Community Programs
We believe services are a way to support people’s concrete needs so they can focus on building their power. Services and interventions are a means to power-building, but not the goal because services and interventions keep people dependent on others for support and well-being. Our community programs are designed to create a long-term positive impact on the lives of the people we serve.
Our programs aim to create a supportive environment where people can come together to address their concerns and work towards a brighter future. By organizing community members around their concerns, we help them to unleash their power to take control of their lives and work together to create lasting change.
Self-determination and social justice drive our community programs. Many of the problems faced by the families we work with are perpetuated by macro issues that need to be addressed and changed. While we provide support, we also aim to challenge and change the systems that continue to perpetuate these problems.
We meet families where they are, be it at a church, school, or a family support center, as many families and community members are already informally connected through shared experiences and have a deep understanding of their own needs. By listening to their concerns and working together with people to build on their existing informal networks, by listening to and addressing their identified needs, we provide infrastructure to connect people across the community, fostering a sense of unity and collaboration.
Our programs cater to different stages of life, but connect beyond those silos and are designed to address the unique challenges faced by each individual and family. We work together to figure out ways to connect people to the resources they need and then bring those resources to people, organizing around their issues and concerns.
Positive Schools Center
The Positive Schools Center helps prepare adults inside schools to support the whole child, creating an environment with a restorative culture and reducing the need for punitive discipline.
Promise Heights
Promise Heights received a Promise Neighborhoods grant from the U.S. Department of Education in 2018 to support residents of Baltimore City’s Upton/Druid Heights community in building their own power to be self-determined – by investing in effective schools and strong systems of support for children, youth, and their families.
Family Connections
Family Connections Baltimore works with families to identify specific needs—whether housing, food, or support with their child’s educational progress. They also work alongside families to help them advocate for getting their needs met.
Family Support Center
The Rise Family Support Center is a safe and welcoming space where families can come together and access resources as well as help their youngest children learn and grow.
B’more for Healthy Babies
B’more for Healthy Babies is a place-based initiative with one specific goal: to reduce the infant mortality rate in the Upton/Druid Heights section of Baltimore.
