Women's Housing Coalition, Inc - Baltimore, MD

WHC focuses on keeping residents housed and building self-sufficiency. Our services in support of families and individuals (seniors, women, children, men) in Baltimore City are extensive and includes housing and other components needed to solidify the success of individuals and families and the sustainability of housing. All our adult residents are challenged by at least one disability, which for many is a mental health condition. Mental health diagnoses include schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and clinical anxiety and depression. To address these challenges, residents meet with a case manager at least 2x/month to outline goals and provide accountability and support in achieving them. By providing case management and supportive services that address multi-layered social determinants of health, like digital inequity, we help residents work through the challenges of historic and structural discrimination and disadvantage as well as personal disabilities and traumas so that they can disrupt cycles of housing insecurity and poverty otherwise perpetuated and exacerbated by systemic and longstanding inequities. Our housing and services enable individuals and families in Baltimore City, all of whom were chronically homeless, to escape generational cycles of homelessness and take advantage of opportunities to build new lives that are safer, healthier, and better resourced. During their time as residents of our supportive housing, we help people create and act on plans to confront and surmount complex challenges, providing support services and incentives that address each person’s and household’s unique needs. These individualized plans encompass educational and job training and mental and physical healthcare access. We follow a “housing first” approach that prioritizes the provision of safe, stable housing, within the context of which an array of additional, tailored services are provided. This requires a secure and available supply of housing and an ability to consistently provide a diverse set of social and healthcare services that address basic population health needs like access to food, healthcare, and the opportunity to become technologically literate.

Along with permanent housing, the Women's Housing Coalition provides each woman with: Regular case management and establishment and monitoring of an Individual Service Plan (ISP); Referrals to expert community resources for specialized services such as health, mental health and substance abuse care, job training and basic adult education. Partners include: North Baltimore Center; Healthcare for the Homeless; Mosaic; Franciscan Center; Goodwill Industries; Caroline Center; Strong City Baltimore; Johns Hopkins East Baltimore Mental Health Clinic; Family and Children Services; Gaudenzia; and many others; Onsite coaching in life skills and job readiness, and an array of education and wellness programs; Direct client assistance including a matched savings program, one-time emergency and opportunity grants, education assistance, transportation assistance, child care assistance, prescription co-pays, and drug testing. Within a few days of moving in, each woman meets with a Case Manager and they begin to work on an ISP. Case management meetings continue on a semi-monthly basis at a minimum to take stock of residents progress and changing needs. In addition to referrals to services in the community, the Case Manager and the resident identify in-house services, workshops and education programs that are of interest and may help advance the resident individual goals.

Our services include case management, advocacy, life skills training and somatic and mental health referrals and access, with individualized service plans tailored to each person and/or family. WHC focuses on keeping residents housed and building self-sufficiency. Success is measured via case notes and client self-reporting as residents stay housed and move toward their goals, with no less than bi-monthly case manager interactions. We also utilize a self-sufficiency matrix review (which is a best practice, industry standard) to quantify client progress and assess and improve programming. We currently track the number of people that we serve, including the number of children served, and their utilization of case management services, inclusive of all services directly provided, or to which individuals are referred, because of case management. Demographically, we track the race, ethnicity, ages, gender identities, incomes, and geographic origins of residents. We will continue to utilize the data that we collect to enhance our current supportive services and to add new ones that directly address the specific needs of our residents.

Our housing includes 3 SRO (Single Room Occupancy) residences (14, 30 and 22 units). We also operate Linden House, which has 5 apartments, 4 are for families. We manage 37 individual units in various zip codes of high need. We provide 108 units of housing for individuals and families that are without stable homes and have little to no income when they enter our program.

Through 2022, we kept nearly 140 adults and children out of shelters and off the streets while enhancing case management and expanding supportive services.

Recently, in 2023 we were approved by HUD to add 15 additional family units, increasing our capacity to serve 180+ adults and children.