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SilverProduce0 t1_j9ortug wrote

Moveable Feast seems effective!

Also, BARCS.

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rhymes_with_pail t1_j9p2qau wrote

Moveable feast does simple yet extremely effective on the ground work all over Maryland. They deliver reliable and healthy meals to our most vulnerable and isolated, housed residents. If you want to support their mission you can donate to their largest fundraiser of the year, The Ride for the Feast, coming up in May.

https://moveablefeast.salsalabs.org/RidefortheFeast2023/index.html

If you want to be really cool you can pick a random rider lower on the fundraising list to boost their fundraising efforts.

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SilverProduce0 t1_j9p3ens wrote

I’m thinking about riding! I’m like 30/70 on riding but I’m like 70/30 on helping fundraise. I’m planning on attending that open house on Saturday!

I volunteered in the kitchen recently and felt really good about the whole mission and I’m hoping to be a regular volunteer.

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rhymes_with_pail t1_j9p5n6j wrote

This will be my 5th year riding and I absolutely love it. They now have several distances to choose from for those who don't want to be riding all day but even the longest ride is doable for a wide range of skill levels. I just ride my single speed bike that I use to ride around the city.

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cobrarexay t1_j9p2kb3 wrote

Health Care for the Homeless

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Dontaskmeaboutnam t1_j9otvxt wrote

Pauls Place

Catholic Charities

Helping Up Mission

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YoYoMoMa t1_j9pb9cb wrote

It sucks that the Catholic church is so horrific because their charities have been pretty great here, and actually support immigrants and refugees unlike so many Christians in the US.

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27thStreet t1_j9ptv50 wrote

I also wanted lean into the point that not all Christians are anti-immigrant. My mother has work with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services for many many years. They do fantastic amazing incredible work simply because its the right thing to do. No parades or fancy costumes necessary.

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YoYoMoMa t1_j9q02j9 wrote

>not all Christians

C'mon bro you are better than this

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kaki024 t1_j9rr1hy wrote

I’m pretty dubious of anything affiliated with the Catholic Church but spent a lot of hours volunteering for their Immigrant Legal Services program. They help people file asylum, green card, and citizenship applications, prepare for interviews, and even have ESOL classes — all for free.

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Cunninghams_right t1_j9smc8v wrote

most catholic churches in cities actively support immigrants. church charities tend to reflect the values of their community because a church is a bunch of people getting together. if the clergy does not do what the members of the church like, the church will close.

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27thStreet t1_j9pswg2 wrote

The charities are the veil they hide their evil behind.

edit: Apologists for the catholic church are the worst. Y'all going to burn.

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TerranceBaggz t1_j9q161n wrote

That doesn’t mean that the people who work for Catholic charities aren’t great, helpful, dedicated people. I know quite a few and they do a lot of good.

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Random-Cpl t1_j9repok wrote

If you talk to a bunch of homeless folks you will hear more mixed reviews of Helping Up Mission. I tend to hear they’re coercive about the religious angle, e.g. conditioning assistance on participation in religious activities.

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spikezilla99 t1_j9p4bxt wrote

I like Black Yield, they’re an organization that tries to promote food sovereignty by growing vegetables in the city and selling them directly to underserved communities

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granulabargreen t1_j9p6jwo wrote

Not the most effective but a charity that does work and can show you exactly where your donations are going is the Maryland book bank. Their goal is promoting literacy for all age groups so they’ll give books to community centers, schools, libraries and direct to homes as well. If you have a bunch of old books in good shape I’d recommend sending them there.

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Timid_Teacher t1_j9ptmof wrote

This teacher loves the book bank. I teach 5th grade in the city and unfortunately my kids are not in love with reading. If they were, I would be there every week to get books for them.

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granulabargreen t1_j9pyyw7 wrote

That’s a big issue, one of my favorite things is how they try to promote literacy at home first and offer resources for parents too

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Timid_Teacher t1_j9rh09x wrote

Yeah, my kids that don't like reading, which, sadly, is the majority of them, definitely don't read at home. The ones that do love reading have parents who show them how important and exciting reading can be. I am a book nerd, so I love to read childrens' fiction and share my favorites with my students.

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Previous-Cook t1_j9oy2jq wrote

Blue Water Baltimore

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Animanialmanac t1_j9paovc wrote

I’m learning Blue Water Baltimore isn’t as effective as they need to be. I live in Southwest Baltimore where we’ve had multiple floods and sewage overflows. Blue Water Baltimore is supposed to be the representative for residents in the process for fixing the city’s sewage system. Our block captain does a better job getting us information and help. She follows through with DPW on the repairs. We had multiple big sewage leaks at the edge of my neighborhood where the sewage went right into the river back by the park. When I followed up on the pollution reports to the city, the city told me Blue Water Baltimore gets paid to handle those reports but they focus on high profile spills in the white L. I understand why groups focus on high profile incidents but I believe it a group gets paid to handle something citywide you should do that.

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BMoreOnTheWater t1_j9qxegc wrote

Yeah that’s not how it works. Blue Water Baltimore is a non-profit that does a great deal to advocate for improved water ecosystems. They are not the designated/official ombudsman charged with addressing all city sewage shortcomings. They do also receive occasional grants from state and federal sources (like this one for $92K to improve a specific runoff issue). Whoever said “Blue Water Baltimore gets paid to take care of this” was misinformed.

Blue Water Baltimore’s annual budget is under $3M, of which only around $500K came from state or federal sources; DPW’s water-related budget is around $400M, which includes over $100M just for storm water and another $100M+ for waste water management.

BWB has incidentally pushed forward/supported multiple lawsuits against various entities, including the city itself..

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YoYoMoMa t1_j9pbetm wrote

>the city told me

Do you have any idea if what they told you is true?

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Animanialmanac t1_j9pd99c wrote

Oh yes. Our block captain brought back the flyers from the DPW Annual meeting, a long report of the progress so far with the reasons for delay, and other information. I never would have known anything about the process and repairs if I hadn’t pushed for help. The city holds a meeting open to public every year to answer questions. I believe I heard about it before but didn’t know how much my area was effected. There was raw sewage, I believe it’s been a problem for years but last year it was so bad I saw used sanitary supplies and toilet paper collecting in the corner where the curb was high enough to stop the solid items. It was unpleasant, I hope the city fixes these problems soon.

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Appropriate_Bonus440 t1_j9r8jdx wrote

I also live in Southwest Baltimore, and Blue Water Baltimore coordinated tree plantings in our neighborhood. (Something I never heard back from the Forestry Department about.. 👀) anyway they’re alright in my book.

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Animanialmanac t1_j9otqaz wrote

The Franciscan Center, Moveable Feast both do excellent work.

I work with patients who in the bottom tier of income levels, I see them referred to many non profits and quasi government resources. Sadly most of these don’t do much to help their main audience. The Franciscan Center and Moveable Feast both do good work for their audiences.

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Animanialmanac t1_j9pazpa wrote

I love this discussion, thank you for doing this. What a good way to learn more about local charities.

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HellYeahBelle t1_j9pirlj wrote

A very small one, but influential for their size and cause: Ballet After Dark.

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No_name_Johnson t1_j9p8c8r wrote

Would also add House of Ruth and the National Aquarium to what's already been mentioned

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okyoureataxi t1_j9pprwi wrote

CollegeBound Foundation. For all of the (often justly) negative attention that BCPSS schools receive, the fact that they distribute more than $4 million in college scholarships to City Schools grads is pretty remarkable

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wtryan84 t1_j9p5efj wrote

I have no idea how you can judge effectiveness between charities servicing different needs, but we give yearly to Wide Angle Youth, Thread, and B'More Clubhouse. Also occasionally to WTMD.

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DMelanogastard t1_j9p385p wrote

Habitat of the Chesapeake is pretty great! They’ve renovated over 770 homes including communities of high need like Sandtown and McCabe. This city has a very unique problem (more vacant houses than there are unhoused people) which allows $ to go a lot further by renovating than other Habitat chapters which deal mostly in new builds. They also have a political advocacy wing that lobbies for housing reform legislation both in Annapolis and DC. Plus Habitat ReStores take furniture donations which reduces waste, sells them to community members at fairly reasonable prices, and then dumps every dollar back into the organization. Finally, they usually score really well on charity watchdog websites with more than half their board filled by non-salaries positions and less than 6% of their annual “income” going to administrative expenses (75% to programs, 19% to fundraising). The only downside is their religious foundation which I feel like could be a little weird on the international level, but in my experiences volunteering with them in Baltimore it’s never been mentioned

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sit_down_man t1_j9os6dk wrote

BMORE community food, and the Franciscan center come to mind

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Ok_Suggestion5764 t1_j9ownng wrote

Marian House

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Ok-Huckleberry3752 t1_j9p8kay wrote

Marian House bought up apartment buildings with long time residents already (10+ years) and kicked them all out. During a time where rents are astronomical and most of those people could not afford to relocate. But hey, at least those other people who needed help got some

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chilling_soft t1_j9pqb8k wrote

student support network!

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Ms_Cranky_Pants t1_j9pyohg wrote

I’ve never heard of this one, looks promising! Thanks for sharing!

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_Alvin_Row_ t1_j9qp9r6 wrote

The amount of incredible work they did during the pandemic can't be overstated. Keeping kids and families fed when everything was shut down. Have so much respect for the student support network.

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pbear737 t1_j9p873t wrote

Healthy Harbor

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MotoSlashSix t1_j9psvo0 wrote

The Ruth M. Kirk Recreation and Learning Center. Direct, dollar-in-dollar out assistance: food, clothing, education, training, summer camps for kids, meals for older folks, Christmas toy give aways. All of it.
The boots-on-the-ground work Squeaky Kirk, his wife and Carlos and their volunteers do there do for the people of Baltimore is truly humbling and uplifting.
This city needs a hundred more of this organization's model.

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Deaston1 t1_j9qze3o wrote

Public Justice Center and Maryland Legal Aid

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bee_more_kind t1_j9qlrol wrote

I feel strongly about supporting those that can’t or are still developing self advocacy skills so CASA gets my vote! Also was recently informed about The Violet Project due to my interest with women’s (sexual) health!

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gizmojito t1_j9qwjf0 wrote

Community Law Center - their staff and pro bono attorneys assist community and nonprofits to allow them to achieve their goals. These legal services have had a huge ripple effect across the city and state.

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KingBooRadley t1_j9qzvdb wrote

The Abell Foundation seems to do a LOT for the city.

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FineHeron t1_j9ra1kn wrote

Manna House. Besides providing meals (which is what they're known for), they're ready to help people find the right resources/orgs for their specific needs. IMO this is an under-appreciated need!

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bvzxh t1_j9s0lj9 wrote

Moveable feast!! They make individual impact on people’s lives. Every. Single. Day.

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VegetableBlueberry4 t1_j9s57f6 wrote

I’m surprised I haven’t seen the Y on here yet! The Y for sure… they just launched another community food pantry

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ParsleyEmotional3692 t1_j9s7ycu wrote

CASA of Baltimore, Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition, Baltimore Abortion Fund !!

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PigtownFoo t1_j9sadcf wrote

Food Rescue Baltimore

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_Alvin_Row_ t1_j9qor6h wrote

Maryland Waterways Foundation. The amount of material they've pulled out of rivers and streams in east Baltimore County is astounding.

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scootythetall t1_j9ti4x6 wrote

St. Francis Neighborhood Center is a nonprofit serving Reservoir Hill and Penn North for the last 60 years by providing wraparound services/programming to children and families who live/work/attend school in the area. 100% free after school and summer programming available to PK-8th grade ft. tutoring, arts enrichment, field trips, & a family advocate working 1-on-1 with guardians, plus a paid high school internship preparing students for careers/college. In addition, they hold resource fairs, food distributions, senior social hours, vaccination clinics, and more. A grassroots, hyperlocal model that if applied across the city would be transformational as it already has been in its own corner of Baltimore.

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layd410 t1_j9tlcwe wrote

Not solely a local charity - but the Baltimore branch of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation puts on fabulous events for a great cause

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Purple_bread_door t1_j9peom9 wrote

Thread is pretty good - definitely needs help with better internal organization

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206Linguist t1_j9rp8jx wrote

They’ve gotten a bit better! They were super understaffed for a while. Volunteer recruitment is also low, from what I understand, so I’m sure that puts a strain of staff, too.

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Therealladyboneyard t1_j9plqfp wrote

That would be hard to choose. But you’d have to also exclude all the corrupt charities as well, sadly they’re too common everywhere

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S-Kunst t1_j9qrqmx wrote

Its easier to think of those non profits which fail to meet expectations, and are bloated with cash.

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mrsgibby t1_j9rdsbn wrote

Special Olympics

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Ceejison t1_j9rqedn wrote

Project Pneuma is pretty amazing

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Final-Ad3772 t1_j9tdjjk wrote

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service is headquartered here and they do great work.

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maiios t1_j9ou8qq wrote

Safe Streets

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The_Waxies_Dargle t1_j9ouwvc wrote

How do you quantify success with this group?

The idea seems nice in conception. But seems like there are a decent number of paid volunteers who are playing both sides against the middle. It eludes me, but isn't there even a term they have for this phenomenon and Safe Streets?

Anyhow, I'm curious what metrics are you using when you say they are the most successful non-profit?

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maiios t1_j9oy0so wrote

They use people who have been through the criminal justice system and lived through the worst of what people grow up with in Baltimore. They survive a penal system that is designed to punish, and not rehabilitate. And as we saw with the GTTF, they also have to deal with cops that have every reason to throw them away. And with all of that, you are worried that they might be carrying a gun or might be involved in some drugs?

I guess I see it as one of the hardest jobs in the world, and I am not worried that they aren't choir boys. And they are doing this on a tiny fraction of the budget of the BPD.

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DONNIENARC0 t1_j9p8zcz wrote

I think the question is simply whether or not they're reducing violence by a large enough factor to justify the money we spend on it, and whether or not we could see greater effects by reallocating that funding elsewhere.

> Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland are working on a more comprehensive study of Safe Streets that should be released early next year.

Sounds like we might hopefully have a better idea soon, though.

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YoYoMoMa t1_j9pbx8x wrote

>and whether or not we could see greater effects by reallocating that funding elsewhere.

Well the BPD gets 4 fucking billion dollars so we can talk results when we are spending 1 billion on non cop solutions. And why does no one demand cop money be tied to results or drops in crime?

I believe we are currently in the 10 million dollar range for community efforts like this if it literally stops one murder it is money way better spent than on enforcement.

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DONNIENARC0 t1_j9pc55d wrote

That's the point... If this non-cop solution has shitty results, then give that money to a better one that will do better.

Waste in one column doesn't justify waste in another. All public money should be accounted for.

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YoYoMoMa t1_j9pfbwf wrote

I agree, but how on earth do we quantify the impact of these programs? How do we know if a change, or no change, in crime is the impact of them or the police? Or any other factor?

My point isn't that we shouldn't worry about the impact of a $10 million program. Just that we should spend literally ten thousand times the time, effort, and money making sure the cops are not wasting our money, because they have literally ten thousand times the budget.

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DONNIENARC0 t1_j9pguh1 wrote

Recidivism rates amongst program participants judged against general recidivism rates seems like a good place to start just off the top of my head, I suppose.

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Cunninghams_right t1_j9smm3l wrote

the better question is whether or not they are effective. it's hard to measure.

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Baltimorebillionaire t1_j9pauur wrote

Paid volunteers are not volunteers, they are employees

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Random-Cpl t1_j9rf2ue wrote

This oversimplifies things; many organizations compensate volunteers on a subsistence stipend level that isn’t commensurate with what going rate salaries for their services would be. AmeriCorps and the Peace Corps provide stipends for volunteers but no one would call them employees.

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Animanialmanac t1_j9p8tbe wrote

I work with lower income victims of violence and accidents in Baltimore City and County. Over the years I’ve heard multiple stories involving out of line behavior by Safe Streets workers that cause harm to young men and women. I wish Baltimore had a better way for victims to report intimidation and harassment, then the issues with Safe Streets might be more widely known.

I’ve treated enough patients to not have any trust in Safe Streets or the people who manage it. It’s not a good organization

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DONNIENARC0 t1_j9pohup wrote

Yeah, one of their employees got popped by the feds for using it to run a heroin distribution ring ~2 years ago

https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/pr/former-member-baltimore-s-safe-streets-program-sentenced-over-11-years-federal-prison

> Baltimore, Maryland – U.S. District Judge George L. Russell, III sentenced Ronald Alexander, age 50, of Baltimore, Maryland to 135 months in federal prison, followed by eight years of supervised release, for conspiracy to distribute fentanyl, heroin, and powder and crack cocaine. While he was participating in the narcotics conspiracy, Alexander was employed by “Safe Streets,” an organization whose purpose is to reduce violence and crime in Baltimore through intervention. While he was engaged in the distribution of fentanyl and other dangerous narcotics, Alexander used his affiliation with Safe Streets to evade law enforcement in Baltimore, including on one occasion to avoid arrest when police seized from him a large quantity of fentanyl.

The internal review they ran recently found the program lacks oversight, and many of the employees are untrained subjected to some pretty bad shit, too:

> An internal review of Baltimore’s Safe Streets anti-violence initiative found the program lacked oversight, and half of the workers described their training as inadequate. City officials announced the findings Wednesday, along with a $10 million investment to improve program operations and establish a “community violence intervention ecosystem.”

> Meanwhile, 63% of employees said they had been traumatized by their work mediating conflicts, 60% reported having been direct victims of gun violence themselves, and 67% said they frequently worried about losing their jobs over funding shortage

Sounds like a more comprehensive review is coming out shortly, though, and that might finally shed some light on efficacy.

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Animanialmanac t1_j9prz0j wrote

I’m not surprised by this, I hope the new report shows enough evidence to fix or stop the program. From my experience I believe it does more harm than good.

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malakamanforyou t1_j9ovu95 wrote

Yea, they are doing a heck of a job keeping the streets safer. Murders would be over 300 a year without them.

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ronfleek t1_j9tlk5i wrote

House of Ruth's Chris Steak House

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sllewgh t1_j9q5k5l wrote

Effective at what? Ending poverty? Treating the symptoms? Absorbing foundation dollars? Suing poor people over their medical debt?

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Vivid_Priority_411 t1_j9pvoic wrote

Johns Hopkins Hospital

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Glitteronthefloor t1_j9tpebb wrote

JHH notoriously does shady shit, but people always commend them for their ground breaking discoveries. Definitely skeletons in their closet.

Source: I worked at a nonprofit that worked very closely with them.

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Trollfarm21211 t1_j9r5do8 wrote

Central booking. They just need more staff.

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mike14e t1_j9orriv wrote

Baltimore Police of course!

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NewrytStarcommander t1_j9orre9 wrote

Any church- keeping people from burning in hell for eternity, how much more impact can you have?

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StrikingExamination6 t1_j9p9oct wrote

Idk, you could give some of that money to needy people instead of paying settlements in the millions to sex abuse victims.

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