Townes-Whitley remembered when Fairfax County was more affordable. Now the parent of children out of college, she is "dealing with the back-again syndrome." The county, she strongly recommended, needs to address how to make it possible for young adults to live here, too.
"She focuses us on what's really important: families every day trying to figure it out," said Supervisor Catherine Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill), moderator of the Women's Voices Forum.
"I hope you've come this morning to let your voices be heard ... to engage, sound off, compliment. It's going to be a great day of women engaging," said Glynda Mayo Hall, the commission's liaison in opening remarks.
"Samantha, it was courageous for you to speak and courageous for you to recognize how hard your mother works to give you a better future," Hudgins said.
Penderbrook resident Tia MacKay, who recently moved to Fairfax from Detroit, remarked on the startling difference in housing costs here. "The question needs to be what kind of families does Fairfax want. By virtue of price, it locks out a lot of people," said the single mother of one son.
The full-day forum, presented by the Fairfax County Commission for Women as the centerpiece of its Women's History Month celebration, gave its participants an opportunity to engage first-hand with an array of the county's leading female government and civic leaders, as well as each other. Saturday's event was free and open to anyone who registered beforehand.
For 13-year old Samantha Bonilla of Herndon, affordable housing and child care are not abstract issues. They're her life.
Taking its lead from the results of an online survey, the commission focused the day's conversations around half-a-dozen specific topics. In addition to affordable housing and child care and human services, they included preventive health care and its cost savings, work and life balance, family and career balance and the impact of domestic violence, not only on the individual but the community as a whole.
Describing the commission, whose 12 nonpaid members work in conjunction with the county's Office for Women and Domestic and Sexual Violence Service, as "the eyes and ears of supervisors" on women's issues, Hudgins said it also functions as an important adviser on how those issues are integrated into the larger delivery of services.
While the needs of the homeless and the working poor living in Fairfax must be a priority, participant Andrea Morris urged affordable housing for those in the "middle range" should not be forgotten. "The term 'affordable' is dicey," she said.
The real-life anxieties expressed by Samantha, a member of Carson's Girl Power group, impacted the women who filled the boardroom of the Fairfax County Government Center on Saturday.
"Nothing happens unless it's funded," Bulova stressed. ... "We need to hear from you and work with you. This forum represents that engagement."
"The commission is the only recognized voice for women in the county," said its chairman, Diane Hoyer, who warned that its one staff position -- "an infinitesimal amount in the county's overall budget" -- was seriously endangered by budget cuts.
Overall, the question asked throughout the day was, "What kind of community do we want to be?"
Giving that question a practical bent, Sharon Bulova, chairman of Fairfax County's Board of Supervisors, reminded everyone that when a county sets its budget, it is setting the community's priorities.
Samantha spoke to the attendees of the Women's Voices Forum during the Town Hall session, which was just one portion of the all-day event.
"It's pretty hard for me. ... It hurts all of us," she said.
Samantha said her mother is able to spend only about one whole day a week with her children.
Though her single mother works two jobs, the family continues to have trouble paying its rent and other bills, the Rachel Carson Middle School student said, her voice trembling.
Experts who spoke on these subjects included: Toni Townes-Whitley, president of Washington-based Women in Technology; Anne-Marie Twohie, director of Fairfax County's Office for Children; Meghan D. McRae, an attorney and head of the domestic relations practice group at McDowell & Associates; Eileen Curtis, president of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce; Gloria Addo-Ayensu, M.D., director of health for Fairfax County; Michelle Krocker, executive director of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance; and Patricia Harrison, deputy county executive for Human Services.
Much of the conversation dealt with stable, affordable housing on all levels, which survey results indicated was respondents' No. 1 concern.
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