Sarah’s Hope, Baltimore County
Thank you for your ongoing support and advocacy on behalf of Sarah’s Hope, Baltimore County and St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore. We developed this page to keep you informed on our progress with the establishment of a New Sarah’s Hope in Baltimore County.
The news that the County decided to go back to operating an emergency drop-in shelter at the Eastern Family Resource Center, with limited on-site support services, was devastating to our guests at Sarah’s Hope, the volunteers who provide support to our guests, and the many community partners and funders who provided the resources needed to coordinate the very comprehensive menu of services that Sarah’s Hope was providing.
Following a number of meetings with the County and interventions from supporters, St. Vincent de Paul and our advocates determined that the decision was grounded in a fundamental mismatch between our desire to provide comprehensive service to families to help ensure their rapid rehousing and permanent stability, versus the county’s desire to maximize bed nights for emergency drop-in shelter.
Since the announcement, St. Vincent de Paul and many of our supporters have mobilized to relocate the New Sarah’s Hope, Baltimore County so that homeless families in Baltimore County might continue to have access to comprehensive services that help them rapidly regain permanent housing and self sufficiency.
The Sarah’s Hope Coalition, originally called the Abraham’s Tent Coalition, continues to meet and develop support for the New Sarah’s Hope, Baltimore County. The Sarah’s Hope Coalition’s purpose is to channel the support of the multi-denominational churches that provide the invaluable support of volunteers, food and donations to Sarah’s Hope. Churches throughout Baltimore County have remained organized in the coalition in support of the relocation of the much-needed services provided by Sarah’s Hope.
We are actively working to identify potential sites, secure funding, and enlist the ongoing support of the many churches dedicated to providing volunteer and other resources to the program. The identification of a site involves multiple steps. While the location of the site is critical, the facility must also be appropriate in size and configuration for the intended use, and zoned as required to provide transitional, comprehensive shelter to multiple families. We have explored several possible sites, but at this time have not identified one that meets all of our requirements. We are continuing our search diligently.
As we reorganize to fill the gap created by the closing of Sarah’s Hope in Baltimore County, we continue to work with Baltimore City toward our plan of opening a similar transitional shelter program on November 1, 2008 in the Sandtown area that will meet the needs of homeless families in Baltimore City.
You should also know that private foundations and individual donors have been unanimous in their expressions of continued support of a New Sarah’s Hope in Baltimore County as we formulate our plan to relocate the program. Our current challenges are to identify a location appropriate to meet the needs of the homeless families we serve, and to identify the necessary operating and capital funds.
The power point presentations and handouts from the two Sarah’s Hope Coalition meetings that have been held to date are available for your review as PDF documents below. Please revisit this page to receive updates, as they occur. Again, I thank you for your continued support of our work, and we’ll keep you informed as we continue to make progress. If you have questions or require additional information, please contact Janice Williams at 410-662-0500, ext. 212. If you have an interest in joining the Sarah's Hope Coalition, click here, fill out and return the form to St. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore.
Sarah's Hope Coalition structure chart
Letter from Sarah's Hope Coalition Steering Committee, dated June 26, 2008, describing what fellow Coalition members can do
Sarah's Hope Coalition sample letter of support
Sarah's Hope Coalition interest form
Congregation Commitment Form
Sarah's
Hope Coalition Power Point presentation from meeting
#1 May 15, 2008
Sarah's
Hope Coalition Power Point presentation from meeting
#2 June 26, 2008
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