2023 Arlington County Board Candidate Questionnaire
Question 4 of 5
In addition to a learning crisis, Arlington’s youth are also facing an historic mental healthcrisis following the pandemic. What do you think the County Board can do to better help address both of these crises in the community?
Audrey Clement: First and foremost, I will verify with School officials that much of the mental health crisis is a function of opioid addiction. Once that’s established, I will urge the Board to lobby federal elected officials to take the actions necessary to curtail the import of dangerous drugs into the country via the northern and southern borders, including but not limited to: beefed up border security using National Guard troops as needed, enforcement of existing immigration laws, border wall construction and monitoring devices, and apprehension, arrest and prosecution of human and drug traffickers at the border.
Maureen Coffey: There’s many pieces that go into this: kids are not unaware of the existential problems of the last several years, they feel immense pressure to succeed at school, technology and social media have taken over, and so much more. As someone who grew up in a northern Virginia school with an anxiety disorder and undiagnosed ADHD, I think this is one of our most critical issues. I currently serve as a Governor Northam appointee to the Virginia Family and Children’s Trust with the central purpose of protecting children’s well-being.
Children spend a lot of their time in schools but they also spend much of their time outside of school. Kids of all ages need outside of school options and activities that match their interests, their abilities, and their needs. I played field hockey growing up which allowed me a healthy outlet for my stress while also building close friendships and relationships. I played violin and was part of the chamber orchestra which gave me a creative outlet. Kids should have something that is focused on enjoyment and growth without worrying about being graded or assessed. While sports may not be the choice for every child, Arlington needs to support families by investing in sports and recreation, music and arts, community service programs, faith groups, civic organizations and generally providing the opportunity for kids to have enriching experiences that will help them grow. This translates to investments in facilities, staff, and transportation.
On top of that, we need to do better with mental health services, both public and private, in the County. There are too few providers for the need that we have. I know many parents who would like to find someone for their child to talk to but cannot find an opening. I would like to see the County audit the mental health resources that currently exist and develop a roadmap for how we can expand services across similar to what was produced in 2018 for the Child Care Initiative.
Susan Cunningham: We need to unite “all hands on deck” to address the mental health and substance abuse among our youth. This is not just a schools’ issue, we need our whole community working together to get there. As the only parent of school-aged children among returning and potential County Board members, I know first-hand about the challenges our youth, families, and educators face as we continue to rebound from the COVID-19 emergency.
As a County Board member I will stay focused on helping our young people to thrive, in school,at home, and in our community. They need us and we need them – our young people simplymust be a community-wide priority. I hope to expand recreation center hours and parksprogramming, while we continue reinventing cour libraries and their offerings. In addition, itmeans fully staffing, training, and retaining our mental health professionals, police force, otherfirst responders, parks and recreation staff, and safety net partners so that we can truly meet allof our young people where they are and support their growth and success. Our children’s wellbeing is a top priority for our whole county.
Juan Carlos Fierro: As mentioned in answer to question one, Arlington needs to dedicate resources to address the mental health crises that we face. This year we have been witness the death to two Wakefield High School students who died because of drug overdose plus two girls who overdosed at W&L High School. We need to recognize that the opioid crises exist in Arlington, and it needs to be addressed adequately. Our response to the problem will not be addressed exclusively through APS but will be community wide, which will include benefits for students enrolled in APS.