BALTIMORE OUTREACH SERVICES INC
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Mission Statement
Baltimore Outreach Services moves women and children to housing and independence with a variety of services beginning with emergency shelter. Services include case management, job training, health/mental health services, educational services, after-school programs, housing referrals and youth programming
About This Cause
Emergency Shelter. We are a 40-bed open dorm-style shelter for women and their children. We operate 24/7 365 days per year. Our shelter has 40 beds, but we also have several cribs we can set-up for infants, so we can exceed our official capacity of 40 individuals. Residents can stay until they obtain housing, which usually takes about five months. Each resident has a bed and a dresser. Our cook provides three meals daily plus a snack. Residents have access to a clothing closet of donated clothes. We also stock socks, underwear, and coats so that everyone has the basic clothing that they need. BOS provides a welcome bag of basic toiletries, towels, and washcloths to each new resident. We gather information about the family’s prior living conditions, income and income sources, and any special needs of the family members. Each woman undergoes a thorough intake when entering the shelter. Their information is entered in Baltimore City’s HMIS system. Program rules are distributed and gone over with each adult by the shelter manager. The shelter is structured with regular mealtimes each day, reading time and bedtime for children and a final shut down at midnight of the recreation room so everyone can get some sleep. Several days to access the washers and dryers are organized each week by section with residents who work or attend a program having weekend days. We implement a variety of activities to help mitigate the stress of homelessness. We provide a supportive and nurturing environment with almost half of our staff having experienced homelessness themselves or having had the experience of being a refuge. Each Wednesday a psychologist provides groups. These groups consist of Circle of Security parenting skills program, SHINE - mindfulness and coping skills program which are evidence-based models and part of our life skill classes. They schedule appointments, training and interviews with the on-site employment specialist, participate in culinary job training classes when they are in session, and meet with the case manager. The children attend daily afterschool programming for two hours/four days per week when school is in session. When school is out of session, the children partake in recreational activities and field trips as scheduled. Case Management. During the first week, the case manager meets with each family and finds a convenient time and that becomes their ongoing time for weekly meetings. Intensive weekly case management services help families obtain stable housing as quickly as possible. The process of helping clients obtain documents and begin this process begins immediately. The case manager enters all data into Baltimore City’s Mayor’s Office on Homelessness (MOHS) Client Track homeless management information system (HMIS). This enables us to capture the most complete picture of the client’s activity and extract specific data regarding length of stay and housing exits outcome measures. Each woman will receive a thorough intake when entering the shelter to customize an individual plan and begin the journey to stable housing. Staff will continue to help residents complete multiple housing applications, including Section 8, Public Housing, rapid rehousing programs, and/or permanent supportive housing programs through Baltimore City's coordinated access system for people experiencing homelessness and any market rate or affordable housing for which the client is eligible. Housing history, birth certificates, social security cards, vulnerability index, and documentation of disability are all required to access Baltimore City's subsidized and rapid rehousing programs. Referrals are for mental health, substance abuse, and health care services. We focus on staff being trained well and attend Baltimore City's Continuum of Care meetings, HMIS training, trauma-informed classes, private continuing education opportunities, and quarterly staff training. Our case manager is also an advocate on behalf of the children who reside in the shelter. She works with parents, teachers, and local agencies to ensure that the children receive much-needed health care, mental health support, and academic services. Initial case management services seek to inform families of their rights to education under the McKinney Vento laws and plan so that every child is enrolled in the school or preschool services that they need. Homeless children are entitled by law to certain services and rights to ensure an uninterrupted educational experience. Most parents entering the BOS program must be aware of these rights. The case manager connects with our local elementary schools and head start programs in the neighborhood surrounding the shelter. The case manager will also go to other schools in Baltimore City to assist in advocacy for the children. Her responsibilities for children's case management include: conducting a needs assessment of the children within 5 days of their arrival Facilitating school admission, transportation, and needs-based education/therapeutic services as appropriate; providing tokens until the transportation starts through the school system advocating on behalf of the children and parents by attending school and IEP meetings, corresponding with mental health therapists, working with the BCPS Homeless Liaison registering children for Camp St. Vincent and ensuring that all children have the needed school supplies and uniforms. Supportive Services. Job Training & Employment Services. Most of the women entering the emergency shelter are unemployed. Employment income promotes housing stability, so it is our program's major focus. We have an onsite employment specialist who works with the residents to assess their education and work history, helps complete online applications and resumes, schedules interviews with employment connections, and conducts job readiness sessions. The employment specialist connects them to job training, educational opportunities, GED classes, CNA/GNA courses, and other training programs. All adult residents are encouraged to meet with the employment specialist and engage in productive activities during the day – obtaining education, job training, searching for jobs online, and seeking better jobs with benefits when appropriate. We meet weekly with shelter residents not currently employed to gauge their interests and skill level and create a plan of action to connect them to employers. BOS operates a culinary job training course that provides women with the skills required to pursue a career in commercial food services. The culinary arts job training course provides the residents with the skills required to pursue a career as a prep cook in commercial food services. It is taught by Chef April Dubose, an experienced chef and teacher of culinary arts. The class is held onsite in the commercial kitchen on the second floor of Christ Lutheran Church. Since 2005, over 210 women have completed the course. Our placement rate averages 60-65% of the graduates securing jobs. If a woman is interested in working after culinary graduation, the employment specialist has developed relationships with many employers and can place them in jobs. We also offer a ten-week paid internship program for students who have yet to have a significant work history that has completed the Culinary Arts Job Training program. Children’s Programming. On average, 60% of the residents in the emergency shelter are children under age 18. The children have a history of inadequate nutrition, lack of health and dental care, and physical, mental, and emotional abuse. Many have learning delays, diagnoses of ADHD, conduct disorder, and have an IEP. Without proper attention and services, these children are at high risk of continuing this cycle of poverty and homelessness as adults. We have children's program services to support these innocent victims of homelessness, including on-site health care and referrals to mental health services. We also provide after-school programs, including homework help, tutoring, and programming that supports their social and emotional health and well-being - art therapy, mindfulness, yoga, exercise, and field trips. Support for the children begins with providing a safe and comfortable home environment. Upon entering the shelter, each child is assigned a bed that he/she can call their own during their stay. We also provide them with their chest of drawers to store personal belongings. The children like having this feeling of security, which promotes a more normal environment. We have a clothing closet where we provide socks, underwear, school uniforms, coats, and backpacks. We ensure that children have whatever they need in terms of basic supplies for school. Many children who enter the shelter have psychological, and learning disorders, and few are on grade level with skills. We currently employ one certified teacher with a master’s degree in education and 30 years of teaching experience. A second teacher is provided through the Board of Education. One teacher works with the younger children and the other with the older ones. The teachers help the children complete their homework each night. Then they engage the children in skill-building and comprehension, helping them to understand real-world principles such as how to spend their money wisely and exposure to other cultures. We have continued our reading incentive program to encourage families to read each night before their children go to bed and a monthly family game night to encourage family bonding. During the summer months, when school is out of session, the children attend St. Vincent DePaul's camp for homeless children, where they continue with academic skills, physical exercise, and field trips.