ST AMBROSE HOUSING AID CENTER INC
St. Ambrose provides a pathway home and a springboard to a better life.
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
The universal need for a place to call home and all that it implies: - A sense of place, stability, and security - Neighborhood and community - A place to nurture a family and companionship - The pride of homeownership - An opportunity to build wealth - Empowerment
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Rental Services
St. Ambrose Rental Services Program has been at the core of the agency's mission for over 30 years. By providing well managed, affordable rental opportunities to 310 very low to moderate income households in the Baltimore area, St. Ambrose has helped assure quality affordable housing options in a city desperately in need of more.
Homesharing
The Homesharing Program, which is the only one of its kind in the state, presents a unique solution to the challenge of increasing the availability of affordable housing in today’s economy. Homesharing is a solution to the affordability challenges of both homeowners and renters in Baltimore. A successful match creates housing and financial stability for the home seeker and home provider.
The Host Home Program is an expansion of our Homesharing model designed to target and accommodate the needs of young adults experiencing homelessness. The Host Home Program matches young adults ages 18-24 experiencing homelessness with a host home provider, specifically recruited and trained to work with this population, to provide them with a stable and supportive home environment for up to three months. Hope House is a new venture for St. Ambrose that houses youth (18-24) who need more than the 90 days that the Host Home Program offers to prepare them for long-term sustainable housing. Program participants live in one of our two Hope House properties and receive case management services from St. Ambrose staff.
Housing Development
St. Ambrose's Housing Development Program focuses on for-sale residential real estate development in targeted neighborhoods of Baltimore City. Foreclosed and distressed houses are acquired, renovated and sold to qualified low and moderate owner-occupant home buyers. The objective of this work is to strengthen communities by helping to establish, preserve and improve quality market-rate homeownership opportunities in Baltimore's "middle neighborhoods", emerging communities with both assets and challenges, including high rates of foreclosure, reduced rates of homeownership and sluggish property values. The agency has acquired 597 vacant properties and restored them to homeownership over the past 18 years.
Housing Counseling
St. Ambrose’s Housing Counseling Program is tackling underlying financial education challenges that cause families to be at risk of foreclosure and family instability. Through group education, workshops, individual financial coaching, and pre-purchase counseling, St. Ambrose clients graduate from the program prepared to make informed and realistic decisions about their future as it relates to their financial reality. Most recently, St. Ambrose added the HUBS (Housing Upgrades to Benefit Seniors) Program as a service component, through which legacy homeowners can age-in-place by accessing much-needed home repairs and modifications to ensure housing stability for themselves and for future generations.
Legal Services Department
The Legal Services Program at St. Ambrose Housing Aid Center provides civil legal services to lower income residents which help secure homeownership, preserve intergenerational wealth, and ensure economic justice. The staff attorneys address housing stability issues for low income Baltimore families and those facing foreclosure or eviction using unique, community-driven legal strategies. The program provides civil legal aid to assist low income clients to preserve stable and affordable housing and aims to address the broad spectrum of housing and consumer legal issues that affect one’s ability to attain and preserve affordable housing. To this end, the staff attorneys provide direct legal services to our clients including brief advice, more in-depth counsel, and direct representation at judicial or administrative proceedings.
Where we work
Accreditations
NeighborWorks America 2005
Awards
Neighbor of Excellence Award 2004
Bank of America
External reviews

Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of clients served
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
This metric includes households served through all programs: Housing Counseling, Housing Upgrades to Benefit Seniors, Homesharing, Legal Services, Rental Services, and Housing Development
Number of clients participating in educational programs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
This metric includes households that attended a homeownership or foreclosure prevention workshop
Number of clients assisted with legal needs
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Legal Services Department
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
Legal Assistance includes brief advice, legal counseling, document review and preparation, and representation
Number of low-income families housed in affordable, well-maintained units as a result of the nonprofit's efforts
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Related Program
Rental Services
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Increasing
Context Notes
This is a point-in-time count of families housed in our rental homes.
Our Sustainable Development Goals
Learn more about Sustainable Development Goals.
Goals & Strategy
Learn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
Our Key Measures
-People moved into permanent housing situations
- People receiving case management who are meeting their objectives
- Homes sold and neighborhoods strengthened
- Rental units and occupancy; new units developed
- Families provided financial education, counseling, and coaching - increased savings, improved credit scores, and reduced debt
- Potential first-time homebuyers served and success rate
- Post-purchase participants and impact on foreclosure rate
- Families supported in navigating the foreclosure process and number of foreclosures prevented
- Homesharing matches and homes shared
- Housing preservation legal cases and success rate
- Families whose wealth was secured through a deed or will
- Home improvement projects completed for seniors
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
Strategic Priorities
*Framed by our mission and vision, and in pursuit of our intended impact – provide a pathway home and
a springboard to a better life – our strategic priorities for FY 21-23 are:
- Provide pathways to permanent housing – Assist people, including formerly homeless young adults, to move to permanent housing.
- Support people in their quest for a better life – Provide case management that enables people to maintain permanent housing and expand their educational and vocational opportunities.
- Expand the rate of affordable homeownership – Develop affordable, high-quality homes for purchase.
- Clear the path to successful homeownership – Provide pre- and post-purchase education and counseling.
- Address the crushing burden of rental costs – Provide quality, affordable rentals to individuals and families.
- Help families build and preserve assets and take greater control of their financial destiny – Provide financial education, counseling, and legal services that preserve and build family wealth and facilitate the intergenerational transfer of assets.
- Enable seniors to age in place in their community – Provide a comprehensive array of services for “legacy residents” that include home improvements, financial education, asset protection, and Homesharing matches.
- Expand access to shared housing – Match home providers with home seekers, providing permanent homes across the age span and temporary housing for formerly homeless young adults.
- Help families avoid the devastation of foreclosure or eviction – Provide counseling, education, and legal services that help families avoid losing their homes through foreclosure or through landlord-tenant disputes.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Our Capabilities
Excellence in:
- Understanding how to meet the affordable housing needs of Baltimore
city and the area
- The business of affordable housing
- Affordable, attractive, marketable home renovation
- Rental property management
- Homesharing
- Housing-related financial education and counseling
- Housing and wealth-preservation legal services
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
- Assist people, including formerly homeless young adults, to move to permanent housing
- Provide case management that enables people to maintain permanent housing and expand their educational and vocational opportunities
- Develop affordable, high-quality homes for purchase and rental
- Offer pre- and post-purchase education and counseling that leads to successful homeownership
- Provide quality, affordable rentals to individuals and families
- Offer financial education, counseling and legal services that preserve and build family wealth
- Provide a comprehensive array of services for "legacy residents" that allow seniors to age in place in their community
- Match home providers with home seekers, providing permanent homes across the age span, and temporary housing for formerly homeless young adults
- Provide education, counseling, and ;egal services that help families avoid losing their homes through foreclosure or landlord-tenant disputes
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
Want to see how you can enhance your nonprofit research and unlock more insights? Learn More about GuideStar Pro.
ST AMBROSE HOUSING AID CENTER INC
Board of directorsas of 02/11/2022
Mr. David Wells
Former CEO of K Bank
J. Joseph Clarke
J.J. Clarke Enterprises
Jesse Alfriend
Enterprise
Rahn Barnes
No Affiliation
Jerome Geraghty
Blades & Rosenfeld, PA
Millie Hrdina
Whole Foods/Avatar Deliveries
Barbara Schmitt
MD Department of Housing and Community Development
Nora Vlahoyiannis
SunTrust Development Corporation
Jane Wilson
Semmes, Bowen & Semmes
Patricia Bennett
Our Daily Bread, Catholic Charities
Phil Croskey
PointClickSwitch.com
Syeetah Hampton-El
State's Attorney Office, Baltimore City
Andrew O'Brien
Retired, Maryland Energy Assistance Program
Theo Ngongang
Baltimore City Department of Transportation
Shannon Pinder
Institue of Notre Dame
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes