City Council has released more than $120,000 in reserve funding to the Alexandria Health Department.
On Tuesday (July 1), Council approved the one-time funding to support the city’s Healthy Homes Action Plan, immigrant and refugee resource programs, and expansion of the ALX Breathes program. AHD lost the funds, which were from a federal COVID-19 grant earlier this year.
City Council unanimously approved the request without discussion.
According to a city staff memorandum:
This work will include, as part of the implementation of the 2025 Healthy Homes Action Plan, the expansion of the department’s ALX Breathes program (providing home-based education, referrals, and green cleaning supplies to those with asthma or COPD) to the Amharic-speaking immigrant community, as well as direct service navigation and other community-based health and social drivers of health education efforts.
The department is also seeing an increasing need for resource coordination for newcomer/refugee residents due to the loss of federal support for community refugee services. AHD resource coordination staff conduct needs assessments for newcomers, respond to those and the universal social need screens conducted in all AHD clinics since 2024, and provide warm linkages for needs such as primary medical care, cancer screenings, workforce development, and financial and rental assistance. The maintenance of these activities will support the health department’s mission to improve the social conditions that impact all our communities’ capacities to achieve their best state of health and well-being.
