Spring Headlines at Humanim

News . Events . Impact

HEADLINES

The Wall Street Journal reports on the Baltimore Deconstruction Project in last week's feature article, "Brick by Brick, Baltimore's Blighted Houses Get a New Life" - and how other cities like St. Louis are looking to adopt Humanim's deconstruction model.
 
“As part of the city’s effort to fight blight, it is paying a nonprofit that deconstructs buildings in some neighborhoods and then salvages and ships old bricks and lumber across the U.S. and to the Caribbean. Instead of ending up in landfills or being pulverized, the materials become floors in a Southampton, N.Y., pool house, walls in high-end Washington, D.C., condos and the ceiling of an outdoor-recreation store in Philadelphia. Baltimore’s program is being trumpeted as a model and officials from other cities have come to look at how it works (...) Officials say, beyond helping reduce blight and landfill waste, the labor-intensive process yields six to eight times as many jobs as demolition does, often for people with criminal records. (...) “They’ve done amazing work in Baltimore. They’re definitely a national model, and to my knowledge one of the most successful public deconstruction programs,” said Martin Brown of the Delta Institute, a Chicago nonprofit that advises cities on similar efforts."
 
Read the full story at wsj.com

The second phase of Project CORE’s Baker Street project kicked off this month in partnership with Mayor Pugh, Governor Hogan, Maryland DHCD, Baltimore DHCD, and our social enterprise Details Deconstruction. The contract to deconstruct the Druid Heights homes will in turn create jobs for Details crew members, many of whom have faced barriers to employment. When complete, the Bakers View project will yield 87 new three-bedroom townhomes for families with low to moderate incomes with parking and green space, as well as a public square. Materials salvaged from the project will be refurbished and resold for projects across the U.S., helping to create more jobs.  Learn more >> 

We were honored to receive Howard Bank’s pledge of $250,000 in February, to support our growing workforce development division over the next 10 years. Howard Bank’s grant will support Humanim's mission to empower individuals who face social or economic challenges, by building pathways to economic equity, opportunity, and independence - through career training, job placement, job support, and financial education services for individuals who have encountered challenges to employment. We thank Howard Bank for this generous grant, and for their continued commitment to supporting workforce development and equitable employment opportunities in the greater Baltimore area!  Learn more >>

Humanim's VP of Developmental Disabilities/President of iHomes, Judi Olinger & VP of Development, Diana Ellis pictured with Senator Guy Guzzone and Delegate Jen Terrasa at the March Bond Initiative hearing for Humanim’s iHomes program in Annapolis. Humanim’s iHomes program is planning to construct and acquire 17 units of housing through Howard County over the next year and a half. This project will afford extremely low income disabled adults to have stable, quality housing with built-in residential supports, within the community in which they work. iHomes is a private non-profit community housing development organization (CHDO) under Humanim, providing long term, affordable housing options to low-income individuals who have been diagnosed with a developmental and/or psychiatric disability. Funding for this project comes from: DHMH Bond Grant, Howard County Department of Housing and Community Development, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation and a Legislative Bond Initiative.  Learn More >>

We were honored to celebrate Mutual of America’s 2018 National Governor Hugh L. Carey Community Partnership Award at our hometown celebration in Baltimore! Given to our Baltimore City Deconstruction Project, the award annually honors the outstanding contributions of nonprofit organizations who are delivering solutions to critical challenges facing our country. The Baltimore Deconstruction Project is a pioneering collaboration with Baltimore City Housing and the Office of Sustainability, USDA Forest Service, Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development, national furniture retailer Room & Board, and Humanim social enterprises Details Deconstruction and Brick + Board – where city vacant houses are deconstructed, salvaging materials for resale and creating jobs for community members with barriers to employment. Learn More >>

Our culinary social enterprise City Seeds hosted the Baltimore Culinary Enterprise Alliance Happy Hour last month with Maryland Food Bank, Humanim, Moveable Feast, Paul’s Place, and St. Vincent De Paul (Kidz Table). This amazing event featured food demos, tastings, and an introduction to Alliance members and their missions. The Baltimore Culinary Enterprise Alliance is an ecosystem of culinary training programs and transitional employers who are connected through the Catalyst Kitchens Network, with the goal of developing an alliance of workforce trainers, employers, job seekers, and funders to build a larger ecosystem which supports pathways for employment and culinary innovation in Baltimore. We are excited to be a part of this alliance through City Seeds and our workforce training programs!

NEWS & EVENTS

HUMANIM IN THE PRESS

• "Brick by Brick, Baltimore's Blighted Houses Get a New Life" The Wall Street Journal
• "How Baltimore is Deconstructing Itself - with Local Nonprofit Help" - Associations Now
• “Baltimore mayor takes an excavator to kick off the demolition of block of vacant homes in Druid Heights” -The Baltimore Sun
• “Mayor Pugh launches next phase of affordable homeownership program with demolition of vacant rowhomes” -Baltimore Business Journal
• “Students given lessons in rebuilding neighborhoods … one brick at a time” -Harbert
• “Howard Bank pledges $500K to Junior Achievement, Humanim” -The Daily Record

HUMAN IMPACT

Meet Shira

Unemployed at the time, Tyshira (“Shira”) signed up to participate in Humanim’s administrative career training program in 2016, graduating that same year with two professional certifications including her Microsoft Office Specialist and Professional Administrative Assistant Certificate of Excellence. With the support of her career training team, Shira was hired by Humanim’s social enterprise Details Deconstruction upon graduation as their Administrative Coordinator, starting at $11.46/hour with full benefits. During her first year at Details, Shira adeptly put her training into practice, proving to be an essential team member who consistently went above and beyond expectations. The team’s morale became a high priority for her as well; Shira regularly brought snacks for crew members to enjoy after a long day at the construction site, cheerfully noting that a popsicle was an easy way to put a smile on someone’s face.
 
When Humanim’s culinary social enterprise City Seeds needed an administrator with accounting capabilities, Shira rose to the challenge and made a move. Just as easily as she melded with the construction team at Details, Shira quickly became a valued member of City Seeds’ culinary and hospitality team. At her new position, she thrived on learning new skills –  from graphic design to event execution - and always with a smile. Her work ethic and ability to quickly master new responsibilities not only elevated her to the role of Catering & Events Coordinator, where she was earning $15/hr – it opened up new opportunities.
 
Shira was recently hired as Administrative Coordinator at Johns Hopkins University Krieger School of Arts, where she is earning almost twice as much as when she first started, with increased benefits including free and reduced education reimbursement, which she plans to take full advantage of. When asked what advice she would give to others who want to follow her path, Shira said: 

“I encourage anyone to take advantage of the opportunities offered by Humanim. When I visit the administrative training classes now at Humanim, I encourage the trainees to hang in there when it gets tough because there is a reward at the end of the tunnel. My mindset 10 years ago would have been to not stay in that class, but I changed my mindset and got my head in the game.  I wanted to gain the skills and was willing to take on any task and gain the experience. When Johns Hopkins saw my resume, they saw that I have so many transferable skills.  I can do it, I’m here. I like the challenge.”