The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services has declared a winter shelter warning for Sunday, February 16, 2025, at 4 pm until Friday, February 21, 2025, at 9 am. Call 211 (available 24/7) or 443-984-9540 to connect with shelter.Get more info here.
June 1 marks the start of Pride Month! Below are a few ways you can commemorate Pride this year.
The History and Significance of Pride
by Lisa Hoffmann
As Pride Month festivities continue this June of 2023, let’s pause to reflect on the month’s history, why we celebrate, and the work ahead.
Pride Month celebrates LGBTQIA+ culture, achievements, and activism through various organized activities, including film festivals, art exhibits, marches, concerts, and other programs. The LGBTQIA+ community and its allies aim to increase awareness of ongoing issues of inequity and commemorate lives lost to hate crimes and the AIDS crisis.
Pride Month takes place in June to honor the anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising. In the late 1960s, being openly gay was prohibited in most places. In New York, the presence of someone gay or genderqueer was seen as disorderly conduct, thus outlawing gay bars. The Stonewall Inn was a popular bar with a diverse LGBTQ clientele that was raided with excessive force by police in 1969. The resulting clash led to six days of riots and protests, known as the Stonewall Uprising. On the first anniversary of the raid, thousands took the streets to march in the Christopher Street Gay Liberation Day March, seen as the first gay pride event ever. As awareness grew, more activities and events were planned and the day of celebration grew into a month-long observance.
Shifting to today, a recent poll shows that one in 10 millennials and one in five Gen Z members self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or something other than heterosexual, doubling since 2012 when the Gallup poll first measured. Yet, the injustice continues. In recent months, the most anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida’s state history was enacted. Censorship and erasure of the LGBTQ community in the classroom have resulted in misgendering students without consequence and book bans on LGBTQ authors and content. Florida’s Boards of Medicine and Osteopathy have banned transgender youth from entering into lifesaving medical care, and the Agency for Health Care Administration has eliminated all Medicaid coverage – including for transgender adults- accessing that care. These policies disproportionately harm marginalized communities, including the direct impacts on the transgender community and communities of color, and could lead to serious health consequences. Colleges and universities are no longer funded for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs and campus activities that are not required by law. Such disinvestment undermines the ability of students and faculty to engage in critical discussions about issues of race, gender, and identity.
Come join us on Thursday, June 22, 2023, 12:30 PM-2:30 PM in the 421 Fallsway, 3rd Floor Small Conference Room for an afternoon of button making and story sharing! Decorate your button however you choose (some suggestions include pronoun buttons, pride flag buttons, rainbow buttons, or whatever design you have in mind). Discussion prompts will be provided, and everyone is welcome to share about their experiences with gender, sexuality, and pride. Button supplies and art supplies will be provided. Light refreshments availble.
Using gender neutral langauge and one's pronouns is just one way we can respect and honor the humanity and dignity of those around us; especially those of us who may not identify within the gender binary. Take a look at the video below, shown at our June 2023 All Staff meeting to learn more about the importance of gender neutral language and pronouns.
• Maddy Horan, Major Gifts Associate • Lilian Amaya, Coordinator of Community Health • Lisa Hoffmann, Quality Assurance Coordinator • Adedoyin Eisape, REI Program Manager • Arie Hayre-Somuah, REI Health Specialist •
February 1st marks the start of Black History Month. During this time, we have a chance to focus on the significant role Black populations have played in shaping the world and to celebrate their contributions to society that have often gone overlooked.
Any change in administration brings new policy priorities. Recent actions by the federal Administration, Congressional leadership and the Supreme Court outline dramatic policy changes in the years ahead that could negatively affect the people we serve. The agency will be guided by the following principles, consistent with our approach over the past 40 years.
Pass the Mic features the voices and stories of people with a lived experience of homelessness. In this edition, hear from Deborah - a US Army veteran, Bingo lover and lifelong volunteer.
Follow a “Day in the life” of SOAR, one of our littlest known programs that makes a big impact for people experiencing homelessness with mental health disabilities. SOAR Coordinator Mina Davis-Harrison and Disability Outreach Assistant Specialists Dave Ramsey and Natasha Legette facilitate the national “SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery” program for all of Baltimore City.