DMH Director Speaks Out On Positive Nature

Today, the Washington Post published a front-page piece on Positive Nature and the non-profit’s on-going struggle to pay off its huge property tax bill. We have a story or two on this issue as well.

This afternoon we got the chance to talk to Stephen T. Baron, Director of the Department of Mental Health, about the non-profit.

“We think very highly of them,” Baron said. “We are trying to do everything we can to support them. They’ve done great work.”

On the property tax issue: “Where I come from I thought most non-profits get their taxes abated. They do great work. If you do a whole cost analysis….it’s much better for the kids and much cheaper for the kids to be served [by Positive Nature].”

Now if only the D.C. Council would actually do something. In the meantime, you can step up.

Update: In another conversation with DMH, they wanted to stress that Mr. Baron was arguing that having kids enrolled in Positive Nature is cost effective considering the alternative. Without Positive Nature, kids could have possible trouble with the law, require extra tutoring at school, and other social services.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 26th, 2008 at 2:31 pm and is filed under Kids, Nationals Park, Positive Nature, Real Estate, Washington Nationals. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.