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Delegate Nicole Williams Newsletter - 03/06/2023


Dear Neighbors and Friends -


On Wednesday, March 8th, the House Judiciary Committee will hear HB0808, The Reproductive Health Protection Act, which I am sponsoring this session to champion expanded protections for reproductive health rights in Maryland. Governor Moore has already promised to sign this bill into law and protect these rights for Marylanders for years to come if this passes all the necessary checkpoints of the Assembly. On behalf of the district and the Maryland healthcare community, I look forward to testifying in favor of this legislation on International Women's Day.


In honor of March being Women's History Month, the next few newsletters will highlight an influential woman from District 22 each week, as well as have a running list of upcoming events within the district that celebrate Women's History Month. It is important to take inspiration from pivotal changemakers in history who gave us many of the luxuries that we enjoy today so we can be the change that we wish to see in the future.


-Nicole

 

Women's History Month Highlight: Sol de Ande Mendez Eaton

Our first weekly spotlight of Women's History Month is Sol del Ande Mendez Eaton. She was an athlete born and raised in Venezuela who made a change within Prince George's County throughout her later adult life as a chemist and equal employment officer.


Born June 14th, 1932, in San Cristobal, Venezuela, she was an all-star Olympian. In 1952, she got selected to represent Venezuela in the Olympics for diving, but she could not compete due to a training incident that temporarily blinded her. She had to forgo her athletic career after the accident, yet she did not let that stop her from making a change. In her early adult life, she became more involved in chemistry and scientific advancement. Eaton spent her adult life in Lanham, Maryland, earned a B.S. in Chemistry, and later earned a law degree. She was a chemist at The National Cancer Institute. Furthermore, she served on and chaired countless Prince George’s County and state-wide commissions. Some of these positions included being the co-chair of the Maryland Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and a member of the Prince George's County Commission for Women. In the various positions that Eaton held throughout her adult life, she always fought for civil rights and migrant workers, against housing and employment discrimination, and was a leader within the Latinx community.


Eaton is a role model for resiliency and a champion for the rights of women, immigrants, and the disabled community within Maryland. Her legacy remains today as Maryland aims to increase its diversity every day.

 

Women's History Month Events in District 22


The celebration of excellence does not stop within this newsletter! Check out these March events within District 22 and more within the Prince George's County Memorial Library System to stay educated on female empowerment and to uplift your community:

 

Legislative Updates


Many hearings are coming up in the following week of the legislative session for bills that I am sponsoring. Here is a list of upcoming bill hearings and a summary of each bill.


  • This bill will be heard on Wednesday, March 8th at 1:00 PM in the Judiciary Committee.

  • Synopsis:

    • Prohibits judges from requiring people to give certain testimony or statements or produce evidence in another state for a case involving an alleged violation of criminal law of the other state relating to legally protected health care.

    • Requiring, subject to certain exceptions, that a request for a foreign subpoena include a sworn statement that the subpoena does not intend or anticipate to further an investigation or proceeding related to legally protected health care.

  • This bill will no longer be heard on Tuesday, March 7th at 1:00 PM in the Health and Government Operations Committee.

  • HB0956 has been withdrawn for this session due to some work that needs to take place on the language of the bill. However, I am excited to continue working with advocacy groups on this legislation, and I have the full intention to sponsor this bill next year. Due to this change in the bill, the hearing on March 7th is canceled.

  • Synopsis:

    • Requiring the Secretary of Health to establish a Pregnant and Perinatal Drug Screening and Testing Workgroup to study and make recommendations about drug screening and testing for pregnant and perinatal patients and newborns.

    • Requiring the Workgroup to report their findings to the Senate Finance Committee and the House Health and Government Operations Committee by December 1, 2024.

 

Delegate Nicole A. Williams 2023-24 Scholarship

The 2023-2024 scholarship application is now available! Applications will be accepted from now until April 7, 2023. You are eligible for the scholarship if:

  • If you currently attend or will be attending any college or vocational school in Maryland next year

  • If you live in District 22 (to check, visit www.mdelect.net)

  • If you have at least a 2.5 GPA

Click here for more information on how to apply, as well as the link to the official application. Make sure that all parts of your application are complete before you submit it for consideration. Award winners will be announced in mid-May. Best of luck to everyone applying!

 

Saturday Enrichment Academy

This weekend, Prince George's County started a county-wide academic enrichment program for students in first to third grade. The Saturday Enrichment Academy launched within several elementary schools in the county, including Berwyn Heights Elementary here in District 22. Ages 6 to 9 years old shape the formative years of learning for children, where any chance to engage in academic acceleration or stay on track with the learning requirements in the classroom is a great investment in your student's education. To register your child in the program, visit pgparksdirect.com and enter the respective activity code for your child's school, listed in the flyer above.

 

Additional Scholarship Opportunities

  • If you are in Hyattsville and need financial assistance for post-secondary education, you are in luck. The city of Hyattsville is offering the Hyattsville Educational Path Scholarship Program to support Hyattsville high school seniors and high school graduates fund their journey into post-secondary education. Applications are open from now until March 24th, 2023. To learn more about the scholarship and how to apply, click here.

  • The Emanon’s, Inc. is still accepting applications from high school seniors in the DMV area for their scholarship program until April 15th, 2023. For more information, click here to complete the application.

 


Article of the Week


The city of New Carrollton is continuing to make progress on updating its infrastructure to be more climate-friendly while boosting economic activity. The New Carrollton Joint Development aims to transform the New Carrollton Metro Station into a 2.3 million square foot development aimed to be used as a "commercial, residential, and entertainment district." It also aims to be more accommodating of sustainable transportation such as biking and walking in its completed layout. To read more, click here.

 

Sharing to Save Lives: Upcoming Blood Drive

In the United States, the blood donation rates of African Americans are less than half of the donations of white individuals. There is an extreme need for increased blood donation from the African American population, particularly regarding the increase of African American recipients of blood transfusion, both specialized, such as sickle cell disease patients, and general hospitalized patients. These patients will have a better chance of receiving phenotype-matched or appropriate red blood cell units when there is a significant percentage of products in inventory from African American donors.


Come out to the upcoming community Blood Drive to support your fellow residents in Prince George's County! It will be on Friday, March 17th, 2023, from 1:00 pm- 6:00 pm at the District Heights Municipal Building at 2000 Marbury Drive, District Heights, Maryland 20747. There are blood shortages in Black & African American communities, and this blood drive aims to benefit the residents of Prince George’s County.

With Prince George’s County predominantly being a community of color and its population being majority African American, this event seeks to increase blood donations directly from our community. The event sponsors want to ensure that this event grows to be a countywide initiative and ask that you support us in making this endeavor possible. Donors may sign up to volunteer at the following link- https://www.redcrossblood.org/give.html/drive-results?zipSponsor=Sickle%20Cell%20Coalition%20of%20Maryland

 

Bilingual Annual Pharmacy Camp Opportunity


We know that real change happens slowly. And that requires diverse representation- meaning we have bilingual and bicultural people in every room. To make that happen, the Legislative Latino Caucus continues to partner with Notre Dame School of Pharmacy in their annual high school pharmacy camp to raise awareness within Maryland's Latino youth to the health industry, which is beneficial to their career AND improves health equity!


This annual Pharmacy Camp is open for registration for Summer 2023! The camp will take place from June 26 to June 30, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. each day.


NDMU’s Pharmacy Camp is designed for students in grades 9-12 who want to explore the world of pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences. Throughout the week, students will have the opportunity to:

  • Make medications in a lab

  • Explore precision medicine and the pharmacist's role in research and patient care

  • Learn about medication therapy management

  • Discover which pharmacy career best fits them

  • Get tips for applying to pharmacy school


Registration costs $450, which includes meals and activities. Scholarships are available for bilingual students! Registration ends on May 27, 2023, but limited scholarships are available, so we encourage anyone who may be interested to apply now!


The camp will be led by NDMU School of Pharmacy faculty members, who are experts in their fields and passionate about teaching and mentoring the next generation of pharmacy professionals.


To register for Pharmacy Camp 2023 or to learn more, visit ndm.edu/pharmacy-camp.


Please share this valuable information with anyone in your network who may be interested in this opportunity to discover exciting topics and career paths in pharmacy and the pharmaceutical sciences!


ESPAÑOL


Estimados colegas, amigos y colaboradores comunitarios,


Sabemos que el cambio real ocurre lentamente. Y eso requiere una representación diversa, lo que significa que personas bilingües y biculturales estén presente en todos lados. Para que eso suceda, continuamos asociándonos con la Escuela de Farmacia de Notre Dame en su campamento anual de farmacia de la escuela secundaria para crear conciencia entre nuestra juventud latina sobre la industria de la salud. ¡Lo cual es beneficioso para su carrera Y también mejora la salud de nuestra comunidad!


¡Estamos felices de compartir esta increíble oportunidad por medio de la Escuela de Farmacia de la Universidad Notre Dame de Maryland! Ya abrió la inscripción para la edición anual del Campamento de Farmacia en el verano de 2023. El campamento se realizará del 26 al 30 de junio de 2023, de 9 a.m. a 5 p.m.


El Campamento de Farmacia de NDMU está orientado a estudiantes de grado 9 a 12 que quieran explorar el mundo de la farmacia y las ciencias farmacéuticas. Es una oportunidad única para los estudiantes latinos interesados en los campos de atención de salud. Durante la semana del campamento, podrán:

  • Hacer medicamentos en un laboratorio

  • Explorar el ámbito de la medicina de precisión y el rol del farmacéutico en investigación y atención del paciente

  • Saber más sobre medicación en terapia farmacológica

  • Descubrir qué carrera de farmacia es la mejor para cada uno

  • Recibir consejos para aplicar a la escuela de farmacia


La inscripción tiene un costo de $450, e incluye comidas y actividades. ¡Y hay becas disponibles para estudiantes bilingües! La inscripción finaliza el 27 de mayo de 2023, pero el número de becas es limitado, por eso los interesados tienen que registrarse lo antes posible.


El campamento estará encabezado por profesores del equipo docente de la Escuela de Farmacia de NDMU, expertos en su área y apasionados por enseñar y guiar a la próxima generación de profesionales en farmacia.


Para registrarse en el Campamento de Farmacia 2023 o conocer más detalles, pueden visitar ndm.edu/pharmacy-camp.


¡Compartan está valiosa información con sus contactos y colegas que puedan estar interesados en esta oportunidad de descubrir las posibilidades que ofrece una carrera en farmacia y en ciencias farmacéuticas!


Muchisimas gracias!

 

Hyattsville Dental Screening

Taking care of your dental health has more benefits than just maintaining personal hygiene. Regularly brushing your teeth, flossing, and going to the dentist every few months can save your life by keeping an eye on and preventing the spread of conditions like gum disease. To make the transition to caring for your dental health, come out to the Hyattsville Dental Screening on Saturday, March 11th from 10 A.M. to 2 P.M. at the Hyattsville Branch Library.

 

COVID-19 Update

According to the CDC, COVID-19 Community levels are measured as Low, Medium, and High. At this time the federal government is planning to end the national COVID-19 state of emergency declaration on May 11th. This will potentially impact health benefits for Marylanders. Older adults (50 years and older), and individuals who are immunocompromised or have underlying medical or cardiac conditions should take necessary precautions to stay safe. Please click here to find the closest COVID-19 testing facility near you in Prince George's County.

 

Resources


Redefining Public Safety

Mediation

If you are in need of conflict resolution and want an informal process to reach a win-win situation, consider reaching out to the Prince George's Community Collaborative Resolution Center! They are a division of Community Mediation Maryland (CMM) that provides free mediation services to all residents of Prince George's County. Their mediators are trained volunteers from the community who can resolve a conflict or situation at any stage. For more information:

  • Call: 301-690-0116

  • Email: pgresolutionscenter@gmail.com

2-1-1 Assistance

As you may know, dialing 9-1-1 is the number to call when you need help and are in immediate danger. When dialing 2-1-1, you can receive information on immediate mental health support, hate-crime support, senior assistance, food and shelter support, and much more. Also, note that this information is provided in multiple languages. To learn more, please click here to explore Maryland's 2-1-1 site.


Housing

Prince George's County Department of Housing Community Development 2023-2024 Affordable Housing Portfolio:

The portfolio lists over forty upcoming and completed senior living communities and multi-family dwellings, now available to County residents. If you want to access more information about the new portfolio, you can watch the promotional video here.

If you are currently facing housing or rental concerns due to financial hardship, the organizations listed below can provide some support:

  • Maryland Homeowner Assistance Fund offers support mortgage relief, weatherization, housing counseling, and legal services.

  • Housing Counseling Services Inc. offers a variety of MD housing and rental assistance resources including but not limited to housing counseling, foreclosure prevention, utility assistance, and veteran support services

  • 211 Maryland's database can connect you with local programs and resources, call 2-1-1 to speak with an Information and Referral Specialist or visit their website

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