ED Doctor Near Prince George's County, MD

A program in Prince George’s County, Maryland, is rolling out next month with the goal of making life easier for new mothers — a focus of new county council chair Krystal Oriadha.

The Mother’s First Initiative will launch in January, featuring meetups and other community building events to provide support for new moms. As part of the initiative, 1,000 new mothers (from pregnant women to those with a child up to 3 years old) living in District 7 will also receive free in-home services.

“That could look like helping them fold clothes or wash dishes — come into their home and give them a few hours of just help. Because we know that some families don’t have that village where they can call on grandma and aunties and they can drop everything and be there,” Oriadha said.

The nonprofits, including Community on the Frontlines and Nu Momish, are supporting the initiative.

“Not only will they get on-demand, tangible in-home support and extended resources, but also a virtual community for almost the entire year,” Gilly Shaw, founder and executive director of Nu Momish, said. “They can plug in with lactation specialists, doulas, mental health support, child support and also autism resources for their children as well.”

Shaw also said there’s a conference in the works to connect hundreds of Prince George’s County moms to maternal health workers and community leaders.

It’s the kind of community support that Tash Waller, of Bladensburg, said she travels to Baltimore for on a regular basis.

“She really helped me a lot, because it took a lot of stress off of not knowing what to do,” said Waller, who tried to talk while her 2-year-old daughter wiggled around. “Prince George’s County, we don’t have somebody like that. We don’t have an organization like that. And I feel like we really need it.”

Waller, who was born and raised in the county, said the community support Nu Momish provided her from Baltimore has led her to consider moving there.

“But I really want to stay here,” she said.

Moms can join a waiting list for services or register for events through the initiative by visiting its website. The initiative, including the in-home assistance, is set to launch later in January.

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Wala Blegay of Prince George’s County Council says these high bills have even forced folks in her district into payment plans.

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — The first taste of winter weather has people checking their thermostats, as energy bills have skyrocketed in recent years. This winter promises more of the same, and many are wondering what lawmakers can do to help.

A lot of people woke up smiling to see snow on the ground, only to frown when thoughts turned to the first winter weather power bill.

In a time when energy costs are already up, Prince George's County is trying to find ways to protect residents.

Mark Kidwell says that a few months ago, he noticed his electricity rates going up.

"Made my rates double," Kidwell explained. "I was at 7 cents a kilowatt-hour hour and it went up to 14."

Wala Blegay of Prince George’s County Council says these high bills have even forced folks in her district into payment plans.

"We were even seeing people that had $1500 bills per month," Blegay said. "So the question is what's going on? Why is this happening?"

There are multiple culprits behind the skyrocketing bills, including the explosion of data centers and the retirement of power plants to transmission lines.

"So what we're doing on Monday is trying to make sure people understand what's going on and basically what we need to do," Blegay said.

The councilwoman plans to host a State of the Power meeting, a 101-course on why your bill costs too much. Several speakers will be attending, including a rep from the 13-state grid we all draw power from, PJM. The speakers will explain to residents what is causing the rate increases and what can be done.

"We need people to know that they need to start calling the state, calling the governor, everybody," Blegay said. "We need all hands on that to figure out how we can save ourselves going forward."

But as far as big bills this winter, Blegay says it's up to the folks in Annapolis. State lawmakers will head to the capital city in January.

LANDOVER, Md. (7News) — Preliminary applications are open for a housing voucher program in Prince George’s County for the first time in a decade.

The tenant-based voucher program is a federally funded program administered by the Housing Authority of Prince George’s County (HAPGC). The Housing Choice Voucher Program (HCVP), widely known as Section 8, provides income-eligible tenants the opportunity to choose where they would like to live, with the tenant contributing a portion of their income and HAPGC paying for the other portion of the rent.

A lottery system will randomly select 5,000 applicants to be added to the waitlist. As individuals and families exit the HCVP, additional opportunities become available, and more people will be selected from the established waitlist to identify need and eligibility.

“Everyone desires to have a place where they can live affordably," said Carolyn Floyd, who directs the county’s Housing Choice Voucher Division. "That's the reason why this program is important.”

In 2015, about 30,000 people applied within a two-week preliminary application period for the 5,000 waitlist slots, according to county officials. It took ten years to get through those 5,000 people, officials explained, which is why preliminary applications are only reopening now.

During the first two days, applications opened up on Monday and Tuesday, and around 30,000 people applied, according to Floyd.

"We know there's a large volume of interest for rental assistance," she said.

Interested parties can apply online. Those in need of access to a computer or general assistance can visit the following locations, where HAPGC team members can help:

Applications will be accepted until December 5 at 11:59 p.m. Every applicant will be notified of their status around 45 days after the wait list closes, explained Floyd.

"Reopening the Housing Choice Voucher Program is a welcome, and long overdue move that will help ease housing costs for some Prince George's families,” Martin Michaels, Staff Attorney for CASA, said in a statement to 7News. “Demand for these subsidies far outpaces supply--especially as housing costs continue to climb and the cost of many consumer goods remain stubbornly high. That is why more must be done to pass strong tenant protections and expand affordable housing in Prince George's County and across Maryland.”

PRINCE GEORGE'S CO., Md. - With Prince George's County leading the state of Maryland for new HIV diagnoses, county leaders launched a new initiative on World AIDS Day to help stop the spread.

By the numbers:

Health department data shows there are more than 8,600 people living with HIV in Prince George's County — a disproportionately high number — and those between 20 and 39 years old have the highest rate of new cases.

On Monday, Council Chair Edward Burroughs teamed up with the healthcare nonprofit Us Helping Us to launch a pilot program to mail free test kits directly to people's homes.

"This disease is so preventable, Burroughs said. "With advanced technology in the medical field, it doesn't make sense for Prince George's County to be leading the state in this area when we have so many ways to prevent it."

There are two county health centers in Laurel and Cheverly where free testing is available, but data from the health department has found a concentration of cases in the southern part of the county, particularly in District 8.

These test kits can be mailed right to your home and within 20 minutes, you will have a result that's over 90% accurate.

If you test positive, you can be connected to care immediately. If you're negative, you'll be pointed to resources to help you stay that way.

Big picture view:

It's not just HIV though. Prince George's County also leads the state when it comes to other sexually transmitted infections like chlamydia and gonorrhea.

This is a pilot program, paid for by local impact grant funds, so for now, it's only available to those in District 8, or within a six-mile radius of National Harbor. Burroughs said he hopes it can be expanded out to the entire county soon.

Personal experience:

Wesley Pinkney has been HIV+ for 40 years. He said knowing his status was key.

"Information is powerful and that's what we're putting out - information so you can get connected to the system, get the help you need. I'm surviving," Pinkney said. "There's a lot of people who kicked the door in that got me where I am at so I'm holding that door open so others may come through, but we need help."

Not only are the test kits completely free, they are completely confidential, mailed to your door in a discreet box.

Burroughs said no one will know you ordered one or what your results are.

"The first step is knowing your status and destigmatizing getting tested. We want as many people to get tested as regularly as possible to prevent the spread," he added.

The County says this is a chance to help thousands of residents secure housing, but will there be enough resources to go around?

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — More than triple the number of people who will be able to obtain housing assistance in Prince George's County applied for the voucher program after the waitlist opened for the first time in 10 years.

“I sit at home every day, scared that my stuff is going to be out on the street,” Vanessa Watkins admitted through tears as she described the stress of keeping a roof over her head.

She says that stress has only worsened since losing her husband in 2023.

So when Watkins heard that Prince George’s County was accepting applications for housing vouchers, she knew she had come to the Wayne K Curry Sports and Learning Center in Landover to try to apply.

“I called my girlfriend, because God put her on my heart, and I said, 'Come on, we need to go see if this is real!” she said.

Watkins joined thousands of Prince Georgians on Monday to hopefully secure their place in the county’s housing voucher program.

This is the first time the county has opened its waitlist in 10 years.

Prince George’s Housing Authority will be collecting applications until Friday, Dec. 5. After that, all the applications will be put in a lottery system, and 5,000 will be chosen at random.

The Housing Authority is encouraging people to apply, even if they applied in 2015 and didn’t make the list.

If chosen, an applicant will only need to contribute around 30% of their adjusted income toward rent, and the voucher covers the remainder.

However, only 5,000 slots are available, and Carolyn Floyd, director of the county’s Housing Choice Voucher division, says as of noon Monday, 15,000 people have already applied.

“We definitely know that there’s a need,” Floyd said. “We receive calls on a daily basis, we get people coming into our office asking for assistance, and so it’s unfortunate that we don’t have enough to fit all of the demand, but we’re excited about the opening because this is an opportunity to assist more families.”

Assistance that Watkins prays finally comes.

“I got to put my prayer in!” Watkins said. “I got to have God work it out for me, and if I do, it’s be a blessing.”