Banner Neighborhoods Community Corporation
Banner Neighborhoods provides low-income senior and disabled homeowners in zip code 21224 with home repairs, handicap modifications and tasks that involve climbing ladders or require heavy lifting. Relieving homeowners of the cost and difficulty of completing home repairs and maintenance enables them to age in place and retain their community ties and social networks. The exterior house improvements, and in some cases tree and vine removal in yards, are critical to keeping senior’s home compliant with code, avoiding environmental citations and municipal fines that unpaid can lead to tax sale and loss of a home.
Baltimore Urban Debate League
The Baltimore Urban Debate League (BUDL), a national initiative, has reintroduced debate into Baltimore’s public school classrooms over the last two decades as a strategy to engage and inspire students from our city’s most under-resourced schools. BUDL has reached thousands of students from 4th grade to 12th grade, and changed their personal and academic trajectories by helping them discover their voice and reach their potential through debate. This grant will support the expansion of the Debate League to 46 schools and serve over 700 students in the 2018/19 school year.
Baltimore City Health Department
To better target asthma treatment resources to the children who are most in need of support, the Baltimore City Health Department will create an asthma surveillance system that uses state health claims data to identify children who have had emergency room visits and/or hospitalizations due to asthma. The Health Department will conduct outreach to these children and their families to offer supportive services to assist them in managing their asthma and reducing exposure to allergens. The department will also use the asthma surveillance system to identify asthma “hot spots” in Baltimore where asthma prevention interventions can be delivered. This grant provided funding to hire a half-time epidemiologist to design and manage the asthma surveillance system.
Baltimore Brew
Baltimore Brew provides in-depth reporting on public policy, government accountability and behind the scenes political coverage. Founded in 2009, the online publication has 60-70,000 unique readers each month. The Brew holds a critical space in independent local media. This grant provided funds in support of staffing and related expenses.
ACLU Foundation of Maryland, Inc.
On going support for ACLU’s criminal justice project to include efforts around ending the misuse of solitary confinement, expanding parole opportunities for individuals sentenced to life sentences, and encouraging meaningful family and community connections for iincarcerated individuals.