Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins Brancati Center for the Advancement of Community Care (“The Brancati Center”) will implement an evidence-based diabetes self-management training and support program for 70 people in partnership with three churches in East Baltimore: Zion Baptist Church; Memorial Baptist Church; and Israel Baptist Church. The Brancati Center will assess the effectiveness of the program through both laboratory results and validated patient questionnaires for the following outcomes: A1C levels; weight loss; blood pressure; medication burden (the number of diabetes-related medications and the type and dosages of medications); and participants’ knowledge of diabetes self-management information.
Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition, Inc.
Dee’s Place, established in 2001, is a substance abuse recovery program in East Baltimore, developed and launched by the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition (HEBCAC). Dee’s Place currently operates seven days per week, but they are only able to provide on-site staff support from 7am-7pm Monday through Friday (70 hours/week) and 12 hours on the weekend. Dee’s Place continues to see the need to be open 24/7 and they have received numerous requests from clients and partner organizations to do so. With funding and support from the Abell Foundation, Dee’s Place is able to meet their goal of being open 132 hours/week.
Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake
Habitat Chesapeake has a 38 year track record of assisting lower-income families, primarily headed by middle-aged African-American women, in becoming first-time homeowners in historically disinvested neighborhoods. Interest in homeownership through Habitat is high. In FY2020, Habitat received more than 800 pre-qualification questionnaires. Grant funds will support costs associated with the rehabilitation and construction of 10 homes in three neighborhoods that have benefitted from significant investment by Habitat over the years: Pigtown, Woodbourne-McCabe, and Pen Lucy.
Franciscan Center, Inc.
Founded in 1968, the Franciscan Center is an emergency outreach and drop-in center that serves individuals who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The center serves a hot, mid-day meal five days a week, dinners twice a week, counseling, case management, flexible financial assistance, and related services. This grant provides general operating support for the center’s operations, which have greatly expanded during the pandemic to meet the needs of the many Baltimore residents who are struggling with food insecurity, unemployment and other needs.
Environmental Integrity Project (EIP)
With community partners, EIP will focus technical analysis and legal research into strengthening regulation of methane pollution from landfills, a gas that is 86 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide on a 20-year scale. The state’s largest municipal solid waste landfill, Quarantine Road Landfill, happens to be located on Hawkins Point in Baltimore City. It is the third largest emitter of methane in Maryland in 2018 and produces 500,000 tons of Greenhouse Gases annually. EIP will encourage waste reduction and diversion as well as alternative methods of waste disposal.