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Neighborhood residents and reggae music lovers enjoyed a concert performance by the Eclipse International Reggae Band at Bladensburg Waterfront Park on July 10. Maryland Physicians Care offered information on Medicaid benefits and healthy lifestyles. (Robert R. Roberts/The Washington Informer)
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exclusively breastfed worldwide in 2020. However, this still remains short of the 50% target set by the 2030 SDGs.
The report also highlighted the damaging impact of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has disrupted the supply of staple cereals, oilseeds and fertilizer from both nations.
It has also harmed international supply chains, provoking soaring prices and ready-to-use therapeutic food for severely malnourished children.
Supply chains are already being adversely affected by increasingly frequent extreme climate events, especially in low-income countries, and have potentially sobering implications for global food security and nutrition.
“This report repeatedly highlights the intensification of these major drivers of food insecurity and malnutrition: conflict, climate extremes and economic shocks, combined with growing inequalities,” the five UN agencies wrote in this year’s foreword. “The issue at stake is not whether adversities will continue to occur or not but how we must take bolder action to build resilience against future shocks.”
FAO Director-General QU Dongyu noted that low-income countries where agriculture is key to the economy, jobs and rural livelihoods, “have little public resources to repurpose. FAO is committed to continue working together with these countries to explore opportunities for increasing the provision of public services for all actors across agri-food systems.”
“These are depressing figures for humanity,” IFAD President Gilbert Houngbo said.
“We continue to move away from our goal of ending hunger by 2030. The ripple effects of the global food crisis will most likely worsen the outcome again next year. We need a more intense approach to end hunger and IFAD stands ready to do its part by scaling up its operations and impact,” he said.
WI
July 2022 Message from Department of Aging and Community Living
INTERIM DIRECTOR JESSICA SMITH
Dear Seniors,
I’m Jessica Smith, DACL’s new Interim Director, and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to serve District seniors in this vital role. In my previous position as DACL’s Chief Program Officer, I’ve been able to see the many ways that DC residents constantly build communities of support. I’ve learned firsthand that the best way we can provide high-quality programs and services to our seniors is by listening closely to what District residents have to say and making sure that their thoughts and concerns are taken into action.
In June, I had the pleasure of meeting and engaging with many of you –– from celebrating Pride all month long with our diverse group of LGBTQ+ seniors, to learning how to Age in Style with our new Ms. Senior DC, Ms. Vené LaGon, to showing support, inspiration, and love at Mayor Bowser’s 11th Annual Senior Symposium –– you have all shown me how you live boldly, and I am so excited to take this journey alongside each and every one of you.
As we continue to celebrate DC being open, I am thrilled to continue to engage with you all summer long. Our agency is here to help you along the way. With a variety of new programming coming your way, and a new Senior Wellness Center coming to Ward 8, I want you to know that we’re here to address your feedback. We hear you –– now it’s time for you to connect in the ways that you’ve been looking forward to.
Being the Interim Director for a little over a month, there’s still A LOT of you that I need to connect with, and I’d love to hear from you. Email director.DACL@dc.gov and tell me a bit about what you want to see more of in your community and how DACL can best serve you.
Take care, Jessica
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CITY OFFICIALS TALK AFFORDABILITY
Drew Hubbard, the interim director of the D.C. Department of Housing and Community Development, participated in a virtual forum on housing issues in the city and in Ward 4 by the Ward 4 Democrats on July 9. When asked about whether residents who make less in the range of $50,000 a year can afford to stay at St. Elizabeths East or the future The Parks at Walter Reed in Ward 4, he said yes.
“The District government has many different programs to help people obtain housing in D.C.,” Hubbard said. “People can utilize federal or local sources. The District government’s main tool to create affordable housing is the Housing Production Trust Fund. We have a full range of tools to address the housing crisis in the city.”
Latrena Owens, the executive director of the St. Elizabeths East Campus Redevelopment project, said affordable housing has emerged as a primary focus of the venture.
“At The Residences at St. Elizabeths we have 252 units with 80% designated as affordable,” Owens said. “In April, we opened up the townhomes and 27 of those have been slated as being affordable. As we open up Parcel 13, there will be more affordable housing there. We have other housing projects in the pipeline and affordability will be a factor.”
RESIDENTS TALK ST. ELIZABETHS HOUSING
Ivan Jose Cloyd works as an entrepreneur with a streaming service and real estate interests in the District, Prince George’s County and recently, Baltimore City. Cloyd has housing contacts at The Residences at St. Elizabeths. As a resident, The Residences location enticed him with its nearby Congress Heights Metro stop, a shopping mall within a few blocks that had a full-service grocery store and the Entertainment & Sports Arena right across the street. He attended the events surrounding the groundbreaking of
5 An overview of Parcel 15 at St. Elizabeth's East in Southeast. (Courtesy photo/ St. Elizabeth's East)
the Interim Retail Village that will include entrepreneurs selling food and products in a timber facility set to open in December.
Cloyd said the emergence of St. Elizabeths East should not dissuade anyone from trying to get housing there.
“Honestly, we have people from all type of income levels who live at The Residences,” he said. “The people who live here were very persistent during the application process and worked really hard to get an apartment. What it boils down to is if you really want to live here, you can.”
Emil Robinson purchased one of the townhomes. A government consultant, he said one of the keys to getting a townhome had to do with personal budgeting.
“I saved for it,” Robinson said. “The mayor has set it up to where someone of my income level can afford one of these homes. But you have to save your money and have it available to move forward. It is important that you follow the guidelines set out. It was pretty rigorous vetting process but I stuck with it because I knew what I wanted.”
Robinson didn’t disclose how much he paid for the townhouse saying “it was expensive.” He also said he couldn’t utilize the perks District government employees have in buying housing and added he made too much money to qualify for some assistance programs. Robinson admits that he looked into moving to Prince George’s County for housing but opted to stay in the city.
“I was born and raised in Southeast,” he said. “I always wanted to have a piece of property where I was born. With the city changing so much, I wanted to have one piece of D.C. for me.”
Like Robinson, Aaliya Muhammad, a District native, wanted to stay in the city. Muhammad said the District government “has a lot of programs that will meet you where you are.”
“You have to be tenacious,” said Muhammad, a software engineer. “You have to jump through some hoops and do a lot of paperwork.”
Muhammad said people interested in purchasing a St. Elizabeths townhome should look at the city’s Housing Purchase Assistance Program and similar initiatives designed to help homebuyers. She said the effort to buy her townhome “was worth it.”
“I wanted to make sure I had a little piece of D.C. before it became too expensive,” Muhammad said.
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