A Public Action of "First Responders"

On Sunday, October 5th, there was an amazing turnout of over 2,000 fellow Northern Virginians from 40 churches, synagogues, and mosques at First Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dumfries-- including over 275 parishioners of Saint Anthony of Padua -- for the inaugural VOICE Public Action.

This was VOICE's opportunity to introduce itself as a new, organized, committed and long-term force for social justice in Northern Virginia. In his call to action, Fr. Robert Menard of Saint Francis Catholic Church remembered his fellow Franciscan, Fr. Mychal Judge, the fallen New York City Fire Department Chaplain who responded on September 11th. Like Fr. Judge's example, he called us all to work through VOICE to become "First Responders" for social justice!

In introducing itself and clearly demonstrating the commitment each member faith community has to VOICE, VOICE also asked for the personal commitment of political leaders in our area from both major political parties to the first six Actions that the VOICE membership had voted for:

1. Affordable Housing and Homelessness:

a. Preserve existing funding for affordable housing and the homeless and, as the economy improves, seek additional funding.

b. Work to identify public lands that could be available for development of affordable housing and housing for the homeless.

2. Immigration:

a. Work to reduce the backlog in processing of applications for citizenship from Northern Virginians, which is more than twice what it is in other areas of the U.S.

b. Work to increase the number and availability of classes in English as a second language.

3. Access to Healthcare and Mental Health:

a. Secure $98,000 to staff an additional dentist in the Northern Virginia Dental Clinic, one of the few dental resources available for the poor.

b. Work to develop a more comprehensive plan within six months to provide dental services those who cannot afford them.


Present at the meeting and personally responding to these challenges were former Governor and current U.S. Senate candidate Mark Warner, Virginia State Senator and Senate Majority Leader Richard Saslaw, Fairfax County Board Vice Chair Sharon Bulova, Prince William County Board Chair Corey Stewart, Arlington County Board Chair Walter Tejada, and Alexandria Mayor William Euille. Each was also asked to commit to meeting again at the beginning of 2009 to report on the progress toward these goals.

For more information about VOICE, please join us on October 21st at 7:30 pm in the Corpus Christi cafeteria for an evaluation, discussion, and planning session for VOICE.