MERIT Health Leadership Academy
MERIT, founded in 2011 by a TFA City teacher, is now a comprehensive academic and career mentorship program supporting Baltimore City public school students who aspire to careers in medicine. MERIT scholars take advanced academic classes on Saturdays, work in hospitals and lab during paid summer internships, and receive long-term college and career mentorship. Serving over 300 talented students as early as 8th grade, MERIT can boast that 96% of its participants enroll in 4-year colleges with an aim of 90% college completion. The current Abell award will specifically support the college-prep and pre-med curriculum development for Baltimore’s aspiring health professionals in MERIT’s 8th grade through College program.
Maryland Dental Action Coalition, Inc.
The Maryland Dental Action Coalition (MDAC) is a statewide dental access advocacy group. In 2018, MDAC and other groups successfully advocated for the creation of a pilot project to provide comprehensive dental benefits to Maryland adutls who are eligible for both Medicaid and Medicare. MDAC is launching a collaborative of professionals from the dental, health and social services sectors to provide support and guidance to the Maryland Department of Health as it implements the Medicaid adult dental pilot project. This grant supports the collaborative.
Manna House, Inc.
Manna House has provided meals and supportive services to the homeless and poor of Baltimore City since 1966. This grant supported renovations to their existing facility at 435 East 25th Street and two adjacent newly purchased buildings in the Harwood and Barclay neighborhoods. The project includes expanding the dining area to allow for a seating capacity of 60 clients, a build-out of new case management offices and toilet/shower facilities, and repairs to the basement.
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The SPARC Center is a drop-in center designed to meet the needs of female sex workers and other vulnerable women in Baltimore City. Part of a federally-funded study that aims to reduce HIV rates by addressing drug- and sex-related risk behaviors, the center provides a range of health and social services to address the many challenges and barriers to service faced by female sex workers. This grant provides funding to hire a case manager so that the center can better meet clients’ mental health and social service needs.
The Compound
Located in Baltimore’s Midway neighborhood, the Compound is a 20,000 square foot multi-purpose cultural space on one acre of land that provides affordable housing to 10 working artists, affordable work/studio space to 24 artists and artisans, and employment and training opportunities to Midway residents. Residents and tenants are part of the Baltimore DIY art and music scene and the Compound became known as a venue for innovative music and cultural events. As a part of efforts to preserve the Compound, in combination with State of Maryland funding, improvements will be made to bring the buildings up to code.