Catholic Charities of Baltimore Dedicates Innovative Center to help People Escape Poverty

“We are writing the ultimate turnaround story here. Those who are supporting us in this bold effort recognize that providing opportunities for people to turn from lives mired in chronic poverty to lives of self reliance through employment and stable housing is worth this investment in people and in the economic impact they will make on Baltimore,” said Harold A. Smith, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Baltimore of his agency’s new Our Daily Bread Employment Center.  

Today, with the help of William Henry Cardinal Keeler, Archbishop of Baltimore; Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley; and other city dignitaries, Smith’s agency dedicated Our Daily Bread Employment Center—the city’s first comprehensive resource center designed to help people and their families escape the impact of poverty by providing a centralized array of vital services.

ODBEC houses three existing Catholic Charities programs:

• Our Daily Bread daily hot meal program;
• Christopher Place Employment Academy, a residential program for formerly homeless men aimed at employment and permanent housing; and
• Maryland Re-entry Partnership, a program that enables formerly incarcerated men to successfully reintegrate into the community.

The Center also provides case management and an array of services by Catholic Charities as well as partner providers. These services include eviction prevention services, emergency and referral services, job-readiness assistance, job referral services, job placement, job retention and follow up, adult basic education, medical services (limited), recovery support, assistance with criminal background issues, access to computers and telephones, mail distribution, and workshops on home ownership, financial literacy and healthy relationships.

Through the employment opportunities offered at ODBEC, the Agency expects 350 people to be employed every year. By the end of their first year of work, annual wages of over $6.5 million will have been put back into the community.

“This comprehensive program is exactly what is needed to help break the cycle of poverty that holds back so many people in our nation,” said Rev. Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, which recently launched a campaign to cut poverty rates in half by 2020. “The fact is that families struggling in poverty often need assistance in several areas – including job services, food, housing and health care, and this program is a model for providing a one-stop center to address all of these needs.”

To learn more, read The Baltimore Sun’s article—“Soup kitchen becomes a depot for change; Catholic Charities building is a place of transition - offering hope and positive direction for life journeys”