Open House Dedication 2422 McElderry Street. Left to Right: Amanda Owens, Abell Foundation; Carla Richardson, BOS; the Rev. Gary Dittman, Amazing Grace Lutheran Church; Donna Rich, BOS; the Rev. John Sabatelli, Christ Lutheran Church; Karen Adkins, BOS; Connie Crabtree, BOS Board Member; Dan McCarthy, Episcopal Housing Corporation.
Our supportive housing unit at 2422 McElderry Street is home to two families. Read an article published by Diakon about this home.
Supportive Housing
Supportive Housing is the interim step between emergency shelter and market housing.
Most emergency shelters in the Baltimore area have a 90-day length of stay, but the residents at Baltimore Outreach Services stay in our emergency shelter until housing is available, as long as they are working toward their goals of housing and self-sufficiency. Our residents do not have enough income to participate in traditional market housing.
Once a resident has obtained employment and is ready to leave the shelter, the lack of available supportive housing becomes evident. Supportive housing is a two-year, intensive counseling and mentoring program that encourages growth to achieve goals of financial stability, mental health treatment and substance abuse recovery.
All residents must be employed to enter our supportive housing program. During their stay in supportive housing, residents resolve outstanding bills and reconcile poor credit issues while improving their job skills.
We currently operate 10 units of supportive housing. It is our goal to add four new units over the next three years It is our goal to add five new units over the next five years to give more families a new beginning. We completely furnish our homes with furniture, linens and kitchen goods.