Baltimore is a city of staggeringly disappointing statistics: 11 percent official unemployment with several communities ravaged by real unemployment above 30 percent; 25 percent poverty which is 15 percent higher than the state of Maryland and 10 percent higher than the national poverty rate; approximately 4,000 homeless residents sleep outdoors or in shelters daily… Continue reading
“[A] combination of realism and open-mindedness among residents—an underlying belief in the city’s potential, despite its frustrating challenges.” This is one of the responses I received when I asked Baltimoreans what they believed were the city’s strengths. Over the past … Continue reading
Baltimore’s central paradox is this: there are 30,000 vacant properties while 42 percent of residents earn $25,000 a year or less and struggle to find decent affordable housing. Outsiders are often struck by the number of vacant houses they see … Continue reading
According to a study by Baltimore’s Center for Poverty Solutions, 50% of those interviewed at soup kitchens and drop-in centers had been incarcerated, many for public urination, loitering, sleeping outdoors, and other nonviolent crimes that stemmed from being homeless. Of … Continue reading
Rows of dilapidated houses stretch onward like abandoned monoliths and signs of life are scarce; the only movement is the massive up-drifts of refuse caught in the wind. No, this isn’t a trailer for the latest sci-fi/horror movie; this is … Continue reading