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A group of Northern Virginia parents is seeking $2 million to fund an after-school program after at least two children are suspected of dying from fentanyl overdoses.
About 200 people gathered at a rally in Arlington, Virginia, to call on county leaders to come up with new funding, according to the report.
“I pray to God that they will listen and that this will be approved and that a lot of good things will come from this,” said Luz Rodriguez, a parent of a child who died of a suspected fentanyl overdose. Deaf,” he said.
Listening sessions with parents like Rodriguez inspired community groups to take action, the report said.
“They want their kids to be in the program and not be alone on the streets or at home,” said Janez Valenzuela, a member of the Arlington Schools Hispanic Parent Association.
If funding is approved, the after-school program would begin next year at the middle school and high school levels, and supporters believe it would be worth $2 million, according to the report.
Click here to read the full Washington Examiner article
“We also thought: How much is a child’s life worth?” said Alice Tewell, PTA president and pastor. “Within the City of Arlington’s $1.5 billion-plus budget, 200 children are certainly worth more than $2 million.”
“This is an investment in your life and in your children’s future,” Valenzuela says.
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