I’m a life-long resident of Sandtown-Winchester, a mother, and a Ravens fan of course! When I was growing up, my mother was always helping our community. So when I had my daughter, I started looking for ways I could do the same. I love to help people — I get joy from it. Year after year, that’s why I’ve always tried so hard to make things better.
When the chance came to create a Resiliency Hub, it was a way to bring together all the tireless work we do out of our church. We have a soup kitchen, fresh fruits and vegetables coming in from the Maryland Food Bank, a clothing drive for folks who need to suit up for interviews. There’s Narcotics Anonymous meetings, movie nights for the youth, even back-to-school health fairs where we provide hundreds of backpacks full of school supplies.
It might not all seem connected, but we’ve had people come back and say “you know, that food you gave me was where it started.” They might have been out there starving, homeless, but they tell us how they came and got a meal, clothes, maybe even picked up a blank job application and filled it out. Then they went on Pennsylvania Avenue and one of the stores needed a clerk, and they got the job. And now they feel so much better about themselves, and can share that with the next person.
People want to move forward — that’s what they tell us. Some of these folks are parents — they might even be in NA. They say “I’m struggling, I’ve got these children, I don’t know what to do.” So we say drop off those kids here and go do your job search, find a suit that fits from our clothes drive so you can go neat and clean to your interview while your children are being cared for. People are in need for a whole range of reasons; what they need is an open door. That’s what we provide here — a way to move forward.
– Roxane Prettyman, Vice-President, Western District Community Relations Council, Inc., Fulton Community Association, and Community Outreach Director for First Mount Calvary Baptist Church
Photo by New Lens Productions.
Find out more about our Resiliency programs, and join Ms. Prettyman and other community champions at our annual Sustainability Town Hall on April 18th.
The #EveryStory Counts Campaign
You don’t have to be a climate scientist or city planner to create sustainability + resilience. Everyone has a story to tell about making Baltimore a stronger, fairer and safer place for all of us.
Be a part of our #EveryStoryCounts Campaign by sharing yours on Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #EveryStoryCounts, or by sharing your words and pictures through our website. Join the many people who’ve shared their stories already at everystorycounts.org.