» VOICE

St. Francis VOICE Ministry – December 2022

by Fr. George Corrigan OFM | Dec 5, 2022

On Sunday, December 4, 2022 parishioners from St. Francis of Assisi Parish attended a VOICE Assembly in Reston, VA to advocate for additional funding for new and desperately-needed mental health Crisis Receiving Center in Prince William County (PWC) and increased funding support for the PWC Public Defender’s Office that VOICE recently helped establish in Prince William County. Over 400 people from VOICE member congregations made their voices heard to PWC Board Chairman, Ann Wheeler as well as...

PWC Public Defender Office – November 2022 Update

by Fr. George Corrigan OFM | Nov 15, 2022

Parity funding for the Prince William County Public Defender Office is key to a fair and equitable system of restorative justice. Low pay and heavy workloads make it difficult to recruit and retain high quality attorneys for the Public Defender’s Office. Currently lawyers and staff of the PWC Public Defenders Office are paid less for the same work as the PWC Commonwealth Attorney’s. In September PW VOICE sent the below letter to Honorable Ann B. Wheeler, Chair-At-Large PW County Board of...

Affordable Housing Nov-22 Update

by Fr. George Corrigan OFM | Oct 31, 2022

Background What do we mean by Affordable Housing and Why is it important to all PWC residents? Who are first time home buyers in our area? They are teachers, nurses, police officers, emergency responders, and others who work in the county. Here are some statistics on issues PWC residents face when attempting to buy their first home: The median or mid-point sales price for a home in Prince William County has risen to $520,000. The annual median income for a Prince William County resident is...

PWC Crisis Receiving Center – November 2022 Update

by Fr. George Corrigan OFM | Oct 31, 2022

Background: Early in 2021, VOICE leaders in PWC (Prince William County) began a campaign, together with key allies, to create a Crisis Receiving Center–a facility where police and the wider public can take people suffering from a mental health crisis instead of being warehoused in a hospital emergency room or locked in jail. After a long, hard-fought campaign, VOICE was able to successfully secure $10m in funding ($7.5m from the county, $2.5m from the state), which will allow the CRC to...

PWC Critical Receiving Center – You can help!

by Fr. George Corrigan OFM | Aug 8, 2022

August 2022 Advocating for the Community – Faith in Action Any family that has experienced mental health challenges knows that mental health services are needed across a spectrum of capabilities, especially during a crisis. A call to “911” results in a response by police officers. If the family is lucky, they will encounter officers specifically trained for mental health crises. Do you know what happens next? Do you know what options are available to the person, the family or the officer here...

Affordable Housing Update

by Fr. George Corrigan OFM | Aug 8, 2022

August 2022 What do we mean by Affordable Housing and Why is it important to all PWC residents? Some statistics on issues PWC residents face when attempting to buy their first home: The median or mid-point sales price for a home in Prince William County has risen to $520,000. The annual median income for a Prince William County resident is just over $109,000. The required down payment for first time home buyers ranges from 10% to 20% of the purchase price. Based on loan industry standards -...

PWC Public Defender Office Update

by Fr. George Corrigan OFM | Aug 8, 2022

August 2022 Parity funding for the Prince William County Public Defender Office is key to a fair and equitable system of restorative justice. Low pay and heavy workloads make it difficult to recruit and retain high quality attorneys for the Public Defender’s Office. Currently lawyers and staff of the PWC Public Defenders Office are paid less for the same work as the PWC Commonwealth Attorney’s VOICE is advocating the County Executive and Supervisors increase funding to bring pay for PWC PD...

Crisis Receiving Center Update

by Fr. George Corrigan OFM | Aug 8, 2022

August 2022 Early in 2021, VOICE leaders in Prince William County (PWC) began a campaign, together with key allies, to create a Crisis Receiving Center (CRC) –a facility where police and the wider public can take people suffering from a mental health crisis instead of being warehoused in a hospital emergency room or locked in jail. After a long, hard-fought campaign, VOICE was able to successfully secure $10m in funding ($7.5m from the county, $2.5m from the state), which will allow the CRC to...

Affordable Housing – May 2022 Update

by Fr. George Corrigan OFM | May 2, 2022

URGENT ACTION NEEDED The Prince William County Board of County Supervisors will meet on Tuesday, May 10, at 2:00 and 7:30 to consider the draft Comprehensive Plan, which includes HOUSING. Now is the time to let your supervisor know your concerns about affordable housing in the County. Your message can be brief or detailed. Following are some talking points. We need affordable work force housing so our teachers, nurses, police officers, emergency personnel, and others who work in the county...

Critical Receiving Units – Apr 2022 Update

by Fr. George Corrigan OFM | May 1, 2022

June 1, 2022 Update: We have just learned that the General Assembly has included the $2.5m in operating expenses for the new Prince William mental health County Crisis Receiving Center (CRC) into the state's final budget agreement!! This means that VOICE, together with key allies, has organized a total of $10m towards the creation of the desperately-needed CRC. (Prince William County had already approved $7.5 million towards the creation of a Crisis Stabilization Unit (CSU) in the County!)...

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