Applications for Takoma Park’s Direct Cash Assistance Program opened late last month, for a one-time, lump-sum cash payment to eligible households in the city. In total, the City plans to give out roughly $2.15 million direct cash assistance to more than 2,100 Takoma Park households at $1,000 through the new program. To be eligible for the cash assistance program, households need to be within the Takoma Park city limits and have an income of $50,000 or less per year.

“It’s pretty straightforward; the application, somebody creates an account in the online system, and then they submit photos of documents they have,” said acting deputy city manager Rosalind Grigsby, “We’re also trying to use other programs they may qualify for as qualifiers, like SNAP or WIC funds or other assistance programs they’re part of that demonstrate the need. That way we can forgo making them start from scratch with other documentation.”

The City is partnering with LiveStories, a civics analytics platform, to help distribute the money to those who are eligible. The City is stressing that everyone who is eligible is encouraged to apply for the funds, no matter their immigration status. “We don’t ask about immigrant status in Takoma Park, so they would need some way to show their address, such as a utility bill or other kinds of things, and some way to demonstrate income, like pay stubs or tax returns or an unemployment statement,” said Grigsby. “We’re trying to work with them to make sure they can get the funds they need.”

The City previously had programs helping with rents, medical expenses, and utilities, but wanted to give people more options of how the money could be spent. “The council wanted something that gave people more control on what they need,” said Grigsby. “It’s trusting that they know what their families need.”

If you’re in need of assistance, it’s better to act fast to make sure you complete an application before the funds are depleted. “We’ll give out money until we’ve spent it all,” Grigsby said. “I hope that it goes quickly because our goal is to get it into the hands of people who need it as quickly as possible. LiveStories believes the funds will likely be spent in a couple of months.”

The funds come from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which provided emergency relief funds to communities hit hard by  the pandemic. In July, the Takoma Park City Council approved an FY23 budget of $2,300,000 for the Direct Cash Assistance Program using the funds.

To help make sure everyone who is eligible can sign up online, the city times for when people can come into the city building or the new library and have staffers help them through the application: Thursday, November 3, from 3–9 p.m. in the Hydrangea Room at the Community Center, 7500 Maple Avenue Saturday, November 5, time to be determined, in the Library at 7505 New Hampshire Avenue Applications for the funds will be available at the City’s web page for this project.

This article was featured in the November 2022 Newsletter. Visit the Takoma Park Newsletter webpage to see the full list of past newsletters.

“Poetry is above all a concentration of the power of language, which is the power of our ultimate relationship to everything in the universe.” – Adrienne Rich

Eight poets will take listeners on a literary journey across the world and through the inner workings of the soul during two free poetry readings in November at the Takoma Park Community Center.

The readings are part of the City’s Takoma Park Arts series, which includes free poetry readings, film screenings, art exhibitions, concerts, and other events at the Takoma Park Community Center at 7500 Maple Avenue. Please go to takomaparkmd.gov/arts for more info and to sign up for our e-newsletter.

More than 100 poets from the D.C. area submitted applications to take part in upcoming readings, with 36 poets selected for nine readings that will be held over the next eight months. The poets are paid a small honorarium, and recordings of the readings are posted on the Takoma Park Arts YouTube channel at bit.ly/3rPvuwf.

Poetry Without Borders

Thursday, November 3, 7:30 pm

Four poets will share work featuring a global perspective: David Camero, Kim B. Miller, Victoria Moten, and Thu Anh Nguyen.

Camero started writing poetry when he was a teenager in France and then in Venezuela, where he received a BA in literature. Miller is a spoken word and haiku poet who has performed in person across the country and online internationally. Moten is an award-winning poet and middle school English teacher. Nguyen writes about equity, justice, and community, and her work has appeared in many journals.

Words Have Power Poetry Reading

Thursday, November 17, 7:30 pm

Four poets will share their work branching across various topics: Hazel Cherry, Amy Eisner, Katherine Smith, and Pamela Murray Winters. Cherry’s writing centers on Black women and serves as a source of empowerment and liberation. She received an MFA in creative writing from American University. Eisner’s poetry has appeared in many journals, including Fence, Poet Lore, and Valparaiso.

Smith is a teacher at Montgomery College and a senior poetry editor of the Potomac Review. She has published three books of poetry, and her work has appeared in various journals. Winters received an MFA from the Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has published one book of poetry and was awarded several State of Maryland arts grants.

This article was featured in the November 2022 Newsletter. Visit the Takoma Park Newsletter webpage to see the full list of past newsletters.

Awards for the Multifamily Building Grant for Electrification & Building Improvements: The Multifamily Building Grant for Electrification and Building Improvements, funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), application closed in September 2022. This grant was co-issued by the Housing & Community Development and Public Works Departments. The total requested amount of funding was $2,510,000 from 75 applications. Each applicant could request a grant for up to $49,999 to help cover project costs. Forty-three projects across all five wards were awarded the first week of October, allocating for all $750,000 in funding. The projects are set to start immediately and will all be completed by June 2023.

This article was featured in the November 2022 Newsletter. Visit the Takoma Park Newsletter webpage to see the full list of past newsletters.

Fall is one of the best times to improve your lawn, trees, shrubs, and garden. The basic maintenance you do during this “second spring” will pay off in healthier growth and fewer problems next year.

Mulch your trees.

Now is the time to add a layer of mulch around your trees. In the winter, mulch insulates the roots and provides nutrients. It helps the soil retain moisture, too. Even large and old trees benefit from adding a ring of mulch. The mulch should not touch the base of the tree. Apply mulch to a ring around the tree trunk. Remember the Rule of 3:

1. The mulch ring should extend 3 feet out from the trunk;
2. The mulch should start 3 inches from the trunk so that no mulch touches the tree; and
3. The mulch should be 3 inches deep (but not more).

Start organic lawn care.

A beautiful lawn next spring starts with simple actions you can take this fall.

• Learn from your soil. Whether it’s through weeds, or empty patches, the look of your lawn tells you about the health of the soil. The soil should be loose and teeming with life too small to see—if your lawn is suffering, start with aerating your lawn, adding compost, re-seeding, and leaving all your grass and leaf clippings as a source of nutrients.
• Replace your “weed and feed” chemicals with grass seed. Fall is the perfect time to restore bare patches of lawn with seed—do this every year to fill in your lawn because a strong carpet of grass will keep weed seeds from germinating.

Recycle your yard trim.

During the fall, your yard becomes covered with leaves. What should you do with these leaves and other types of yard trim Compost it. Take leaves, grass clippings, and garden prunings and recycle them into a nutrient-rich soil amendment, better known as “black gold” or compost.

• If you have more yard waste than you can compost, the Public Works Department collects yard waste from all single-family homes and most small apartment buildings within the City of Takoma Park year-round. Yard waste collection is a curbside collection service and is offered once a week on Mondays.
• Public Works also offers curbside loose-leaf collection in the
  fall.

This article was featured in the November 2022 Newsletter. Visit the Takoma Park Newsletter webpage to see the full list of past newsletters.

The Takoma Park Recreation Department relies heavily on parents/adults as volunteers to orchestrate our Winter Basketball League. This helps immensely in the continued success of our Winter Basketball League. The league will tip off January 21 and run through March 11.

“Volunteers are the heart and soul of our organization – without their hard work and dedication, we couldn’t do the work we do every day to help kids, families, and the community thrive,” said Debby Huffman, acting director, City of Takoma Park Recreation Department. “By bringing people together from all walks of life around a shared purpose to do good, the Recreation Department is helping create a stronger, more cohesive community.”

One of our newer coaches last season was Akil Charles. Akil is a personal trainer for his own company, A.R.C. (Achieve, Rise, Conquer) Athletics. He started volunteering as a coach for the Winter Basketball League in 2022. He played basketball at Eleanor Roosevelt High School and collegiately at St. Francis Xavier University (Nova Scotia, Canada). He has coached for the United States Basketball Association (USBA) in Guangzhou, Zhuhai, China.

Akil said, “It is important to me to be a volunteer and a coach. I look forward to it every year. Basketball is my passion, and I love giving back to the community. The Winter Basketball league gives me a chance to spread my knowledge of the game to youth on my team as well as many others.”

Akil believes that staying connected beyond the basketball season is very important. He said, “This volunteer opportunity as a coach has helped me to stay connected and build relationships with youth and their parents from the Winter Basketball League on and off the court.”

Throughout the season many players said they enjoyed playing in the league. One participant said, “I love my coach. I wasn’t sure about playing at first, but my coach made sure to make it fun for me.” The primary objective of the Takoma Park Recreation Department Winter Basketball League is to develop people, not professional athletes. Volunteer coaches are dedicated to developing youth and will emphasize the values of caring, honesty, respect, and responsibility. For more information on volunteering, contact John Webster via johnw@takomaparkmd.gov. We are looking forward to another great season!

This article was featured in the October 2022 Newsletter. Visit the Takoma Park Newsletter webpage to see the full list of past newsletters.

Most small cities across the country don’t have their own poet laureate, but Takoma Park is different.

Since the program’s inception in 2005, the Takoma Park poet laureate has served as the City’s ambassador to promote public appreciation of poetry and support a creative community for local poets. The poet laureate also helps organize the City’s popular Takoma Park Arts poetry reading series, which features free poetry readings at the Takoma Park Community Center by poets from across the D.C. area.

The Takoma Park Arts and Humanities Committee unanimously recommended Johnson as the City’s next poet laureate based on his selection by a subcommittee led by outgoing Poet Laureate Kathleen O’Toole. The subcommittee reported that Johnson “has the heart, vision, and skills to collaboratively weave poetry into the fabric of Takoma Park and harness the power of the arts to help build community.”

The City Council unanimously approved Johnson’s appointment at a Council meeting on Sept. 28. Johnson, who will be paid a $2,000 annual honorarium from City funds, will serve a three-year term beginning Oct. 1.

After growing up in the D.C. area, Johnson moved from New Orleans to Takoma Park this year with his wife. He has led poetry workshops at schools and colleges in the D.C. area, and his work has been published in many journals, including The Paris Review and Tin House.

Johnson has received several fellowships and residencies and currently serves as the inaugural poet-in-residence for the Guggenheim Museum. His first book of poetry titled Inheritance was named a Best Poetry Book by the New York Times in 2020.

Johnson spoke recently with the City’s Arts and Humanities Coordinator Brendan Smith about his work as a poet. You also can learn more about him at taylorjohnsonpoems.com.

When did you first start writing poetry and what sparked your interest?

Johnson: I had an interest in poetry when I was 15 years old and was taken with the language of John Donne and Gwendolyn Brooks. Then I found more contemporary poets to study, including Dawn Lundy Martin, Terrance Hayes, and Carl Phillips. Around that time, I also was a member of the D.C. youth slam poetry team. I studied poetry in college and am grateful for where that deep study continues to lead me.

How can poetry influence or inspire people?

Johnson: Poetry attunes people to the beauty, complexity, and deep emotion present in everyday living. Poetry can inspire readers to speak about their identities, their loves and losses, and their joys and hardships.

As a poet, I’m moved by how reading another poet’s work opens me deeply to my own language, a sense of being beheld as a member of this universe. Poetry illuminates the spiritual possibilities of color, tessellations of line and form, unuttered vernaculars of beauty in the natural world, and tensions between self and society.

What projects would you like to develop to encourage poetry writing by residents?

Johnson: I would love to lead some nature-based poetry walking tours utilizing our great trail system. I’d also enjoy updating the poem signs around Takoma Park to reflect a more diverse range of contemporary voices with a focus on local poets.

I also am interested in creating a youth poet laureate position that could work with me to make poetry books and hold youth poetry workshops in local schools and libraries. Finally, I would like to hold poet laureate “office hours” at local farmers markets and other events where I could suggest poems and poets as well as lend or give away poetry books.

What are some common misperceptions about poetry, and
how can we address them?

Johnson: Poetry can be a daunting art form to take in because it’s often seen as having a “right way” to read it, which isn’t true. There’s such great openness in the language of poems, but I think it requires a level of humility and dedicated time in the approach.

Do you have any advice for anyone who wants to write poetry but has never tried?

Johnson: Read and find people who want to discuss poems. That feels like the most important part, observing your language and the language of others and then joining that great conversation.

This article was featured in the October 2022 Newsletter. Visit the Takoma Park Newsletter webpage to see the full list of past newsletters.