experts universally agree that these numbers are conservatively skewed. Sexual abuse is extremely underreported due to a wide and complex . For example, the vast majority of sexual abuse is committed by people familiar to the targeted individual.

“The reality is that most victims who are sexually assaulted know their offenders well,” said former prosecutor Pearl Kim, who served in Pennsylvania’s Special Victims Unit for over a decade, specializing in cases of rape, child sexual abuse and human trafficking.

“These abusers groom their victims by gaining their trust and the trust of those around them,” Kim said. “In instances where the abuser may be a teacher, coach or religious figure, they may likely use their position of authority to facilitate abuse and exploit their relationships with others.”

According to data pulled from the by the , 93% of juvenile sexual assault survivors personally knew their assaulter prior to any abuse taking place. (M Colkitt/��Ӱ��)

McKay is being held at the Fairfax Adult Detention Center without bond pending arraignment. Howard Ludwig from FCPD’s Public Affairs Bureau said detectives are urging anyone who believes McKay may have had inappropriate contact with them or their child to contact the Fairfax’s Major Crimes Bureau.

“We recognize that there is always the possibility of there being other potential victims out there,” Ludwig said. “We want to make sure anyone who was a victim has a voice.”

__________________________________________________

To reach the FCPD Major Crimes Bureau, call 703-246-7800 and select option 3. Tips can also be submitted anonymously by calling 1-866-411-TIPS, texting 847411 beginning with the letters “FCCS,” or by filling out a secure .

Those who have been impacted by sexual abuse may call the confidential National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE for support and resources.

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MoCo public schools experience dramatic spike in student violence

M Colkitt — Tue, 07 Dec 2021 16:14:42 +0000

This month marks the end of Montgomery County Public Schools’ first semester meeting back in person amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Schools county-wide are reporting surges in violent outbreaks and altercations.

Over the past 11 weeks, police responded to 48 reported assaults within the county’s public school system. Students and county council members alike cite pandemic-related mental health concerns as a key contributor to the increase in school violence.

“We’ve had three fights in my school in the few months we’ve been in-person,” said Kyson Taylor, a junior at Rockville’s Richard Montgomery High School and co-chair of the county’s Student Wellbeing Action Group (SWAG). “I had never seen a fight in school until this year. I think that says something.”

Students continue to demand increased mental health support to counter the effects of the pandemic, but Taylor said he’s frustrated by the county’s lack of action.

“Students’ mental health needs grow more intense by the day,” he said. “Every second we wait on this, the more harm it causes students and the school environment.”

Complicating COVID factors

The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are widespread and varied but share an underlying consequence — severe damage to mental health, particularly in vulnerable populations like , people subjected to , and .

On Monday, The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research released findings from a titled “Gen Z and the Toll of the Pandemic.” Among participants ages 13 to 24, 46% said the pandemic made it harder to pursue their education or career goals. Roughly half of respondents across all generations said the pandemic led to struggles with mental health maintenance.

Montgomery County Councilmember Nancy Navarro said, “While everyone has been through a tough time in the last few years, children are the ones who will have the greatest lingering effects of the pandemic.”

Data from a conducted by prominent nonprofit in September 2020 found that nearly 75% of respondents reported their mental health had worsened to some degree since the start of the pandemic. (M Colkitt/��Ӱ��)

points to pandemic-generated factors like social isolation, loneliness, lack of physical exercise and family stress as significant stressors on adolescent mental health. In October, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued a alongside the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association declaring this issue to be a national emergency.

“Across the country we have witnessed dramatic increases in Emergency Department visits for all mental health emergencies, including suspected suicide attempts,” the statement read, going on to call for increased funding of mental health support at all levels of the government.

In Montgomery County, Councilmember Will Jawando said loss of learning and socialization have resulted in heightened anxiety and depression for students. These effects are exacerbated for students of color and students from low-income households, he added.

Taylor described his own experiences wrestling with his mental health during the pandemic.

“I’ve developed a lot more anxiety than I’ve had in the past around school and other things relating to workload,” he said. “It’s common knowledge between students that during the pandemic, there were a variety of stresses that led to the deterioration of our mental health. We came back to school, and there was nothing in the school to help with those concerns.”

Jawando also pointed to economic fallout as a major contributor to the issue. He reported that around 60,000 county residents experienced food insecurity before the pandemic, meaning they didn’t know where their next meal would come from or didn’t have consistent access to food. As of August 2021, he said that number had risen to 100,000 — nearly double the pre-pandemic figure.

During a last month, Jawando said he had connected with one of his former teachers who “likened the trauma that the kids are dealing with to post-traumatic stress disorder — to PTSD for people coming back from Vietnam.” (M Colkitt/��Ӱ��)

As a father of four, Jawando said he has personally had many opportunities to witness the severe impacts of the pandemic on children within local schools.

“The system is strained,” he said, “because we’ve all gone through a lot.”

Elimination of police presence

On top of the many pandemic-related shifts surrounding the reopening of schools, Montgomery County introduced another variable over the summer months. For the first time in almost two decades, no armed police officers are stationed within MCPS high schools.

The removal of school resource officers, or SROs, from public school facilities resulted from strong community pressure following the 2020 surge in civil rights activism and Black Lives Matter protests.

Instead, MCPS replaced these officers with “Community Engagement Officers.” These officers patrol the areas around school property without directly engaging with students or school staff, except when responding to a call.

Taylor said SWAG has been integral in pushing for this change. The work group was created in May 2021 with the goal of centering student voices in the county’s decision-making. Taylor said Councilmembers Jawando and Craig Rice tapped him to co-chair the committee because of his extensive prior experience testifying in front of the council on community issues.

��´��’s , released in July 2021, expressly called for the removal of police presence from school campuses. The work group wrote that allowing officers to remain would “hinder our ability to move away from punitive punishment and subject students of color to the school-to-prison pipeline.”

Jawando cited data that is “devastatingly disproportionate” regarding the number of students of color and students with disabilities who experience negative police interactions in their schools. Despite African American students representing only 20% of the total student population, Jawando said they make up half of students who are arrested or have negative interactions with police. That number increases to 75% when Latino students are included.

When it comes to removing SROs from campuses like Paint Branch High School, Jawando said, “I’m glad we did that. I think it’s the right thing.” (M Colkitt/��Ӱ��)

Jawando asserted that for students to return to the classroom setting and be met with armed police officers could actually have resulted in even more trauma than what is already being observed.

“There’s better people to deal with these challenges,” he said, pointing to the need for more school counselors, social workers and psychologists.

Increasing mental health support

Councilmember Evan Glass said there is “universal agreement” that every public high school in the county needs a licensed clinical social worker on staff. “That is the bare minimum,” he said.

When the council was negotiating the county budget in the spring of 2021, Glass suggested devoting $2 million in funds to further this goal. “My colleagues did not agree with that decision,” he said, calling it a “missed opportunity.”

“We need bilingual, queer mental health professionals,” Glass said. “Managing stress is a lifelong journey. We need to teach our young people to self-regulate and self-assess so that they are better prepared for success.”

In November, the council passed $252 million in additional funding for school staffing via federal aid from the American Rescue Plan Act. Councilmember Navarro said these funds would support 271 new positions in the public school system, including 40 counselors and 50 social workers.

Jawando said the county council needs to pass their 2022 budget by May and is currently in communication with MCPS to “identify realistic timelines” for hiring new mental health professionals.

SWAG continues to be involved in the budget negotiations, Taylor said. The next step is to meet with the county council’s Education and Culture Committee, but Taylor said the ongoing discussions have not yet amounted to any tangible progress.

“I’m kind of sick of having conversations,” he admitted. “It’s time for us to put the funding aside and get these social workers hired immediately.”

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Thrive Montgomery 2050 reimagines MoCo’s suburbia

M Colkitt — Tue, 16 Nov 2021 17:22:05 +0000

Montgomery County is teeming with heated debate over a proposal seeking to address racial and socioeconomic justice through land use. As currently sits with the County Council and County Executive pending final review, community tension builds.

Thrive tackles issues ranging from housing and transportation to climate control. Advocates have described it as a visionary document that will provide guidance and framework for the county’s growth over the next 30 years.

However, one aspect of the plan is generating a disproportionate amount of heat — the potential for up-zoning in suburban communities.

Current county policy dictates that certain neighborhoods can only consist of single-family detached homes. “If you’re not somebody who can afford a single-family detached home, you’re not allowed access to that community,” explained Jane Lyons.

Lyons is the Maryland Advocacy Manager for , a nonprofit focused on promoting inclusive, accessible communities in the Washington metropolitan area. Thrive has been Lyons’ main focus over the past two years.

Right now, the average single-family detached home in Montgomery County costs . Home values by more than 12% over the past year. Meanwhile, the county population continues to rise, with the showing significant increases in Black, Latino and Asian populations.

Local economist Gray Kimbrough pointed out that while the county has had a majority-minority population for over a decade — meaning the majority of residents identify as a racial minority — 57% of single-family detached homes are still white-owned.

Census data shows a steep decline in non-Hispanic white MoCo residents, yet they still represent the majority of detached single-family homeowners in the county. (Courtesy of Gray Kimbrough)

Thrive supporters suggest that this data shows an urgent need for increased affordable housing to accommodate a more racially and economically diverse population. On the need for affordable housing, opponents of Thrive agree.

“Nobody is going to say there’s not a problem with affordability,” said Jamison Adcock, Vice President of the and Thrive critic. “It’s long been expensive. There are things that can and probably should be done to address that.”

Clashing community voices

Adcock and others maintain that while its goals are admirable, Thrive is an “incomplete” solution. “I would give it a ‘D’ if I were a teacher and a student handed it in as an assignment,” Adcock said.

“Thrive is nothing more than an empty folder,” agreed Cary Lamari, an Aspen Hill resident and outspoken Thrive critic. “We end up with density. We end up with environmental degradation. We end up with the displacement of members of our county.”

Lamari fears the county will not address his concerns until well after the proposal is voted into place. He and others point to a need for more community engagement before action can be taken.

Silver Spring resident Mike English said he and other Thrive advocates openly acknowledge zoning alone will not be enough to sustain the county’s growth. “It’s necessary, not sufficient,” he said.

English is a volunteer member of the steering committee for , a grassroots group organized by Coalition for Smarter Growth. He has also written for local news outlets addressing aspects of Thrive.

Thrive’s website outreach efforts beginning in December 2018, listing dozens of special events, public hearings, presentations and Zoom meetings open to the public.

Nevertheless, Adcock says, “there’s no listening” when concerns are presented at these meetings. “When someone raises a point, they call it myths,” he said.

Dan Reed, a from Silver Spring, raised concern about such attempts to downplay the county’s tireless community outreach on Thrive. “[The county] held over 160 meetings, had materials in eight languages and specifically targeted people of color, renters and young people,” he said. “To dismiss this outreach as ‘performance art’ says input from these communities doesn’t matter.”

Countless progressive-themed yard signs line the quiet neighborhood of Woodside, but some residents call such decor performative. English likes to say Montgomery County needs to “put your zoning where your progressivism is.” (M. Colkitt / ��Ӱ��)

English also reiterated that Thrive itself does not directly change zoning. While critics like Lamari fear the immediate upzoning of their neighborhoods, English said in reality, a public outreach process would have to occur before any zoning changes are implemented.

Reckoning with history

Montgomery County shifted its land-use policies beginning around the 1960s, creating zoning restrictions that still affect housing trends today. “As soon as explicitly racist zoning came under attack, single-family home zoning increased,” English said. “That’s not a coincidence.”

Lyons agreed, explaining, “The way we built up the suburbs in the U.S. following World War II through today resulted in the economic and racial segregation that we have in Montgomery County.”

Thrive would allow the county to up-zone suburban areas where previously only single-family detached homes could be built, in the hopes of encouraging greater diversity in these neighborhoods. Lyons said Thrive envisions “a different kind of suburb” – one more walkable, accessible and affordable to people of all backgrounds.

“If you only allow density to be where it always has been,” English said, “you’re keeping everyone where they always have been — and that has obvious issues.”

Quantifying diversity

Thrive opponents often point to the county’s existing diversity as a reason why further change isn’t needed. “The saying is, ‘It ain’t broke, don’t fix it,’” said Silver Spring homeowner Elizabeth Joyce. “Why are we fixing something that ain’t broke?”

“When I think about the section of Chevy Chase I live in, it’s incredibly diverse,” said Thrive critic Stacey Band. “My daughter rides a school bus. There are easily 25 kids, and my child is probably the only native English speaker with a pale complexion. And I love that. It shows her that we all deserve to live here.”

In response, English pointed out that this diversity often comes from the type of housing Thrive would enable. At this time, current zoning regulations make affordable homes effectively illegal to build. In this way, English said, Thrive opponents are fighting against mechanisms that enable the very diversity they claim to champion.

Undesirable allies

A recent from far-right outlet Breitbart News called Thrive a “war on single- family home neighborhoods.” Thrive opponents are quick to distance themselves from this sort of right-wing fearmongering.

“We do not subscribe to the ‘war on the suburbs’ narrative,” Joyce said. “We want equity. We want decency. There’s nothing any of us have ever said that would put us in the camp of Steve Bannon.”

Public comments on an calling for the rejection of Thrive reveal homeowners’ fiery opposition to zoning changes. The petition received over 800 signatures.

Nevertheless, English said it’s “no coincidence” that the county’s wealthiest and whitest neighborhoods tend to oppose Thrive the loudest. “There’s a lot of progressives who need to wake up and check their allies because they’re not going to like who they are,” he said.

When asked by ��Ӱ�� to address the Breitbart article, Lamari refused, saying it “doesn’t deserve a response from us.” He said local media should focus on the “real, substantive concerns” of Thrive critics.

“It’s not dignified,” he said. “We know who we’re fighting for, and that’s the end of it. We have nothing to do with Breitbart.”

Both sides tend to agree that it’s unfounded and unfair to suggest Thrive will result in the end of Montgomery County’s suburbs.

“It’s not the end of the suburbs,” Lyons said, “but it may be the end of some of the less savory characteristics of the American suburbs.”

Clarification: A previous version of this story contained a caption and photo that lacked context. It has been replaced.

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Veteran suicide prevention efforts ramp up to combat ‘public health and national security crisis’

M Colkitt — Thu, 11 Nov 2021 16:27:10 +0000

“I want my friends to stop killing themselves,” retired Navy Corpsman Ciara Rayne said. “I want my friends to stop feeling alone and abandoned.”

Federal statistics reflect Rayne’s concern. The rate of veteran suicide in the United States is over 50% higher than the rate for civilians, according to a from the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Biden Administration recently called this issue “a public health and national security crisis.”

Tables in a 2021 annual from the Department of Veterans Affairs visualize the stark contrast between veterans and non-veterans in the number of deaths by suicide. (Courtesy of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

“Since 2010, more than 65,000 veterans have died by suicide — more than the total number of deaths from combat during the Vietnam War and the operations in Iraq and Afghanistan combined,” read a released by the White House last week. The press release announced a comprehensive new being implemented to reduce military and veteran suicide.

This includes using professionally-developed public service announcements and paid media promoted via social media platforms, according to the prevention strategy.

In conjunction with these efforts, last month the VA launched a nationwide ad campaign called “Don’t Wait, Reach Out.” The campaign encourages veterans to seek support before they reach the point of experiencing a mental health crisis.

Ads direct viewers to a hosted by the VA containing a variety of suicide prevention resources — including a 24/7 crisis hotline, local resources and materials for family and friends.

The website first presents users with an array of personal struggles described with sentences like “I am bothered by traumatic memories” and “I miss being part of my community.” The site then customizes the resources it suggests based on which statements the user found most relatable.

Users can choose from a wide range of statements describing both situational and emotional issues to better tailor resources. (Courtesy of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs)

“I really want us to make it safer and more survivable to experience a mental health crisis,” said Dr. April Foreman, executive board member for the American Association of Suicidology. Foreman said she is very familiar with the new campaign but was not personally involved in its formation.

The VA partnered with the in crafting and implementing the advertisement strategy. The Ad Council is a prominent nonprofit known for iconic advertising campaigns like “Friends Don’t Let Friends Drive Drunk,” “Love Has No Labels” and Smokey Bear.

“When we ask people to call a crisis line, we’re asking for something that’s really hard to do,” Foreman said, pointing to the stigma many veterans feel reaching out for help. This makes creating an engaging communications strategy vital for an effective campaign, something Foreman said has been difficult in the past.

Thirty-four-year-old retired Marine Wes Rhodes said, “I put off getting support for a long time because I thought it was something that made me weak.” Rhodes served from 2012 to 2017 as a Special Operations Capabilities Specialist for the Marine Raiders.

As suicide rates worsened, Rhodes said a consensus emerged in the military community that “we needed to do something different” when talking about mental health.

Rhodes, who served as copywriter in the ad campaign’s development, said his team tackled this stigma by incorporating the voices of the veteran community throughout the creative process. As the only veteran involved in the campaign’s production, he said he also served as unofficial consultant.

His team gathered countless first-hand stories and experiences from veterans and active service members to inform decision-making. They then conducted internal testing with large groups of veterans to gauge the product’s effectiveness.

“We were really thrilled with the response,” Rhodes said.

The goal was to craft a message “grounded in real experiences” that makes veterans feel seen and understood, Rhodes said, instead of presenting them with stale “magic pill of happiness” messaging.

The ads depict veterans adapting to civilian life and experiencing gradually worsening symptoms of depression and anxiety. A narrator describes the temptation to disconnect and suppress emotions as an easy way out of dealing with mental health struggles.

“But you’ve never been interested in easy,” the narrator says. “Make no mistake — reaching out is hard. Do it anyway. You’re not alone.”

The ads visualize the strength it takes for veterans to reach out for help when they’re in a dark mental space. (Courtesy of Ad Council)

Thirty-eight-year-old Ciara Rayne served as a Navy Corpsman for five years. When she speaks with military friends struggling with mental health, she said she often appeals to their training. She said in the Navy they were taught never to enter dangerous situations without sufficient back-up.

“You go in there knowing your shipmates have your back,” she said. “Why does that vanish when we leave?”

Rayne expressed serious doubts that an ad campaign alone will effect meaningful change. However, she said if the initiative can help veterans recognize that getting help is not a sign of weakness, it will be worthwhile.

“The fact of the matter is, it’s the opposite of weakness,” Rhodes agreed. “Getting support is a lot of hard work. It takes a lot of strength and courage.”

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Increased community scrutiny makes recruiting new officers difficult in Montgomery County

M Colkitt — Tue, 02 Nov 2021 16:26:48 +0000

With Montgomery County Police Department’s January academy fast approaching, their Recruitment Division said filling the seats this year is going to be a challenge.

The department hosted a vendor booth at a recent state-wide law enforcement hiring expo held in Frederick. Officer Melissa Coligan said around ten people stopped by their booth over the course of the day to express interest in a job. Coligan has been an officer with MCPD for nearly 20 years, the last three of which she has spent leading recruitment efforts across the state.

MCPD is committed to successfully graduating 34 new officers from January’s academy. Doing so is going to be “hard but not impossible,” Coligan predicts.

The department has received 398 unique applications for the class. While that number may sound high, Coligan said at least half of applicants wouldn’t take the next step and complete the preliminary online test, disqualifying them from consideration.

Before making it to the academy, candidates must successfully pass a multi-step application process which includes a written exam; scored interview; physical fitness assessment; background investigation; polygraph; and psychological and medical examinations. With each step, the pool of qualified candidates shrinks.

Coligan said in years past, MCPD had no problem finding enough candidates capable of completing the academy. These days, she said, it’s harder to be selective with such a small group of applicants.

The department is also seeing a change in the nature of their interactions with the public, according to public safety dispatcher Kim Kelly. She said she’s noticed that people are “less apt to call the police about everything and anything” anymore. In her role as an emergency communications officer, Kelly said she now fields more emergency calls than anything else.

Officer Joe Arnold, who works the midnight shift in Germantown, said he’s seen “a lot” of officers recently leave the force due to a change in atmosphere with the public. ��Ӱ�� attempted to reach out to these former officers, but none wished to be identified.

Arnold said his family is pressuring him to make a job shift so that he’s not interacting with the public as much, out of concern for his safety in the present political climate. “I don’t watch the news,” he said.

Coligan said according to Captain David Smith of the department’s Personnel Division, out of approximately 1,300 sworn officers, 53 left the department in 2020. Data is not yet complete for 2021, Coligan said.

“Officers don’t want to be proactive,” Arnold said. “They don’t want to be the next one on TV.”

Pinpointing the issue

Coligan said MCPD is experiencing the effects of the recent “negative campaign against police” like all other agencies in the area.

Regarding community support, Coligan said, “I do believe 90% still back the police — but the national media covers the 10%.”

Officer Arnold said more people are approaching him than ever before to express gratitude for his service. He believes these residents are afraid to voice their support publicly due to fear of community backlash, such as “being called racist.”

Local activists suggest the issue is nothing new. “I think there’s always been a recruitment retention problem with police,” said Bob Veiga, co-chair of the .

The SSJC is a local grassroots organization founded after the 2018 death of 41-year-old Robert White, an unarmed Black man shot by Montgomery County police. The group’s stated mission is to “reduce the presence of police in our communities” and to “redirect public funds toward community needs.”

Veiga said the police department has been struggling with employee retention for the past couple of decades. “They’re not going to get who they want, because nobody wants to become a police officer,” he said.

The department refuses to change its policies to better reflect the needs and desires of the local community, Veiga said. He believes the MCPD’s reluctance to change has, in turn, lessened the community’s desire to connect with and support the department.

Veiga said another major issue affecting MCPD’s recruitment sag is an unwillingness to diversify its employee base.

“The police force nationally is predominantly white,” Veiga said. “I don’t think they’re trying to actively recruit Blacks and Asians and Hispanics and people who they see as different. Because if they did, the police force would change.”

Pushing back on this idea, Coligan maintained that MCPD is always focused on recruiting women and minorities.

She said as of September 31st, women made up 19% of MCPD’s sworn officers. The national average of female police officers is 13%, the Bureau of Justice Statistics. Coligan said non-White employees made up 30% of their sworn and professional staff.

She said the department frequently attends recruiting events at historically Black colleges and universities. They are also making plans to relaunch their “” campaign, which highlights the careers of female officers.

Differing solutions

Montgomery County Police Department requires applicants to have an Associate’s degree to attend its academy, which sets them apart from neighboring jurisdictions. Coligan explained that its rigorous program makes for a “better relationship with the public.”

Arnold added that MCPD being so well-trained and educated “keeps us out of the limelight.”

However, despite their unique educational requirements, MCPD does not rank in the top 10 Maryland departments when it comes to employee compensation. Coligan cited increased salary as a change the department needs to make in order to successfully compete in the job market.

Veiga suggested that instead, the department needs to focus on adding more mobile crisis units. These units dispatch medical professionals to respond to calls involving mental health crises. Instead of going to jail for processing, people are taken to a health center for screening and medical treatment.

Citing Chief of Police Marcus Jones, Veiga said one in four calls the department receives involves a mental health issue. When these mobile units respond to such calls, Veiga said, the community sees better outcomes.

Bob Veiga at a recent rally held in the memory of 21-year-old Ryan LeRoux, who was shot and killed by Montgomery County police in July. “We’ve been telling the county for four years that people who have mental health crises should not be victims of gun violence by police,” he said.

The county recently received two grants from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for the purpose of expanding local health centers, Veiga said. He believes this will provide more location options for mobile crisis units.

As the department continues to feel the effects of heightened community focus, both sides agree change is needed.

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MoCo’s 50+ residents show unique resilience in the face of ongoing pandemic restrictions

M Colkitt — Tue, 19 Oct 2021 15:48:53 +0000

Older adults have proven to be “quite resilient” during the pandemic despite challenges specific to their age group, according to Dr. Elizabeth Necka from the National Institute on Aging.

Necka joined host Katie Smith on one of Montgomery County’s most popular cable shows to discuss the institute’s on older adults’ mental health, as well as to share tips on staying socially connected.

50+ in Montgomery County – previously known as Seniors Today – airs monthly and features special guests from a range of specialties who discuss topics related to the health and well-being of older residents.

This month’s is the first to air after the show’s recent rebranding. Eddie Rivas, vice president of the county’s Commission on Aging, prefaced the episode with an explanation of the revamp, including a new name, logo and format.

Rivas told Smith the decision came down to the term “senior” being what he called “pejorative.” He said the word often carries hurtful or dismissive connotations for older adults, adding, “We thought it was time for a change.”

The episode aired on the first day of National Depression and Health Screening Month. As the delta variant drives a surge in Maryland’s COVID-19 cases and the need for social restrictions continues, residents describe the ongoing effects on their mental well-being.

“We survived, but a lot of damage has been done,” said 76-year-old Ahja in an interview at North Potomac Senior Center.

Rockville’s North Potomac Senior Center provides space for 50+ locals to safely participate in a range of social activities, exercise groups and educational classes. (M Colkitt/��Ӱ��)

Ahja said her husband’s memory has deteriorated due to lack of social connections during the pandemic to the point where his doctor is now concerned. Her husband wants to teach Japanese at their local church, but she fears his memory loss will prevent him from teaching effectively.

Ahja asked ��Ӱ�� to withhold her last name due to concerns about online identity theft, which the FBI is a particularly high risk for her age group.

Despite being especially vulnerable to COVID-19 health risks, Necka said the NIA’s research shows that older adults’ mental health is less likely to be impacted by policies like mask mandates and quarantines.

One of the main reasons for this resilience is older adults’ tendency to “find the silver lining,” Necka said. She explained that these adults also tend to focus on close relationships rather than relying on larger social gatherings and casual connections.

Resident Lottie Garfinkel said that at 67 years old, she finds it more important than ever to stay connected with loved ones. She encouraged younger adults to “be proactive” in reaching out regularly to 50+ friends and family.

Josi Makon, the county’s Older Adult Behavioral Health Coordinator, said while the rest of the world relies on technology to maintain these connections during the lockdown, older adults face a unique challenge: they tend to be far less comfortable using the internet.

This discomfort creates a “double burden of social and digital exclusion,” according to Necka cited. The study found that while older residents often feel left out in social gatherings, they also tend to have difficulty connecting through digital means.

“Whether this is because of access, whether because of unfamiliarity with technology — I think there’s a lot of contributing factors,” Necka said.

One way the county is trying to combat this digital disconnect is by partnering with Senior Planet Montgomery, a program funded by the Department of Technology Services that provides free classes to older residents via Zoom.

These classes aim to educate attendees on how to make technology a “lifelong way to connect with others and improve daily life,” according to Regional Director Shivali Haribhakti. She said the program offer dozens of classes, listed monthly on

Rather than relying on technology for socialization, Montgomery’s 50+ residents prefer finding ways to keep in touch safely through outdoor activities.

Shane Wu (left) and Ed Hsu (right) enjoy lunch together at North Potomac Senior Center. MoCo offers hot lunches at ten different senior centers, where adults over 60 are provided a full meal for a requested $2 donation. (M Colkitt/��Ӱ��)

Resident Shane Wu emphasized the importance of physical activity when it comes to mental health. He said he plays volleyball with a group of friends five days a week, two hours each day. “We share each others’ feelings,” he said, smiling. “We laugh and play.”

Sitting beside him, Ed Hsu agreed, adding that he plays ping-pong for a couple of hours every day to stay active and socially engaged.

If people continue to cooperate with local guidelines and listen to medical professionals, Hsu said he believes before too long, “we can really get back to normal life.”

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New bill would freeze rent raises in Montgomery County

M Colkitt — Tue, 05 Oct 2021 16:57:45 +0000

Montgomery County’s COVID-19 helps renters avoid eviction, but local experts say more preventative measures are needed to avoid a housing crisis.

Tuesday afternoon the County Council will vote on , which would cap landlords’ ability to raise rent during the pandemic. It would also stop the accrual of late fees on rent payments.

“The last thing you want to do is pile onto folks who are already trying to dig out,” said Councilmember Will Jawando, who sponsored the bill.

If passed, the bill goes into immediate effect and will be enforced through August of 2022.

On Aug. 15, 2021, Governor Larry Hogan ended the COVID-19 state of emergency for Maryland, to extend it. The loss of the eviction moratorium created by the state of emergency could result in a housing crisis over the next few months, according to community advocate Jane Lyons.

Lyons is the Maryland Advocacy Manager for , a local nonprofit focused on promoting inclusive, accessible communities in the Washington metropolitan area.

Montgomery County spearheaded COVID-19 prevention efforts in many other areas, Lyons said, citing mask mandates, vaccine requirements and quarantine efforts. So when it comes to this crucial issue, she said it’s “frustrating to see that we can’t be a leader.”

The county’s Rent Relief Program, run by the Department of Health and Human Services, provides up to $12,000 or 15 months of assistance to eligible households behind on rent due to pandemic-related income loss. The program received $31 million in emergency funds from the federal government.

Tenants can apply for assistance online. Once they fill out an application, their case is assigned to a caseworker who will then follow it through the six-step process.

Some residents have been “understandably” frustrated, Jawando said, because the process tends to take “a while.” Lyons shared his concern, saying residents tend to be “overwhelmed or confused” by the application.

Lyons said the application process is “not as easy as it should be,” citing a lack of communication with applicants about the status of their application.

DHHS has received 8,577 unique applications as of Sept. 26, they reported . Jawando reported that as of Sept. 23, payment had been issued in 50% of all submitted applications, and 30% were being processed by caseworkers.

Over 100 employees work in the program, according to Amanda Harris, who heads rent relief efforts as DHHS’s Chief of Services to End and Prevent Homelessness.

Harris said her team is allowed to use up to 10% of the treasury’s emergency rental assistance fund for administrative costs. She said they are “maximizing” that 10% to pay caseworkers’ salaries.

The Rent Relief Program prioritizes funding for cases where evictions are already scheduled. DHHS has a data-sharing agreement with the Sheriff’s Office, Harris explained. Her team is provided with a list of households scheduled for eviction each week. County employees then reach out to those households, and their cases become top priority.

The Sheriff’s Office notifies DHHS of between 13 to 15 scheduled evictions per week, Harris said. That figure has stayed consistent over the past six weeks.

Harris also suggested those numbers could be inflated by cases involving commercial properties and cases where the tenant has already either moved or paid their debt. Less than 8% of eviction notices result in a physical eviction, she said.

Looking forward, she expressed confidence in the county’s trajectory, stating, “There is no tsunami of evictions coming.”

For at-need residents with slightly more of a buffer keeping them from eviction, the Rent Relief Program can be challenging.

Local freelance writer Stewart Schulze rushed to submit his application when the program launched but has received no update on its status in the three and a half months since. Because he hasn’t received an eviction notice from his landlord, he’s been told his application is still on a waiting list.

“They don’t know how to intervene. They only know how to respond to crisis,” he said in an interview, referring to the program as “just plain triage.”

Councilmember Jawando also called the program a “triaging” effort. He said DHHS’s relationship with the Sheriff’s Office allows for some level of proactivity but agreed that “we need more.”

Amanda Harris said she believes the program’s reactive efforts to combat homelessness need to be coupled with preventative measures, like addressing the county’s lack of affordable housing.

Even before the pandemic, Harris said, half of all Montgomery County renters used over 30% of their income to pay rent.

“We don’t have enough money to help every single person,” Harris said. “We just don’t. So we have to be able to prioritize those most likely to experience eviction and homelessness.”

Schulze said he has studied homelessness. He explained that according to his research, stabilization is the best way to prevent a housing crisis. The way the Rent Relief Program operates, “it’s like they want you to be homeless before they’ll even do anything.”

Councilmember Jawando echoed Schulze’s desire to see proactive eviction prevention. He expressed frustration at the lack of state and federal assistance, pointing out that when Governor Hogan “inexplicably let the state of emergency expire,” statewide safeguards disappeared.

Although Jawando said he believes passing Expedited Bill 30-21 today is an “urgent” necessity, more is still needed. He said he hopes to see a second wave of federal funds distributed as soon as possible.

“We’re looking at potentially allocating more into rent relief, but I do think there will be a need for more money at the federal level.”

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