Dear Baltimore: A Message of Solidarity

A message from Baltimore Corps’ CEO, Fagan Harris

Dear Baltimore:

Equity and racial justice are at the heart of Baltimore Corps’ mission and values. We stand in solidarity with #blacklivesmatter, the many communities that make up the tapestry of Black America, and all people moved to protest because of recent, and past, murders of unarmed Black people of all ages and genders.

As we consider our country and its future, it’s imperative that we listen to each other and most importantly, listen to the unheard who are, too often, our Black, Indigenous, and other systematically marginalized communities. Our community is telling us that the abuse of power by law enforcement in Baltimore, and across the nation, directly attacks the freedom and fundamental rights of Black Americans. Our communities, families, and children deserve to feel safe in their homes, cars, places of work, during recreation, and at all times. It is tragic and wrong that they do not and have not since our nation’s inception. We need systemic policy change in our policing now.

Baltimore Corps envisions an equitable city for all of its residents. To help Baltimore realize this future, we develop, retain, and connect leaders who share our vision. We believe change is possible. However, we recognize that we must pursue our mission because of generations of pain and racial inequities; we understand that our community is experiencing pain, frustration, fear, and anger tied to that history. All of those feelings are valid. The last few weeks have starkly reminded us that the nation’s past of overt racial terror isn’t far behind us.

With so much of our community ready to take action, we want to remind everyone that because there are still unmet needs in our community, there remains a number of ways to get involved. Please consider investing in organizations supporting our community during this time:

• Donate to Black Led Grassroots organizations

• Check out this website to find black-led organizations https://cllctivly.org/organizations

• The current cohort of Elevation Awardees https://www.baltimorecorps.org/elevation-awards

• Food distribution: The Food With A Focus fund was created to increase personal safety and decrease the spread of COVID-19 by finding a faster, more efficient method for food distribution so families do not need to travel daily to access food. Visit foodwithafocus.org.

I echo the advice by our local activists and justice leaders to safely and knowledgeably participate in demonstrations protesting police brutality and abuse. Before participating, please understand who is leading the demonstrations underway in our city and verify that those leaders have deep and authentic ties to our community. It is imperative that demonstrations underway in our city are of our city. Ultimately, powerful, persistent, and peaceful protest is one of our most effective tools for driving change.

I also encourage everyone to exercise their right to vote on June 2nd, 2020.* If you need assistance exercising your right to vote, please reach out to:

• Black Girls Vote blackgirlsvote.com

• No Boundaries Coalition noboundariescoalition.com

• Baltimore Votes baltimorevotes.org

• Black Votes Matter Fund blackvotersmatterfund.org

Lastly, we obviously still confront a major health pandemic that has already disproportionately impacted Black and Indigenous communities. We want our community to be well. Please continue the practice of social distancing, per the CDC: limit close contact with others outside your household in indoor and outdoor spaces. Since people can spread the virus before they know they are sick, it is important to stay away from others when possible, even if you — or they — have no symptoms. Social distancing is especially important for people who are at higher risk for severe illness from COVID-19.

We continue to stand with those that fight against white supremacy and racial injustice across the nation.

Sincerely,

Fagan Harris

CEO, Baltimore Corps

* As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, Baltimore Corps encourages voter participation but does not endorse or oppose any political candidate.

PERSPECTIVE| Same Storm, Different Ships: How We’re All Getting Through COVID-19 Differently

By Jasir Qiydaar

It’s a massive understatement to say that this is one of the most uncertain times of our lives.

Many stores and offices are closed, a number of people are working from home, or not working at all, or risking their lives to work- all examples of how COVID-19 has disrupted our sense of normalcy. Every day we’re inundated with so much information (and misinformation), it can be hard to consume the news without it consuming you.

Because many of us are staying at home to stop the virus from spreading, days can be a unique mix of mundane and terrifying. For me, there have been many deceptively “normal” moments; whether I was talking to a friend on the phone or watching TV, I was almost able to put this crisis out of my mind — until I couldn’t. Inevitably, I would be reminded that a deadly virus is claiming thousands of lives around the world, and nobody knows when — or if — we’ll return to a reality that resembles ours from early this year. One of the things I’ve heard a lot during this time is people urging each other to spend their extra free time on maximizing their productivity or risk wasting a golden opportunity to do so. But this isn’t a retreat: it’s a pandemic. It’s perfectly fine if you don’t spend every waking moment at peak productivity.

It’s humbling to see how COVID-19 is affecting people’s lives worldwide. In a matter of months, it has dramatically changed how most people live and interact with each other. While this pandemic is a global one that infects people of all identities and backgrounds, it’s crucial to understand that it’s not affecting everyone in the same way. The fact that COVID-19 disproportionately affects African-American communities highlights that the systemic inequalities people face don’t go away during disasters: they get worse. Because of this, and countless other examples, the well-intentioned phrase, “We’re all in this together!” (that people commonly use to promote unity during this time) isn’t totally accurate. Although we are experiencing the same crisis at the same time, we are all experiencing it differently.

Whether we can identify what they are or not, many of us are dealing with profound losses, so we should be patient with ourselves. No matter what your loss from this pandemic is, it’s OK to mourn it. This is especially important to keep in mind, because during a time with such a high death toll, it can seem insensitive or even disrespectful to complain about anything less than the loss of life. However, losing a job, a project, or your general sense of normalcy, are all significant and worthy of feeling upset about. Grief isn’t a zero-sum game, so your feelings don’t take away from the feelings of others.

The concept of us all being in this crisis together is flawed, but the ideal it represents is powerful. This pandemic has shown how interconnected our lives are and that our actions can have tremendous consequences for other people. Over the past couple of months, there have been countless inspirational examples of people uniting in ways we haven’t seen before to teach students, find creative ways to stay in touch, and provide food and medical equipment to those who need it. While so much is uncertain now, it is clear that it’ll take even more of that unprecedented togetherness to combat such an unparalleled pandemic.

Baltimore Corps' Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Baltimore

To the Baltimore Corps Family and our larger Baltimore Community: 

I hope and pray that this message finds you well and in good health. This is a scary time for our city. I know from personal experience how frightening the impacts of the pandemic can be. As our community grapples with the impacts of COVID-19 all of us must do our part, individually, to stem the tide of the pandemic and work collectively to engineer a strong public health response and eventually, usher in an economic recovery. There is incredible urgency for us to move swiftly because the pandemic, as it intensifies, will only further stress our core institutions (e.g., hospitals and healthcare facilities, workforce and economic development agencies). Therefore, this message outlines Baltimore Corps’ current pandemic response and invites feedback and participation from all of you as we further develop that strategy and deploy new efforts to help our community. Baltimore Corps will focus on where it adds unique value: staffing critical frontline roles (i.e., social workers, healthcare professionals) and advocating for our small business community. 

Fortifying Our Frontline Response

Baltimore City, like most major markets in the United States, will face an acute shortage of frontline service workers. That shortage is primarily motivated by three drivers: a surge in patients because of COVID-19 (taxing frontline providers), the vulnerability of frontline workers to the virus (many healthcare professionals in Baltimore City are over the age of 50 and thereby especially susceptible to the worst impacts of the virus), and the moral imperative to serve especially vulnerable populations. In Baltimore City, for instance, thousands of individuals experiencing homelessness will require intensive support during this crisis. 

As the pandemic spreads through the population, we expect that shortage of frontline service workers to only increase. Therefore, effective immediately, Baltimore Corps is aligning its recruitment and placement efforts, through our Place for Purpose job placement program, to fulfill the needs on the frontlines of the pandemic response. We have an immediate need for Case Managers and Shelter Monitors reporting to the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services. These individuals will serve and support our most vulnerable City residents. In the coming weeks, please monitor Baltimore Corps’ digital communications for additional roles and opportunities. We will fill critical roles across healthcare and City government. If you’re not in a position to participate in these roles, I ask that you widely share these job postings with your network. We will have successive notifications to share with the public and your continued and sustained engagement will help us to do our part to help our city.

Supporting Small Business and Social Entrepreneurs

We have heard from so many of you that this is an enormously challenging time for small business. The needs confronting our small business community are especially acute in communities of color. Therefore, in the coming weeks, Baltimore Corps will announce an intensive technical assistance program and a public education campaign to support small businesses and social entrepreneurs trying to navigate the crisis. While many resources are coming online because of federal and state action, capitalizing on those opportunities has already proven challenging for millions across the nation. Baltimore Corps is committed to aggregating and widely distributing relevant knowledge and expertise essential to the survival of our small business community in the weeks and months ahead. We’re working very hard to assemble helpful content and guidance for our community; stay tuned for more updates.

We have already announced helpful changes to our Kiva-Baltimore platform and will share additional changes to both Kiva-Baltimore and Elevation Awards as we’re able to bring additional resources for our network online. On our website, you will also find a COVID-19 Resource Guide that compiles helpful information. We will continue to update this page as the pandemic continues and other resources become available. 

Fellowship, Public Allies, Mayoral Fellowship, Elevation Awards, and Kiva-Baltimore

Baltimore Corps will continue to operate its core programs. Currently, we are accepting applications for the Mayoral Fellowship as well as the Baltimore Corps Fellowship and appreciate your support in spreading the word. In the coming weeks, I will share information about the updated timelines and parameters for each of our programmatic efforts. I expect all of our programs to align with the pandemic response. 

Baltimore is not unique in its challenges and yet  we can stand out in our collective response. Baltimore Corps will be in regular touch with all of you and we encourage you to reach out with suggestions, feedback, and areas of action where we can support our community. 

Take care, be safe, and be in touch, 

Fagan

Support for local businesses during the Coronavirus pandemic

Kiva community,

Small businesses are already being negatively impacted by the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus in the United States, including many members of the Kiva community. Whether it’s your favorite neighborhood coffee shop, your best friend who owns a storefront or a local grower you support at the farmer's market, millions of American businesses will be disrupted when employees and customers must stay home and supply chains break down.

Many of those businesses and entrepreneurs are currently looking for financial relief to survive the next trying months—and we believe the Kiva community can help.

read more on Kiva’s website: https://www.kiva.org/blog/support-local-businesses-during-the-coronavirus-pandemic