Archive

A feature story in Baltimore magazine asks “Can Defund Work in Baltimore?” Writer J. Brian Charles talked to several members of the OSI-supported Coalition for Justice, Safety, and Jobs (CJSJ), who have been calling for a portion of the policing budget to be divested and invested in community-based efforts to promote public safety. Specifically, CJSJ […]

Next week, longtime OSI partner and grantee Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition (BHRC) will be holding three educational events. On Wednesday, October 27th, part 2 of the fall series Why This is a Police Reform Issue will be held from 6-7:30 pm. Yanet Amanuel of the ACLU of Maryland and Rob Ferrell of Organizing Black will […]

Last Thursday, OSI grantee Baltimore Action Legal Team (BALT) struck a blow for transparency as the Court of Special Appeals ruled that the Baltimore City State’s Attorney’s investigations into police are in the public interest and the State’s Attorney’s office must comply with BALT’s Public Information Act request and turn the records over. Read the […]

The Gates Foundation has been spreading the word about OSI-supported efforts to integrate restorative practices into Baltimore City Public Schools. A recent post on the foundation’s “Principal Project” – a forum to explore ideas that are working in education that reaches more than a million educators nationwide – featured essays from five Baltimore education leaders […]

A new Johns Hopkins University study compares COVID-19 cases, deaths, and vaccinations in Baltimore City against those in similar jurisdictions and concludes “Baltimore City has fared better than most counties with similar sociodemographic characteristics, as measured by COVID-19 cases, COVID-19 mortality, and COVID-19 vaccination per population.” Pew Trusts’ Stateline website reported on the new study […]

On Thursday, students from Baltimore area schools led a powerful conversation about youth vaccination at Baltimore Equitable Vaccination Initiative‘s second Baltimore: State of Vaccination event, which you can watch in full below. Watch the first event, featuring Mayor Brandon Scott and Health Commissioner Dr. Letitia Dzirasa here. Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Dr. Sonja Santelises […]

This week, 2019 OSI Community Fellow Marvin Hayes of the Baltimore Compost Collective spoke with WYPR’s Sheilah Kast’s On the Record podcast about backyard composting. Marvin explains how to build a personal system, what can and cannot be included in your personal system, as well as the difference between cold (passive) and hot (active) composting. […]

Next Thursday, Oct. 14th, the Baltimore Equitable Vaccination Initiative presents the second event in its State of Vaccination series, this one focused on youth vaccination. The event will air live on Charm TV at 5:30pm and be streamed live here. After the event, it will be available on YouTube here and schools, teachers, community groups, […]

On Saturday, 2020 OSI Community Fellow Bree Jones, co-founder of Parity Homes, held a celebration in West Baltimore’s Harlem Park neighborhood to officially break ground on three new homes, each of which is the site of a previously abandoned building, and each of which already has a buyer. As the Baltimore Sun reports, these homes […]