On Wednesday, October 19, from 3:00PM to 4:30PM at the Our Daily Bread Employment Center (725 Fallsway), a coalition of local service providers and advocates will host a public forum entitled “Bars Aren’t the Only Barriers: Realities for Returning Citizens.” Free and open to the public, the policy forum is the first in a series of events leading up to the local commemoration of National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day.
Sponsored by Health Care for the Homeless, the Job Opportunities Task Force, and SHARP, a coalition of local homeless service providers working to “Stop Homelessness And Reduce Poverty,” the forum will begin with remarks from Tomi Hiers, Deputy Chief of Staff to Mayor Rawlings-Blake and Director of the Mayor’s Office of Human Services, which oversees City programs for vulnerable populations. Lisa Klingenmaier, an MSW-MPH student at the University of Maryland, will present the results of research on reentry and homelessness conducted in collaboration with Health Care for the Homeless. An expert panel – featuring Melissa Broome, Senior Policy Advocate at the Job Opportunities Task Force; Monica Cooper, Project Director of Out For Justice; Alfreda Robinson-Dawkins, Executive Director of the National Women’s Prison Project, and Reverend Kwame Osai Reed – will discuss the program and policy implications of the research.
“Successful community re-entry is central to the goal of ending homelessness,” said Kevin Lindamood, incoming President & CEO of Health Care for the Homeless. “It requires access to comprehensive health care, affordable housing, and a decent wage – along with public policies that promote a communitywide commitment to second chances.”
For nearly two decades, National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day has been observed on or about December 21 – the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. A public memorial service will take place on Wednesday, December 21 (5:30PM at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor Amphitheater), to remember those who died this year in Baltimore without a regular place to stay. Memorial Day events are organized locally by SHARP.
For additional information on the forum and the local commemoration of Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, please contact Adam Schneider, HCH Coordinator of Community Relations, at 410/837-5533 x1398 or aschneider@hchmd.org.
