Richmond — Delegate David Englin (D-45), who represents the east end of Alexandria in the Virginia House of Delegates, yesterday requested amendments to the state budget to increase payments to foster parents and for critical capital improvements to three Alexandria historic sites.
Englin has requested that the House Appropriations Committee increase the monthly payments to foster parents from $312 to $423 per child for children under four years of age and from $463 to $497 per child for children over four years of age.
“Children requiring foster care are some of the most vulnerable members of our community, and we have a moral duty to make sure they have safe, nurturing homes. Increasing these payments are critical to ensuring we can recruit and retain enough loving foster parents to make a difference for these children,” said Englin. “Virginia’s foster care payments are much lower that those in neighboring states, and they are far less than the national average.”
Additionally, Englin has requested: $50,000 to pay for renovations at the Fort Ward Historic Site on Braddock Road; $100,000 for a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning system that will preserve Gadsby’s Tavern Museum in Old Town; and $50,000 to replace the leaking roof at Freedom House, the former slave market building that now houses the Northern Virginia Urban League.
Fort Ward is the best preserved of the system of Union forts and batteries built to protect Washington, DC during the American Civil War (1861-1865). Fort Ward Museum interprets the site’s history and offers exhibits on Civil War topics, education and interpretive programs, tours, lecture and video series, bus tours, and living history activities throughout the year. The Museum and Historic Site also interpret Alexandria, Virginia as an occupied city, the city’s role as a vital Union Army crossroads, life within the Defenses of Washington, and the everyday life of Civil War soldiers and civilians.
Gadsby’s Tavern Museum consists of two buildings, a ca. 1785 tavern and the 1792 City Hotel. The buildings are named for Englishman John Gadsby who operated them from 1796 to 1808. Mr. Gadsby’s establishment was a center of political, business, and social life in early Alexandria. The tavern was the setting for dancing assemblies, theatrical and musical performances, and meetings of local organizations. George Washington enjoyed the hospitality provided by tavernkeepers and twice attended the annual Birthnight Ball held in his honor. Other prominent patrons included John Adams, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the Marquis de Lafayette.
Freedom House, the headquarters and home of the Northern Virginia Urban League, sits at 1315 Duke Street, where until the end of the 18th century, virtually all African Americans living within the boundaries of Alexandria were slaves. From 1828 to 1861 the building served as one of the largest slave trading companies in the country. More than 10,000 slaves were sold from this location to the cotton and sugar plantations of the deep South. When slave trading was outlawed, the building served as a military prison and near the end of the Civil War it was used as a hospital for black soldiers and also as barracks for “contraband” slaves who fled the confederate states and sought refuge with Union troops.
In 1996, the Northern Virginia Urban League moved into Freedom House. Currently the League is conducting a building campaign to “burn the mortgage” and create a museum in the basement “slave pen” to preserve the historical and cultural significance of slavery’s past and the continued struggle to eliminate bars to freedom.
“Alexandria’s historic resources are not just part of the vibrant cultural fabric of our city, they are critical to our economy, which relies heavily on tourism generated by our colonial and Civil War past,” said Englin. “It’s important that we continue to invest to maintain and preserve these resources, and I’m happy to work on those investments in the House of Delegates. There are no guarantees that the General Assembly ultimately will approve these amendments, but the first step is doing the work to get them on the agenda.”
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