A Message from our Executive Director --
To all of our supporters, friends, and partners-- I hope that you are holding up during this strange and challenging time.
It has been a little over a year since COVID-19 created a public health emergency here in Baltimore and worldwide. Hope is on the horizon as millions of American’s are getting vaccinated. Yet, the road ahead is still unclear.
While we all have experienced changes in our work and social lives, Rebuilding Together Baltimore’s core mission has remained unchanged. Safe and healthy homes are even more vital in uncertain times, and our work makes homes safer and improves the health, independence, and upward mobility of our neighbors.
I’m reaching out to give you an update on Rebuilding Together Baltimore’s status, activities over the past year, and our plans moving forward.
Since the pandemic’s onset, we have launched two new programs and have resumed home visits and repairs with safety precautions. We are not yet clear when group-volunteer activities will resume. We need to exercise extra caution to protect the vulnerable people we serve. Currently, all repairs are done by our network of licensed contractors, plumbers, roofers, and electricians. Our staff installs fire safety and accessibility modifications.
In collaboration with Southwest Partnership, we are making critical home repairs throughout seven Southwest Baltimore neighborhoods. We are thankful to Lowe’s for their generous support. This three-year program is part of a larger initiative to improve neighbors’ economic mobility. Repairs are available to seniors, people with disabilities, and families with children under 18 in the home.
BCAUSE - Baltimore County Age-Friendly Upgrades for Seniors is our newest initiative in Baltimore County, inspired by the Housing Upgrade for Seniors (HUBS) program in Baltimore City; BCAUSE aims to support homeowners to age safely in place and is a county-wide program in collaboration with the Baltimore County Department of Aging (DCDA) Civic Works, Comprehensive Housing Assistance Inc. (CHAI), and Dundalk Renaissance Corporation. For more information about BCAUSE, click here.
Rebuilding Together Baltimore has also resumed home repairs in Govans, where we have been active for over 12 years. We are currently working with Seniors throughout Govans’ six neighborhoods.
As the situation continues to evolve, our board and our staff are meeting (virtually, of course) to assess our options moving forward with programmatic activities. While we may resume volunteer home repair projects this year, we cannot guarantee it. We want to err on the side of caution and don’t want to inconvenience our clients and volunteers by rescheduling projects multiple times. We are also trying to be as creative as possible during these challenging times and may have outside volunteer activities soon for small groups.
We are still working mostly remotely. Our office phone is forwarding to our cell phones. If you need to reach us, please feel free to call the office number at 410-889-2710 and choose the number that corresponds to the person you want to reach. We are also all reachable through email. Our emails are listed in the About/Our Staff section of this website.
Peace and Health to all of you,
Bonnie Bessor