What We Do
A Little Bit of History
When Open Door Baltimore launched in January 2006, there was more than a little pressure to be all things to all people. Part of the excitement of any new venture are the hopes and dreams that flow to your cause as word gets out that something new is getting off the ground. As we ramped up, good folks from all walks of life presented strong, often disparate views about what Open Door Baltimore should be when it grew up. Fortunately for our long-term prospects, we were blessed with a solid cadre of visionary leaders who always understood that Open Door Baltimore was going to need room to stretch and grow.
An Early Pivot
We always knew our calling was to work with the poor — to help meet “felt” needs, stabilize lives, and create pathways for sustainable success. Of this we were certain. The question before us was whether to focus on the future or the present. Whether to expend our time and resources on children or their parents. In the end, we decided to do both.
The Best Children’s Program is a Job for Mom and Dad
As we studied the city, examined the data, met with community leaders, and talked with people on the streets, two things became clear to our leadership team:
- Despite media coverage to the contrary, we consistently found that Baltimore City public schools were home to heroic principals and teachers who were giving their lives to educate children under very difficult circumstances. As we put faces and names to the bigger picture, we began to see how an organization like ours could make a difference in the lives of children by partnering with schools, especially elementary schools in the neighborhoods we were serving.
- As we came to understand the full impact of the dreadful “drug game” that was being played out on the corners of impoverished Baltimore . . . as we came to learn that Baltimore teens were dropping out of school in droves because there was no money at home and no one to help with their high school homework . . . and finally . . . as we began to see the endless queue of young adults who were now virtually unemployable because they lacked a diploma or had been incarcerated for handling drugs when they were still teenagers . . . we came to see that we had no choice but to focus our work on young adults in need of a second chance, especially young adults who were parents of small children. If the children in the elementary schools were going to have a real chance at life, it was going to be their parents, not charity and not government, that was going to make it possible.
The Individual Life Plan
From the start, our office began filling with young adults who were living these lives. So much so that in one year’s time, without ever posting a flyer about our services, we had taken on over 500 clients. As our tiny operation in McElderry Park began encountering an endless stream of hurt and need, we started to see two distinct groups of people — those that were in need of love and kindness but were not yet ready to turn a page and those that were willing and able to take the first steps toward a new and better life.
And, so we set out to build an organization that helps both groups.
On most days, our food pantry and clothing closet are busy with folks who need a few groceries to tide them over or a winter’s coat to fight off the cold. Every other month, our partnership with the Canton Safeway allows us to provide fresh bakery goods to people who could never afford a birthday cake for their child or a piece of pie for dessert. In 2011, the good folks at Safeway donated $70,000 of food to Open Door Baltimore. How good is that? Thank you Canton Safeway for being a caring community partner!
For the roughly 20 percent of our walk-in clients who are willing and able to reach beyond today’s immediate needs and take hold of a chance at a better life, we created the REBUILD Program and its core curriculum, The Individual Life Plan (ILP). While it’s true that there’s really nothing new under the sun, we believe the REBUILD/ILP process is actually something quite special. That’s because unlike most “workforce development” and “life skills” programs that push great masses of people through faster than they are able to go, REBUILD/ILP is quite selective in the candidates it accepts into the program, and then, very deliberate in how the candidates progress through the program. For most, REBUILD/ILP is a 12-month journey that includes very part of a person’s life.
