If kids count, why not get them out of harm’s way?

The Annie E. Casey Foundation’s annual Kid’s Count numbers are out, and once again they expose the hidden shame of the wealthiest state in the world’s richest nation. Maryland ranks only 23rd in child wellbeing, far behind similar affluent East Coast states like Massachusetts (3rd), New Jersey (5th), Connecticut (6th) and our neighbor and business rival, Virginia (14th). With the nation’s best schools, second lowest child poverty rate, and the lowest rate of black children in poverty, why does Maryland rank so low?

Help people stay in their homes

Recognizing the solutions are complex, one of the issues we are tackling today along with our partners in the Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition is how best to intervene earlier in the foreclosure process. For the health of our city neighborhoods, we recognize the need to help people stay in their homes, whether homeowners or renters.

Preserving Baltimore’s affordable housing

“America today presents the paradox of a rich country falling apart because of the collapse of its core values. Almost everybody complains, almost everybody aggressively defends their own narrow, short-term interests, and almost everybody abandons any pretense of looking ahead or addressing the needs of others.” -Jeffrey Sachs, America’s Moral Crisis, The Guardian, October 4, […]

Help for recovering individuals just a click away

What if we combine supportive housing with low priced but high tech video counseling using computers connected to the internet for individuals leaving formal treatment to remain in close contact with their counselors and recovery support services? Why does treatment fail? The answer is a complex one but the top three reasons on anybody’s list […]

Baltimore: where everyone has a home

On June 16, 2010, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released its 2009 Annual Homeless Assessment Report to Congress confirming what many of us already knew—family homelessness is on the rise. The same report documented an overall increase in homelessness in Maryland of 26.89% between 2008 and 2009. Baltimore County already uncovered a […]

Building a resilient Baltimore

Since 2005, I have been an active member of the Baltimore Homeownership Preservation Coalition, which helps Baltimore residents address the potential loss of their home to foreclosure. We recognized the problem early, and mobilized to get the message out to people in mortgage trouble that they should seek help from a nonprofit housing counselor. The […]

The Outer Harbor Initiative: affordable development districts

Baltimore’s central paradox is this: there are 30,000 vacant properties while 42 percent of residents earn $25,000 a year or less and struggle to find decent affordable housing.  Outsiders are often struck by the number of vacant houses they see as they pass through Baltimore on a train.  Insiders too are also struck by the […]