In Prince George's County and across the state, returning citizens often struggle to find stable housing, lack the job skills necessary for gainful employment, or have a lack of education; and many struggle with mental health and addiction issues, sometimes with these aforementioned issues co-occurring. Some lack sufficient medical care. Some have no social or family support.

Recognizing the problem, PG County Changemakers, a grassroots non-profit organization based in Prince George’s County, began supporting the implementation of a basic income. On April 4, the county council passed legislation to implement a basic income program, one modeled after San Diego basic income program.

Veronica Gallardo, the new executive director, and her team of historians have shifted away from the Booth-Confederacy-centered storyline. Instead, they are telling a more comprehensive history, one that digs deeper into the Surratt family’s existence in Prince George’s County, their politics, and the family’s participation in Maryland’s slavocracy. 

When white people lynched Thomas Juricks in Prince George’s County, they wanted that act of injustice toward the Black community to be justice for their community. Lynching was not only used to mutilate his body, but it also acted as another form of a scarlet letter. In the white-led local newspapers, Juricks would be known as another Black man who was justly killed. Activists, community members, and historians gathered to retell Juricks’ story –to reset the record.

The meeting was organized by newly elected Wala Blegay, district 6. The event was a response to the ongoing carjackings, and the senseless killing of Jayz Agnew, a teenager who was killed by a still unknown suspect while raking leaves in his yard.

“I think any of the narratives that children are the driving factor in increased crime in our community is driven by the police or other  individuals who believe children should be locked up.”

On Wednesday, September 21, about 6 local organizations (one attended virtually) met at the Creative Suitland Arts Center in Suitland, Maryland to receive training on trauma-informed care. Tonier Cain, an international trauma-informed trainer, led a two-and-a-half-hour training session.

Tamoyia Ragsdale-Hashim, a long-time birth advocate and doula, has opened a business, partially, to address the needs of women in DC, Maryland, and Virginia who struggle with mental health issues during the postpartum period.