PAULS PLACE INC

Paul's Place is a catalyst and leader for change, improving the quality of life in the Southwest Baltimore communities of Pigtown, Poppleton, Southwest Baltimore, Morrell Park, and Westport. Paul's Place provides programs, services, and support that strengthen individuals and families, fostering hope, personal dignity, and growth.

Our vision is that the individuals and families living in the communities of Southwest Baltimore will have full access to high quality health care, education, employment, and housing along with the other supports necessary for stability and self-sufficiency.

In 2016, Paul's Place completed an assessment of neighborhood needs and opportunities to respond with programs and services that are part of the solution to poverty and disenfranchisement in the neighborhoods of Southwest Baltimore and in Baltimore City. That assessment led to a set of four strategic goals to guide the growth and sustainability of programs and operations through 2019 and to envision the future of human service delivery:

1. Operate a dynamic, anchor human service agency that improves the lives of people in Southwest Baltimore.
2. Position Paul's Place externally as a thought leader and internally as a highly effective organization.
3. Ensure the financial sustainability of Paul's Place in order to continue and adapt to changing needs in Southwest Baltimore.
4. Re-imagine human service delivery in Southwest Baltimore in order to respond to changing needs and serve more residents.

Paul's Place offers a broad range of programs, services, and resources for underserved individuals and families in Southwest Baltimore to help them move closer to self-sufficiency and reduce their reliance on emergency services and basic assistance.

Health and Wellness Programs improve the physical and mental well-being of low-income and homeless adults and children in Southwest Baltimore.
- Basic assistance programs provide hot meals; showers; emergency food provisions; laundry service; gently-used clothing; and emergency utility, medical, and rent assistance.
- A Nurses' Clinic in partnership with the University of Maryland, School of Nursing offers health check-ups; medical case management; referrals for medical, substance use and mental health services; and assistance navigating insurance and health care systems.
- Weekly Men's and Women's Groups provide guests opportunities to build support networks, enjoy activities together, and work through challenges.

Case Management Services increase workforce-related skills and help low-income and homeless adults in Southwest Baltimore move toward self-sufficiency.
- Adult education offerings include basic literacy classes, GED classes and exam preparation, and computer skills training in our 21-station computer lab.
- An on-site employment coach, based at Paul's Place in partnership with Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, provides targeted support for unemployed or underemployed adults in job searching and career development.
- The Ambassador Program offers a structured volunteer experience for working-age adults in early recovery, for senior citizens, and for adults with limited employability addressing barriers to employment and personal growth.
- The STABLE Home Project connects individuals and families experiencing chronic homelessness to Safe housing in a Timely manner that is Aligned with their needs, priced within the Budget, Local and Enduring.
- Case management is available for adults and children to receive structured, ongoing assistance in navigating complex challenges and reaching self-selected goals related to housing, employment, mental and physical health, education, and other issues.

Programs for Children and Youth promote academic success and personal growth, provide mentoring, and develop personal responsibility, self-esteem, and resiliency.
- After-school programs for students in grades 1-12 offer academic support, enrichment activities, opportunities to enhance physical and mental health, career exploration, internships and mentoring.
- Summer programs for elementary and middle students enhance learning over the summer through exposure to new experiences; summer programs for high school students provide career exploration, college preparation and a paid internship.

William (Bill) McLennan has served as Executive Director for over 18 years. Bill has led the growth of Paul’s Place from offering basic needs services to offering programs that help our guests move toward self-sufficiency and has increased the number of people we serve from 1,500 guests each year to 3,500. Through his leadership, Paul’s Place has developed strong, authentic partnerships with dozens of nonprofit organizations, businesses, schools, faith-based organizations and government agencies to strengthen our ability to serve our guests.

Terry Manning, Deputy Director, has worked in the nonprofit sector for 20 years, with 15 at the senior management level. Prior to Paul's Place, she served seven years as Vice President of Human Capital Management and Compliance at the Children’s Guild where she oversaw all aspects of human resources and created a quality improve monitoring system. In addition to supervising frontline staff, she is overseeing implementation of the new culinary training kitchen initiative.

Paul’s Place considers its financial stability a priority to ensure we can continue providing essential services to individuals and families in crisis. Over time, we have maintained broad support from a variety of sources including individuals, foundations, businesses, and government agencies. We are fortunate to have a loyal donor base as evidenced by the 60% donor retention rate we have enjoyed for the past three years. This far exceeds the national average of 45.5%. Our development team works diligently to attract new donors in all categories and engage them in full partnerships including volunteering, in-kind gifts, and financial support. In FY19, 48% of our donors increased their giving from the previous year, and 234 donors made their first gift.

Our fundraising is strengthened by strong volunteer involvement and targeted requests for in-kind support. The contribution of time by 3,500 volunteers annually represents a huge cost savings to Paul’s Place and increases our internal capacity to deliver quality services. In FY19, we averaged more than 100 new volunteers each month.

Thanks to our efforts over the past 38 years, thousands of people have achieved stability. However, community listening sessions in the wake of the 2015 Uprising confirmed that the need for job training, accessible employment, and neighborhood economic development continues. Vulnerable residents require more than short-term assistance; they need a long-term economic investment to support them in achieving economic stability. Paul’s Place will launch a culinary art training program that will empower residents to become self-sustaining.

We are designing and constructing a 21,000 square foot facility on a newly acquired vacant lot at the western gateway to Pigtown – the intersection of Washington Boulevard and Cross Street. The building will house the culinary arts training program as well as a restaurant and catering business that will operate to provide on-the-job training. The training program – to open in spring 2021 – will follow a national, evidence-based model to prepare 60 adults per year for careers with good wages in the food service industry.

Graduates will receive both front and back of the house training due to the onsite restaurant and catering business. They will earn the ServSafe certification® at the managerial level, which opens job opportunities in industries in Baltimore that pay above minimum wage. We will connect participants to employment through our network of partnerships with local anchor institutions, and continue providing case management support for a minimum of six months post-graduation.

While enrolled, students will have immediate access to Paul's Place's services, including food, showers, laundry, mail holding, computer and phone access, transportation assistance, and assistance with their stability goals. They will also have a place to store their belongings and study in the Groundworks student lounge space.

The Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation projects a 12% growth in Baltimore City in food preparation and service in the decade ending in 2024; further, the Southwest Baltimore area has large institutions that have both food service needs for employees and a desire to support and improve their community. We will harness this industry growth to train more community residents to take advantage of these higher-wage opportunities.

According to the 2018 Economic Impact Study by Sage Policy Group commissioned by Paul’s Place, the culinary art training program, restaurant, and catering business will support 122 jobs and nearly $12.2 million in annual economic activity after the first year due to operational spending and the spending of households positively impacted through job placement.