Homeless Persons' Day in Annapolis
In addition to the provision of direct services, Health Care for the Homeless also works to change the public policies that cause homelessness faster than we can stop it. Each year we close our clinic for a day during the 90-day session of the Maryland General Assembly, line up buses outside our building, and take our clients, staff, and community partners to Annapolis to educate policymakers about homelessness & health. Participants meet with their elected representatives, attend committee meetings, and advocate for the policies necessary to end homelessness.
Details on the 2011 Advocacy Day and a recap of the 2010 activities are coming soon.
Below is a recap of the 2009 event. For more information on Homeless Persons’ Day in
Annapolis or to help organize the 2010 event, please contact our Community Relations Coordinator at 410-837-5533 or info@hchmd.org.
ANNAPOLIS: On Thursday, February 26, 2009, more than five hundred health care providers, students, people experiencing homelessness, and advocates for the poor gathered in Lawyers Mall to send a strong message to lawmakers: strengthen health care and safety net programs. The rally brought together Health Care for the Homeless, the Maryland chapter of the National Association of Social Workers, the Students Sharing Coalition, the Maryland Affiliate of the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence, and the Homeless Persons Representation Project along with other organizations and individuals committed to reducing poverty and homelessness in Maryland.
Participants advocated for the full and timely implementation of the state’s planned Medicaid expansion and for a strengthened safety net to assist those in dire need. Speakers included legislators, activists, faith leaders, high school and college students, and formerly homeless people. Following the rally and throughout the day, participants met with their representatives to advance sensible solutions to the economic and health crises faced by a growing number of Marylanders. 
“Dire economic times force more people into a safety net that already is overburdened and broken,” said Jeff Singer, President & CEO of Health Care for the Homeless. “While we work for universal access to health care, permanent affordable housing, and incomes high enough to prevent homelessness, we also must strengthen safety net programs that support vulnerable Marylanders.”
During Day in Annapolis House Speaker Michael Busch, Majority Whip Talmadge Branch, and HCH Volunteer and State Delegate Dr. Dan Morhaim presented on the House floor a resolution to HCH clients and staff “in recognition of your 23 years of health-related services, education, and advocacy on behalf of vulnerable Marylanders.”