Archive

On Thursday, OSI-Baltimore and Business Volunteers Maryland held the first event in their “Business in Community” Discussion Series, focusing on workforce and employment. You can watch the full event here. Joe Jones, CEO of the Center for Urban Families and Vice Chair of the OSI-Baltimore Advisory Board, moderated the conversation, which began with a presentation […]

Mayor Brandon Scott, Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, OSI’s Scott Nolen, and the Rockefeller Foundation’s Otis Rolley were among the officials discussing the progress on equitable vaccine distribution at a virtual town hall last night, Baltimore: State of Vaccination. You can watch the full event at the bottom of this post. The event was presented […]

Next Wednesday, July 21st, the Homelessness Workgroup of the People’s Commission to Decriminalize Maryland hosts the second workshop in its Summer Series, this one designed “to educate the public and build support towards repealing 4th Degree Burglary in Maryland.” From the registration page: Attendees will learn more about the criminal charge of “4th Degree Burglary” […]

In order to address gun violence, we must talk about how gun violence impacts the communities that fall victim to it. With support from OSI-Baltimore, the No Boundaries Coalition is conducting a listening campaign with 21217 residents and community stakeholders to identify a community-centered understanding of gun violence in Baltimore. The “Creating a New Narrative” […]

On Wednesday, July 14th, Mayor Brandon Scott, Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa, OSI’s Dr. Scott Nolen, and other public and private officials will participate in Baltimore: State of Vaccination, a virtual event designed to provide the latest update on vaccination progress from city leaders, recognize Baltimore COVID-19 Community Champions, and highlight local vaccination-related […]

On Saturday, Rabbi Daniel Burg of Baltimore’s Beth Am Synagogue, located in Reservoir Hill, gave a sermon on the 50th anniversary of the War on Drugs as part of Open Society Foundations’ and Faith in Harm Reduction’s Sermon Series on the subject.  “At its core, the problem with the War on Drugs is that it […]

Herbert Sturz, the onetime deputy mayor of New York City who founded the Vera Institute of Justice and relentlessly sought to reshape the criminal justice system, died last week at 90. Sturz was an early member of OSI-Baltimore’s Advisory Board and served as a liaison with colleagues in New York. “Herb was an incredible man,” […]

Last week, Technical.ly Baltimore identified “7 Baltimore initiatives formed since the summer of protests that are working to create a more equitable innovation economy,” including B’More Invested, the initiative anchored by OSI-Baltimore and Baltimore’s Promise that announced its first 10 grantees last month. The B’More Invested entry reads as follows: Open Society Institute-Baltimore and Baltimore’s Promise joined together […]

This week, the People’s Commission to Decriminalize Maryland held a community convening to discuss its interim report, review the successes and setbacks during the 2021 legislative session, and discuss priorities going forward. You can watch the convening here. OSI-Baltimore convened the People’s Commission to reduce the disparate impact of the justice system on people who […]