Maryland Department of Transportation Port Administration
The Maryland Port Administration of the Maryland Department of Transportation will install an innovative Algal Flow-way Technology (AFT) system to improve water quality in the Harbor. Sediment-laden Harbor water will be pumped across an inclined screen raceway to colonize algae and capture the nutrients, removing pollution and discharging cleaner water. The best management practice technology will be used to meet Port water quality requirements.
Legal Aid Bureau, Inc.
In 2015, Maryland Legal Aid launched the Lawyer in the Library program to provide legal services clinics in Baltimore City libraries, in an effort to make legal services more accessible to people in the community. Part of Legal Aid’s “community lawyering” initiative, the Lawyer in the Library program operates clinics on a regular basis in eight Baltimore City library branches, offering legal advice and representation on a range of civil legal matters. This grant provides operating support for the Lawyer in the Library program.
Latino Economic Development Center
Latino Economic Development Center offers access to business resources and capital to meet the needs of underserved communities and communities of color in Baltimore. Their small business coaches provide one-on-one technical assistance and workshops/courses related to business planning, financial management, incorporation, licensing and permitting, accounting, marketing, and technology integration. Lending staff are trained to provide micro-loans ranging from $500 to $50,000 and larger loans up to $250,000.
Johns Hopkins University
Vision for Baltimore is an innovative citywide partnership designed to improve vision screening and follow-up care for Baltimore City public school students. Launched in 2016, Vision for Baltimore screened over 50,000 students during its first three years, provided approximately 9,000 eye examinations to students who failed the vision screenings, and provided more than 6,000 free pairs of eyeglasses to city students. Partners in Vision for Baltimore include the Baltimore City Health Department, which conducts the vision screenings, nonprofit Vision to Learn, which provides eye examinations and eyeglasses in a mobile clinic that visits schools throughout the city, Baltimore City Public Schools, which provides logistical support to ensure that children can be screened and receive follow-up care, and Johns Hopkins University, which provides staff support to ensure that children are able to access the services and encourages students who receive glasses to wear them consistently. This grant provides operating support for year four of Vision for Baltimore.
Intercultural Counseling Connection
The Intercultural Counseling Connection (ICC) is a network of mental health professionals who partner with trained interpreters to provide pro bono therapeutic care and counseling to refugees, asylum seekers, and other forced migrants. With a cadre of about 30 trained therapists, the ICC serves over 100 individuals every year with trauma-informed and culturally competent 1:1 and group counseling sessions to address their psychological, emotional, and social wellbeing. This grant helped support ICC’s general operations, which prioritizes serving uninsured individuals who do not receive federal benefits or supportive services from refugee resettlement agencies and would otherwise lack access to appropriate mental health services.