Mayor Gray Receives Citywide Plan for Improving Mental Health of District’s Youth

Plan Focuses on Prevention, Reducing Stigma, and Empowering Young People
Washington D.C - Today, Mayor Vincent C. Gray and members of the media and the public received a detailed briefing on a community-based plan for mental health for youth ages 12-24, presented by Creating Community Solutions DC.

The plan – part of a national dialogue on mental health launched by President Obama last June – was developed by a 50-member action team convened by the Mayor and composed of representatives from District agencies, non-profit organizations, service providers and District youth. It was an outgrowth of a set of priorities created at Mayor Gray’s Citywide Summit on Mental Health, held this past October.

“This community plan sends a clear message to all District residents that we need to make mental health a top priority for our young people,” said Mayor Gray. “Too many youth in our city struggle with mental-health challenges. This plan, building on the important work already underway, helps point the way by focusing on prevention, reducing the stigma associated with mental-health issues, and engaging youth directly to address their own mental health.”

At the Citywide Summit on Mental Health, hundreds of residents, providers, advocates, and public officials joined the Mayor to better understand mental illness, talk about ways to reduce stigma associated with mental-health treatment, and develop community solutions that could build on existing services. As a result of their efforts, five primary areas of action were identified, and the final plan has multiple recommendations for addressing each of them:

To better support early identification and prevention of mental-health issues for youth and families;
To significantly increase community awareness about mental health, thereby reducing the stigma that can be associated with treatment of mental-health concerns;
To empower and engage youth to take charge of their own mental health;
To expand mental-health curricula and knowledge to health-care providers outside the mental-health arena; and
To effectively support Transition Aged Youth (TAY) as they move toward greater economic independence.
It is estimated that, in any given year, one in five adults will experience a mental-health challenge – but less than 40 percent receive treatment. Further, although three-quarters of mental illnesses emerge by the age of 24, only about half of children with mental-health problems receive treatment.

“Mental health can be a complex issue, but this group of community stakeholders has done an exceptional job in identifying what needs to be done to better equip our youth as well as those who serve them – whether in schools, youth programs, or in the community,” said Stephen T. Baron, Director of the District’s Department of Behavioral Health (DBH). “This plan integrates well with the efforts of my agency and other District agencies and community agencies engaged in this work, and it points us to the critical next steps we need to take to improve the health of our youth.”

The plan is available on the Department of Behavioral Health’s website at www.dbh.dc.gov.

Mayor Gray to Kick Off Potholepalooza on March 20

Washington D.C - Mayor Vincent C. Gray today announced plans are in place to start this year’s Potholepalooza Campaign on Thursday, March 20, weather permitting. During the annual 30-day campaign, crews from the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) will expedite pothole repairs on roadways across the city.

Residents and commuters are encouraged to continue to phone (311), go online (311.dc.gov), tweet (@DDOTDC), e-mail (potholepalooza@dc.gov), visit the campaign’s Facebook page (facebook.com/DDOTpotholepalooza) or use the DC311 smartphone app to submit requests for pothole repairs. As part of Potholepalooza, DDOT will be adding extra crews to fill potholes and will aim to repair identified locations within 48 hours (the normal response time is within 72 hours).

Due to this year’s exceptionally cold and snowy winter, DDOT has already filled more than 9,000 potholes. That compares to less than half that number for January and February of last year.

“The unusually cold winter coupled with the snow and temperature fluctuations have all taken a toll on our roads, Mayor Gray said. “Once the temperatures have stabilized, we can begin the repair work in earnest – and to complete the job we’re going to need residents to become actively involved with helping us identify where the potholes are located.”

Residents are encouraged to provide as much detail as possible when reporting potholes, including the precise location and quadrant of the city as well as the approximate size and depth of the pothole. DDOT crews also will be out and about proactively identifying potholes.

“We thank people who have called in pothole sightings,” said DDOT Director Terry Bellamy. “Working together, we can ensure our streets are in good shape and safe.”

Mayor Gray, E Street Development Group and District Officials Break Ground on Fire Station and Hyatt Place Hotel in Southwest

Mixed-Use Building Will Include Community Space and Retail
Washington D.C - Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor L. Hoskins, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Paul Quander, Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Kenneth B. Ellerbe, Department of General Services Director Brian Hanlon and members of the E Street Development Group gathered today to break ground for a new mixed-use building at 400 E Street SW.

The site will be the future home for the District’s second Hyatt Place Hotel and a new, state-of-the-art fire station that will replace Engine Company 13, now located at 450 6th Street SW.

“This project is another example of the collaborative spirit that we have tried to encourage between the public and private sectors in order to serve District residents and visitors,” said Mayor Gray. “It will provide job opportunities, spur economic growth in the community and improve our public-safety infrastructure by housing a new fire station.”

Upon completion, 400 E Street SW will be an innovative, mixed-use building designed to create the effect of two distinct buildings. The Hyatt Place lobby and parking entrances will be located on the 400 block of E Street SW. The fire station entrance and apparatus bays will be located on the 500 block of 4th Street SW.

“Engine Company 13 has been a part of this community for more than 100 years,” said Chief Ellerbe. “This new facility reinforces our commitment to stay in this neighborhood and to protect and serve its residents and visitors.”

A small retail venue will be located on the corner of 4th and E Streets. The Hyatt Place will have 214 guest rooms, a meeting space, an outdoor pool, a fitness center, and a rooftop bar.

“400 E Street SW is a complex, mixed-use project that will add to the vibrancy of this area,” said Geoffrey Griffis, a managing member of E Street Development Group. “We have already begun work on the second phase of this project, which will be a 310,000-square-foot office building with substantial ground-floor retail at 6th and E Streets SW, where the existing fire station is located, and which will finish off the new development in this area.”

The hotel and fire station are financed by a $65 million construction loan provided by Capital FireStation LLC, an affiliate of the federally designated DC Regional Center, which raises capital through the EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa program.

Mayor Gray, E Street Development Group and Other Officials to Break Ground on Fire Station and Hyatt Place Hotel in Southwest

WHAT/WHO: Mayor Vincent C. Gray, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development Victor L. Hoskins, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Paul Quander, DC Fire and Emergency Medical Services Chief Kenneth B. Ellerbe, Department of General Services Director Brian Hanlon and members of the E Street Development Group will break ground on a new development that will house a fire station and a Hyatt Place Hotel.

WHEN: Friday, December 6, 2013
10:00 am – 11:00 am

WHERE: 400 E Street SW

BACKGROUND: The innovative, mixed-use building at 400 E Street SW will be designed to create the effect of being two distinct buildings. It will house a state-of-the-art fire station to replace Engine Company 13, now located at 450 6th Street SW, and a new Hyatt Place Hotel – only the second in the District of Columbia. The project received $65 million in EB-5 Immigrant Investor Visa funding.

Mayor Gray Thanks First Responders and Mourns Loss of Life in Tragic Navy Yard Shooting

Washington DC - Mayor Gray today expressed his deep sorrow at the loss of life in today’s shooting at the Washington Navy Yard and thanked first responders for their bravery and hard work in the immediate aftermath of this tragic situation.

“I am deeply saddened by today’s senseless act of violence, which is the deadliest single incident in the District in more than three decades,” said Mayor Gray. “I want to express my deepest sympathies to the families of those whose lives were lost, and my thoughts and prayers are with those who suffered injuries – and particularly our first responders, who reacted to this incident with unflinching and unstinting bravery.”

The Mayor continued: “Our public-safety agencies are continuing to coordinate with their federal and regional counterparts in the response to, and investigation of, this event. I want to thank the leaders and rank-and-file personnel from the Metropolitan Police Department and DC Fire & Emergency Medical Services for their brave and tireless work today, and every day.”

Confirmed information will continue to be provided as it becomes available on the Mayor’s social-media accounts: on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/MayorVinceGray and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/MayorGray