In the House news & updates

June 7, 2022| Volume 3, Issue 3

What's Happening?

June 6, 8, 10, 13, 15 and 17: Supervisory Boot Camp (Times vary; select staff)

June 9: Executive Committee Meeting

June 14: BRHP Overview for New Hires (In-person attendance is required; for staff hired after November 1, 2021)

June 16: Monthly Productivity Meeting, 11:00am-12:00pm, Zoom (Open to all staff)

June 16: Policy Committee Meeting (Select staff)

June 20: Office Closed (Juneteenth Holiday)

June 21-24: BRHP Pride Month activities (see below)

June 22 or 23 (TBD): Property Partner Power Hour - "Low Cost Ways to Enhance the Appeal of Your Vacant Unit," 12:00pm-1:00pm (Select staff)

June 23: Finance Committee Meeting (Select staff)

June 28: BRHP Juneteenth Film Screening (All staff are welcome; more information forthcoming)

June TBD: Client Enrichment Event (Topic: Credit 101)

July 15: Quarterly All Staff Meeting (Rescheduled from June 22; mandatory for all staff)

BRHP Pride Month Activities

June 20-24

There are plenty of ways to show your Pride or allyship this month. Check them out below.

Dress in Pride Colors

Celebrate Pride by wearing a color of the pride flag colors showcasing a different meaning for each color.

Monday, June 20 (office closed) – Red

Tuesday, June 21 – Orange

Wednesday, June 22 – Yellow

Thursday, June 23 – Green

Friday, June 24 – Blue/Indigo

Meanings of the Pride Flag Colors

Hot Pink = Sex

Red = Life

Orange = Healing

Yellow = Sunlight

Green = Nature

Turquoise/Blue = Magic and Art

Indigo = Serenity

Violet = Spirit of LGBTQI+

Working from home? You can take a picture in your color and post it in the Spirit Week Slack channel.

Click here to learn more about the history of the Pride flag.

Cubicle “Pride”

Decorate your cubicle with the colors of Pride. Pick the color or meaning that speaks to you, or celebrate with all the colors of the rainbow. Just be creative! Some places you can find supplies include Dollar Tree, Target and Amazon.

Stay up to date with BRHP Pride Month activities in the Spirit Week Slack channel.

Click here to view official Baltimore Pride events.

Whiteboard Trivia

When you are in the office, stop by the whiteboard located at the corner of the counseling and HCV hallways, and learn facts about Pride Month.

How did Pride Month start?

In the early hours of June 28, 1969, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village, and began hauling customers outside. Tensions quickly escalated as patrons resisted arrest and a growing crowd of bystanders threw bottles and coins at the officers. New York's gay community, fed up after years of harassment by authorities, broke out in neighborhood riots that went on for three days.

The uprising became a catalyst for an emerging gay rights movement as organizations such as the Gay Liberation Front and the Gay Activists Alliance were formed, modeled after the civil rights movement and the women's rights movement. Members held protests, met with political leaders and interrupted public meetings to hold those leaders accountable. A year after the Stonewall riots, the nation's first Gay Pride marches were held.

In 2016 the area around the Stonewall Inn, still a popular nightspot today, was designated a national monument.

Wishing a Happy Birthday to our colleagues celebrating June and July birthdays!

Ny'Kerra Armstead, June 8

FaShaunDa Walton, June 10

Pete Cimbolic, June 12

Nicole Saunders, June 17

Esteban Caballero, June 23

Cheryl Daniels, June 29

Anthony Brown, June 29

Tiera Haley, July 4

Alison James, July 7

Nicole Turner, July 22

You will receive a Grubhub e-gift card courtesy of BRHP in your email the month of your birthday. Remember to claim it! If you don't receive it or have any questions about it, please contact Tiera Haley at thaley@brhp.org.

Charletta's Corner

The Importance of Making Self Care a Priority

Greetings all!

I hope this message finds you smiling. I am here pleading with you again about making self care a priority!

Recent tragic events have triggered shockwaves throughout the community and beyond. Shock is a sudden disturbance of your emotional state, often leaving you feeling stunned. Stressful events can create a variety of reactions for us, individually and collectively. The stronger the event impacts us often depends on how we respond thereafter. Give yourself grace always and take time to mourn and navigate through whatever is troubling you.

Making self-care a priority is important in helping us deal with life’s challenges both big and small. Some “in the moment” strategies for relieving stress and/or making you feel better include: deep breathing, stretching, walking and meditating. Exercising regularly and engaging in a hobby is helpful too. The positive benefits of practicing self-care include: decreasing stress, improving sleep habits, increasing productivity and improving your health.

Self care takes time and practice but it’s worth it. Make you a priority today!

-Charletta

Reach out to Charletta McLean, BRHP's Talent Manager, via email (cmclean@brhp.org), phone (ext. 2171), or Slack to request time to meet. She can help with matters or anything regarding training, professional development, employee engagement, workplace culture, guidance on improving performance. She is also available to discuss private, work-related issues.

Meet Gary Hood Jr.

If you could have any superpower, what would it be and why?

If I had a superpower it would be the ability to change people's moods. Throughout my day I experience numerous calls from people in unpleasant moods, so the ability to manipulate that would be groundbreaking and world changing.

What is your ideal Saturday?

Waking up around 9:00am without any particular plans and a few one hundred dollars to spend without anything pertinent to buy. A good breakfast and a lunch with good conversation outdoors if the weather is nice. An evening drive through the city, then home to cook a nice dinner accompanied by good music or shows until I get sleepy.

Share two truths and a lie.

I speak Italian, I love God, I have a daughter

(We will reveal the answer in our next newsletter)

Share one interesting skill, talent, or interest you have that few people know about?

Botany

What motivates you to give your best when times get tough?

God's promise for me and a reminder that today is not where I was last week or last year and it's not where I will be tomorrow.

Tell us about the happiest day of your life?

April Fools Day of 1993. My grandfather told an untruth to get me out of school early. He took me on a small shopping spree and then the movies to see Home Alone. When I got back in the car he had an original Talkboy sitting in the seat waiting for me. That was the hottest toy out at the time. My mom never found out, but she got tired of the slow-mo voice with the toy. Best sick day a child could have.

Gary Hood Jr. is a post-move counselor at BRHP. Read more about him here.

*Two truths and a lie answer for Mark Pollard: He has not been skydiving

We have a lot to be excited about as we head into summer. We are launching both our Healthy Children Voucher Demonstration and Growing Assets and Income (GAIN) Program in the coming months. These are first of their kind initiatives at BRHP, serving as a compliment to the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program to meet our clients' holistic needs. These initiatives will require support from the full team and I encourage everyone to familiarize themselves with the projects. For our newer colleagues, a good place to start are the following press releases: Healthy Children Voucher Demonstration and GAIN. We will share more information at our July Quarterly All Staff Meeting.

Another exciting happening is that we are moving into a beautiful new office space in late summer. We anticipate this space being more conducive to our needs as a team and a more welcoming environment for our community. Check out some photos of the new space during a recent walkthrough of construction. Thank you for being a part of history here and taking BRHP to new heights.

-Adria

Go Vote!

(Upcoming Gubernatorial Elections)

Did you know gubernatorial elections are this year? Check out important dates below, make sure you are informed and go vote!

Register to vote or verify that your voter registration information is current and make any updates by June 28, 2022.
Early voting will be held for 8 days and begin on Thursday, July 7, 2022 through Thursday, July 14, 2022 from 7 am until 8 pm for the Gubernatorial Primary Election; and begins on Thursday, October 27, 2022 through Thursday, November 3, 2022 from 7 am until 8 pm for the Gubernatorial General Election. You can vote early at any early voting center in the county you live in. A list of early voting centers for the Gubernatorial Primary Election is listed here
The Gubernatorial Primary Election Day is July 19, 2022; and the Gubernatorial General Election Day is November 8, 2022. To vote in person on election days, vote at your assigned polling place.

Learn more about the 2022 Gubernatorial Elections at the Maryland State Board of Elections website here.

Election 2022 candidate guide - Maryland Matters

The 2022 election could be one of the most consequential campaign cycles for Maryland in decades. The pace of political change in the state is accelerating. By early 2023, we will have a new governor, a new lieutenant governor, a new attorney general, and a new state comptroller.

Potential New Housing Partner in Columbia!

Welcome - The Columbia Housing Center

We aim to honor James Rouse's vision of an equitable city by intentionally working to keep Columbia racially integrated. Please help jumpstart our work by making a tax-deductible donation today. Columbia Housing Center donations are being handled by our fiscal agent, the long-established Community Foundation of Howard County.

Wellness Corner

Rainbow Symbolism

The rainbow is a one of the earth’s most beautiful naturally occurring phenomenon’s and has held various meanings for cultures and religions throughout history. Some of its most common meanings and symbols are; signs of hope, new beginnings, good fortune, equality, and LGBTQI+ pride.

According to the ancient study of chakras that dates as far back as 1500 BC, each color of the rainbow represents a spectrum of light and energy field in the body. Each energy field center has a specific trait that governs all aspects of our physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing. It is believed that when all seven of the major chakras are aligned; one will experience optimal health, balance, peace, and vitality among many other benefits.

To read more about the symbolism of the rainbow here and chakras here.

Tiera Haley is special assistant to the executive director at BRHP. Read more about her here.

BRHP sends a warm welcome to our new team members. We are happy to have you here and can't wait to connect with you. Don't be shy, say hi!

Dominic Davenport

Technology Associate

April 19

Kelley Webb

Rental Assistance Associate

April 20

Addae Andrews

Program Training Specialist

June 1

Adrian Brown

Post Move Counseling Supervisor

June 6

Shannon Darrow

Pre-Move Counseling Supervisor

April 20

Tiffany Easton

Rental Assistance Associate

May 16

Roxy Blocksdorf

Grants Coordinator

June 6

Highlights

We Received Our ERAP Grant Money!

Good news! We recently received a $3 million grant to prevent eviction of thousands of families in Baltimore Region that were impacted by COVID-19 Pandemic. Staff have been accepting and processing applications from BRHP families and property partners since March, and have approved over 300 applications so far. Read more about our grant below.

BRHP Secures $3 Million Grant to Prevent Eviction of Thousands of Families in Baltimore Region Impacted by COVID-19 Pandemic

For Immediate Release: May 25, 2022 Contact: Tiffani Long, tlong@brhp.org, 667-207-2154 Baltimore, MD - The Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership (BRHP) announced today that it is the recipient of a $3 million grant from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development to administer Emergency Rental Assistance Program (ERAP) funds to families assisted by the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program who have been financially impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Check out our ERAP promo video for BRHP families and property partners below!

Bridges Collaborative Convening in Baltimore

From May 19-20, BRHP participated in the Bridge's Collaborative's national convening held at the American Visionary Art Museum in Baltimore. Bridges Collaborative cohort members gathered to share ideas and collaborate on solutions to school and neighborhood segregation across the country. BRHP's Pete Cimbolic, Tiffani Long, and BRHP board members Andrew Freeman and Bill Tamburrino kicked off the convening with a neighborhood tour, taking participants through neighborhoods in Baltimore City and Howard County. The purpose of the tour was to acquaint the participants with neighborhoods and sites in the Baltimore region that typify the variation of opportunity. As the tour progressed from central Baltimore neighborhoods to the near western suburbs, tour guides provided context using data points culled from the Census Bureau, including poverty, racial composition, vacancy rates, median income, etc. A particular focus was placed on public and assisted housing, showing the variation of assisted housing patterns in the region.

The tour concluded at Wilde Lake High School in Columbia, Maryland, where participants learned from faculty and students about the schools equity initiatives. The following day, Pete Cimbolic joined BRHP's former Managing Director of Program Administration to present on the basics of federal housing assistance, the Baltimore Housing Mobility Program, and its impact on children and families. BRHP staff also had the opportunity to attend presentations and panel discussions from cohort members and local and national leaders.

Learn more about the Bridges Collaborative here.

Spring Property Partner Orientation

On April 28, BRHP hosted its annual spring Property Partner Orientation for owners who have been leasing to BRHP families over the past year. Property partners are essential to our success in helping our families to access and transition successfully to safe, healthy, and economically communities across the Baltimore region. Equipping our families with the tools they need to be successful is critical to keeping our families safely housed, and is the reason we host orientations and power hours for owners throughout the year. Thank you to Pete Cimbolic, Bernard Jones, Cheryl Daniels, Nicole Saunders, and FaShaunDa Walton for your participation.

Recap: BRHP in Conversation with Sheryll Cashin

Focusing on Abolition and Repair with Sheryll Cashin

On April 21, BRHP hosted law professor and author, Sheryll Cashin, to discuss her book White Space, Black Hood , and approach to addressing the legacy of redlining and hypersegregation across the country. We hosted this conversation in April during National Fair Housing Month to shift the narrative around poor Black neighborhoods and recommit ourselves to the movement for housing justice.

News

The Fair Housing Act must be strengthened and expanded | Opinion

With a growing population of people with disabilities as well as more people openly identifying as LGBTQ+, it is imperative that the protections of the Fair Housing Act at the federal level extend to offer protections to these vulnerable people.

White House releases plan to boost housing supply

The White House on Monday outlined a plan to boost housing availability and lower costs for renters and homeowners, portraying it as part of a broader effort to combat inflation for Americans. The administration released a "Housing Supply Action Plan" that officials said would produce more housing supply, including affordable units, in the next five...

The People Who Hate People

Some propositions are so obvious that no one takes the time to defend them. A few such propositions are that human life is good, that people can and often do provide more benefits to the world than they take away, and that we should design society to support people in leading lives that are good for themselves and others.

If you would like to contribute to the newsletter, please send your ideas to outreach@brhp.org.