A community launch event for VHC Health’s proposed behavioral health facility in Glencarlyn is taking place next week.
The meeting, the first in a series of community engagement efforts for the proposed 146-bed rehabilitation and mental health center at 601 S. Carlin Springs Road, will take place from 7-8:30 p.m. next Monday at the Kenmore Middle School auditorium (200 S. Carlin Springs Road).
A local couple is hoping to bring a new method of rest and relaxation to Arlington: Finnish saunas.
Entrepreneurs Steven and Kira Hu are currently scouting locations to launch Arlington Sauna, a “pop-up village” with wood fires and cold plunges based on a popular practice in Finland.
Arlington Public Schools staff are proposing a new self-contained high school program for students who face recurring mental health challenges.
The proposed Flexible Learning Program would include dedicated clinical staff in addition to classroom teachers. It could serve up to 100 students at a time and would be located in the same Pentagon City office building that will house Arlington Community High School starting next fall.
The Arlington County Sheriff’s Office took over operational control of medical care at the Arlington County Detention Facility this week, fulfilling a longstanding goal.
Sheriff Jose Quiroz has long advocated for shifting to an in-house medical model at the jail that saw several in-custody deaths under a former provider. Under the change, which went into effect yesterday (Monday), medical staff will report directly to Chief Medical Director Dr. Richard Malish, whom the sheriff appointed to a newly created position this spring.
A grave conversation is coming to Courthouse Library next week.
A sold-out “Death Cafe,” seeking to “increase awareness of death” and put society’s stigmas about it to rest, will involve a free two-hour group discussion over tea and cake next Tuesday. Volunteer and Courthouse resident Stephanie Dillemuth hopes to help attendees “make the most of their finite lives.”
One of the nation’s leading voices in public health will speak about issues related to loneliness at an Arlington event later this week.
Dr. Vivek Murthy, who served as surgeon general under Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden, will address the “epidemic of loneliness” on Thursday at VHC Health (1701 N. George Mason Drive).
Arlington has ranked as the fittest “city” in the country for the eighth year straight, edging out D.C. at No. 2.
According to the new 2025 Fitness Index, Arlington has the highest percentage of residents “in excellent or very good health” (67.2%), the highest percentage sleeping 7+ hours per day (76.4%) and the lowest percentage of smokers (3.3%).
VHC Health is getting close to submitting its plans for a new 146-bed facility along S. Carlin Springs Road.
The health care organization has received approval from state regulators for a facility with 96 behavioral health beds and 50 in-patient rehabilitation beds at 601 S. Carlin Springs Road.
An Arlington program diverting people out of the criminal justice system and strengthening their social safety nets has received a $1 million federal grant.
The U.S. Department of Justice awarded the funds to support the expansion of the Offender Aid and Restoration program at the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office for Arlington and Falls Church.
Arlington’s response team for people in mental health and substance use crises is on track for a substantial buildout.
An additional $478,286 in federal funds would allow Arlington to hire two therapists and another behavioral health specialist for the Mobile Outreach Support Team (MOST), a county report says. This would mean expanded hours of operation for the team that launched last summer with just three personnel.
(Updated 2/19) Advocates are calling for Arlington County to invest $2 million in additional programs to stop students from dying of drug overdoses.
The mother of an Arlington ninth grader who died of an apparent fentanyl overdose in September joined over 250 others on Wednesday to demand additional funding for free after-school programs. Organizers say a scarcity of accessible, interesting programming makes students more likely to fall into drug addiction.
The next year will see some important steps forward as Arlington County looks to uncouple law enforcement from its response to homelessness and behavioral health crises.
In 2024, the county will implement new protocols and a call system to ensure people experiencing behavioral health crises — due to a mental illness, substance use disorder or disability — receive services rather than get arrested and jailed.
