PWC Max Weight Loss Program

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.”

Prince George's County reopens its Housing Choice Voucher Program after a decade, facing high demand amid rising rents.

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — On Monday, applications officially open for Prince George's County's Housing Choice Voucher Program.

People who need help paying their rent can apply. If accepted, families typically contribute around 30% of their adjusted income toward rent, and the Housing Authority of Prince George's County covers the rest.

New data shows there's a considerable need for assistance.

Maryland's top financial officer released a report in October that found:

- The median rent in Maryland is $1721, which is above the national median

- The average wage in Maryland is $28 per hour, but the wage needed to rent a 2-bedroom apartment in the region is $39 per hour.

"Rent is high, and the economic downturn is high for everyone," said Martin Mitchell, Housing Justice Advocate.

Martin Mitchell is a long-time housing justice advocate in Prince George's County.

Mitchell says he's excited to see the list re-open after a decade, but is concerned about how the county will balance those who've already asked for help and those who will ask for help.

"How many hundreds - thousands are on the wait list after such a long time without it being open," said Mitchell.

Prince George's County released a statement to WUSA9 Friday saying:

“The Housing Authority’s existing wait list has to be fully exhausted before pre-applications can be accepted to establish a new wait list. The wait list opening this year is following standard protocol. There was a high volume of pre-applicants for the wait list in 2015. Through their lottery system, eligible pre-applicants are selected at random to be placed on the list, and when that list is fully exhausted, pre-applications for the wait list will open again.”

WUSA9 has reached out to get updated numbers about how many people on the previous waitlist received help before the new application process opened. We were told we should get those numbers this week.

If you or someone you know is interested in applying, here are a few things to know:

- Typically, families who are considered very-low or extremely-low income are eligible.

- Must be able to verify citizenship or legal status

- Must have a valid Social Security Number

- Show Proof of Income and Bank information

- Proof of other public assistance, like SNAP benefits

Applications close Friday, Dec. 5. A lottery system will be used to select roughly 5,000 applicants.

In-person application assistance is offered at:

By John Domen

An anticipated report on data center development in Prince George’s County makes clear that data centers will be welcomed in the county, but only under certain circumstances — and with lots of community say in where they’re located.

The 462-page report was prepared by a special task force that was appointed to study the issue after community pushback to a fast-tracked data center at the site of the old Landover Mall. That project caught residents by surprise, and their opposition led to the plan being halted and the county taking a closer look at how it will handle the controversial projects moving forward.

“We really don’t want what happened in Landover to ever happen again,” said Prince George’s County Council member Wala Blegay (D-6th District), who also served on the task force behind the report. “The process that will be put in place will require some sort of special exception, which will require many community meetings. So the community will have very much of an impact on what happens.”

Those special exceptions will add layers to the approval process, resulting in more hearings and more chances for community input that could slow down or even stop projects from moving forward, if there’s enough opposition.

Of the report’s 14 recommendations, many focused on zoning and environmental concerns. The report calls on data centers to be steered toward industrial zones, especially ones considered underperforming and vacated, while keeping them away from urban areas with large populations. It also aims to keep them away from parts of the county considered environmentally sensitive.

One recommendation even suggests letting developers go bigger in size in certain circumstances.

“There was a consensus if you had an area that was sort of far away from the community, in a place where it was kind of deserted, and that you had the land to go big, that would be an easier process than some of the other areas,” Blegay said.

Other recommendations called on incentivizing more sustainable operations, due to concerns about how data centers would have an impact audibly and visibly around the county.

Right now data centers have to be at least 300 feet away from residential homes. The report recommends moving that to 400 feet in most cases. If certain design elements are implemented that reduce overall impact, the 300-foot buffer could stay in place.

The report also calls on county leaders to push for a high-energy-use surcharge in the hopes of keeping power bills lower for residents.

“I do think that Landover put us in a bad situation because it was not done the right way,” Blegay said. “That has put a lot of fear and concern in the community about any data center moving forward. However, there are areas that I do think some people might say that there might be a better place for data centers versus Landover. And at least if there is an agreement, those be can be considered. But definitely not in the middle of a residential community.”

Those concerns also helped lead the task force to recommend the creation of community benefit agreements, which essentially attaches strings to any future data center proposals.

“The benefit has to go to the community,” Blegay said. “The residents will be a part of that, and the community will be guaranteed to get something.”

She told WTOP not all the recommendations were unanimous among committee members, as some were concerned about discouraging development. Blegay said she isn’t buying that.

“A lot of our residents are very well connected in the industry, and are bringing these ideas to the table, and they’re bringing it regardless of the process,” Blegay said. “Even if they go other places, they’re going to experience the same opposition.”

– As part of Maryland Matters’ content sharing agreement with WTOP, we feature this article from John Domen. Click here for the WTOP News website.

Housing advocates say this will be a huge help for those in need, but fear the demand outweighs the supply.

PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, Md. — For the first time in a decade, Prince George’s County is reopening applications for the Housing Choice Voucher Program, widely known as Section 8, giving thousands of residents their first chance in years to qualify for rental assistance.

The program helps eligible tenants choose where they want to live, with the county covering a portion of the rent based on income. For many facing housing insecurity, the reopening represents long-awaited stability.

The application window runs from Dec. 1 through Dec. 5.

Calondra Young has lived in Prince George’s County all her life and has become a voice for affordable housing. She says the demand for rental assistance only continues to grow.

“It’s very dire. The need is so dire,” she said.

Young experienced homelessness once before and says she is again at risk. The reopening, she says, brings something many people haven’t felt in years, possibility.

“The waitlist opening can represent hope, stability, and dignity for people like myself,” Young said.

If accepted, families typically contribute around 30% of their adjusted income toward rent, and the voucher covers the remainder. Housing advocates say that support could be life-changing, but the county’s need far surpasses available space.

“People are living in their cars, couch surfing, overcrowding apartments, just to survive,” Young said.

Getting onto the list isn’t guaranteed. Everyone who applies will enter a pool, and from that pool, 5,000 names will be selected through a random lottery.

“It opens a door for families who have been shut out for a decade,” Young said.

When asked why the waitlist had not opened sooner, a county spokesperson said the Housing Authority must first clear its existing list before taking new applications.

“The Housing Authority’s existing wait list has to be fully exhausted before pre-applications can be accepted to establish a new wait list. The wait list opening this year is following standard protocol. There was a high volume of pre-applicants for the wait list in 2015. Through their lottery system, eligible pre-applicants are selected at random to be placed on the list, and when that list is fully exhausted, pre-applications for the wait list will open again,” the county said.

Young hopes more is done in addition to the waitlist being opened.

“We need ongoing investment in affordable communities. Stronger tenant protections. Consistent action—not once every 10 years,” she said.

Applications for the Housing Choice Voucher waitlist open Dec. 1–5 at select in-person sites: