Dear Ward 8 Residents,

On Wednesday, October 12th, I held a Public Safety community tele-townhall meeting. The panel included representatives from the DC Metropolitan Police Department, the Office of the Attorney General, the Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, Violence Interrupters, and the Office of Gun Violence Prevention.

It was a fruitful conversation where my staff and I gained more insight into public safety matters affecting Ward 8 residents. We discussed the city-wide safety plan, enhancement laws on ghost guns, what resources to take against nuisance properties, violence interruption techniques and much more.

This discussion is a part of more extensive dialogue and plans to reduce violence in our communities. Any injustice to residents is not tolerable in our community and we want to stand against that at all costs.

As a city, we will continue to address violence as a public health issue. October is national domestic violence awareness month and we know that domestic violence is a part of our public safety concerns just as much as gun violence. I encourage more community conversations on ways to get involved in supporting at-risk residents with wrap-around services. Additionally, I will work with agency leaders and our District's government to reduce the violence in our communities. 

I appreciate the hundreds of residents that joined the conversation. Please get in touch with our office on ways to get involved in our committees and community outreach opportunities as we work to increase public safety in our Ward.

Regards, 

Trayon White, Sr.
Councilmember, Ward 8

Mayor Bowser to Recognize October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month and Cut Ribbon on New Domestic Violence Shelter.

(Washington, DC) – On Thursday, October 13 at 11 am, Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Office of Victim Services and Justice Grants (OVSJG) will cut the ribbon on a new Domestic Violence Shelter, Sanctuary II. My Sister’s Place, through funding from OVSJG, acquired the new space earlier this year and will manage services at the shelter.

The shelter will have six new apartment style units, including larger units that can accommodate large families. While at the shelter, survivors of domestic violence will receive counseling, individual case management, and referrals to other supportive services. Families spend between 3-6 months at the shelter before moving to transitional housing. The shelter will strive to be a model in providing low-barrier and wrap-around services for domestic violence victims and their families.

2nd Annual Ward 8 Trunk & Treat 
Saturday, October 29, 2022
4:00pm - 7:00pm 

Location
Oxon Run Park
On the corner of Wheeler Rd SE & Valley Ave SE 
Washington DC 20020
On the field near the basketball courts

Activities

• Game truck
• Bounce house
• Hayrides
• Facepainting
• Food, drinks, concession snacks and
• Live performances

Celebrate the End of Hispanic Heritage Month with DC Public Library!

As Hispanic Heritage Month comes to a close we are grateful to everyone who chose to celebrate with us. The month was full of exciting moments of learning and exploration with traditional craft workshops, author talks, live music, book clubs and most of all - fun! This weekend we invite you to celebrate the end of Hispanic Heritage Month with the DC Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 15.

Takoma Park Library | 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.   Takoma Park Library will have activities and programs that honor and celebrate the many contributions of the Hispanic community to life in the DMV. Enjoy crafts, refreshments and more capped off by an engaging musical performance by a duo from Luis Caray Percussion World at 3 p.m. sponsored by the Friends of the Takoma Park Library.

Mt. Pleasant Library | 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.   The Mt. Pleasant Library is celebrating the culmination of Hispanic Heritage Month with a full day of festivities, including traditional Mexican stories and songs with Gabriel Guzmán, a free coloring book made by the artists of Galería del Barrio, carnival games, Spanish storytime and Colombian cumbia dance class with live music!

Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Library | 4 - 5 p.m.   In collaboration with the Mars Arts DC Program, the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library is excited to present alternative tropical band Cumbia Heights and singer-songwriter Laura Luv for a concert celebrating Hispanic heritage and culture. Both music groups, who are local to Washington D.C., represent a broad spectrum of musical genres and as Cumbia Heights says, “Dancing guaranteed.”

Bill 24-0946 the “Eliminating Restrictive and Segregated Enclosures (“ERASE”) Solitary Confinement Act of 2022”

 The Committee invites the public to testify remotely or to submit written testimony. Anyone wishing to testify must sign up using the following hyperlink at https://forms.gle/sWNMfpTtXpvdHmAn6 or by phone at (202) 417-1706, and provide their name, phone number or e-mail, organizational affiliation, and title (if any) by the close of business on Tuesday, March 15, 2022. Witnesses are encouraged, but not required, to submit their testimony in writing electronically in advance to [email protected]

Meetings & Hearings Schedule

Browse, search, or filter to find past and upcoming D.C. Council meetings, hearings, and events.

At least six male youths were shot and injured in Washington, DC, in a span of less than 24 hours, according to authorities. These shootings occurred between midday on Sunday and midday on Monday.

By Monday afternoon, the victims were alert and breathing normally. No juvenile victims’ names have been made public and no arrests have been made.

A new urgent care center that opened Monday in Ward 8 is the first step in a larger effort to bring a comprehensive health care system east of the Anacostia River.

The big picture: D.C. has put $375 million toward upgrading health care services in wards 7 and 8, aimed at targeting health disparities in the predominantly Black, underserved wards where more than 154,000 residents live.

• The new, $1.8 million Cedar Hill Urgent Care Facility, named in a nod toward Frederick Douglass' nearby estate, is just one piece of the plan.
• It's the only urgent care in that area serving adults.

D.C. Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large) serves as the chief sponsor of the bill, the College Student Athlete Compensation Amendment Act of 2021.

“My bill would allow student athletes in the District to be compensated for NIL ("name, image, and likeness") activity, set boundaries on the types of products or activities that athletes may endorse, enables universities to set reasonable rules around NIL activity and protect intellectual property, updates the athletes’ agent statute requirements, and maintains prohibitions on pay-for play or performance as well as payments to induce attendance at a particular school,” Henderson said in her Sept. 29 e-newsletter to District residents.

Henderson’s bill has the support of Council members Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8), Kenyan McDuffie (D-Ward 5), Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1) and Janeese Lewis George (D-Ward 4). The bill sits in the Committee of the Whole, chaired by Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D). A hearing on the bill occurred on Sept. 28.