• Today is International Overdose Awareness Day

    OSI staff wearing International Overdose Awareness Day pins and holding their Naloxone training cards after being trained to administer the life-saving drug.   By Rachel Moler One hundred and twenty nine. This is the number of people that die every day from an overdose in the United States. This number does not consist of individuals from […]

  • OSI and Health Department Release Brief on Baltimore’s Response to Overdose Epidemic

    OSI-Baltimore and Baltimore Health Department Announce Release of a New Brief, “Baltimore’s Response to the Overdose Epidemic” August 31, 2016 Media Advisory Evan Serpick, OSI-Baltimore Evan.Serpick@opensocietyfoundations.org 410-234-1091 Michelle Mendes, Baltimore City Health Department Michelle.Mendes@baltimorecity.gov 443-862-0891 As we mark International Overdose Awareness Day (overdoseday.com), Open Society Institute-Baltimore and the Baltimore City Health Department are proud to announce […]

  • OSI-Baltimore co-sponsors premier of documentary about Mexican “guest” workers in Maryland fair industry

    On September 7, 2016, OSI-Baltimore, along with Centro de los Derechos del Migrante (CDM), the Maryland Immigrant Rights Coalition (MIRC), the Center for Progressive Reform (CPR) and the Public Justice Center (PJC) will co-host the Baltimore premiere of Farewell Ferris Wheel, an award-winning documentary that explores the experiences of Mexican “guest” workers in Maryland’s fair […]

  • OSI grantees lead School Police Training Institute

    In mid-August, the Baltimore Board of Education announced plans to increase the number of police present in Baltimore City Public Schools (BCPS) – a decision that was met with mixed reactions. Leaders of the teachers’ and administrators’ unions both praised the move, citing the need for school police to be inside schools, building relationships with […]

  • Can Universal Basic Income Fix Our Economy and End Poverty?

    As new technologies change – and potentially disrupt – the labor economy, how can lower and middle income families stay afloat? In 2010, Andy Stern, Ronald O. Perelman Senior Fellow at Columbia University’s Richman Center and Open Society Foundations Board Member, stepped down as president of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) – one of the fastest growing unions in recent […]

  • OSI-Baltimore Statement on the BPD’s Aerial Surveillance Program

    Media Advisory Contact Evan Serpick 410-234-1091 Open Society Institute-Baltimore is deeply troubled by revelations that the Baltimore Police Department (BPD) has been conducting a covert surveillance program in the skies above our city since January. OSI-Baltimore calls for the Baltimore Police Department to come forward with a complete disclosure of the program so that it […]

  • Justice Policy Institute publishes report on violent crime and reducing mass incarceration

    Today, OSI grantee the Justice Policy Institute released “Defining Violence: reducing incarceration by rethinking America’s approach to violence,” which suggests that reforming the U.S. justice system’s approach to violent crime is key to lowering incarceration rates. While many reform efforts focus on non-violent crime, the report notes that just under half the prison population has been […]

  • OSI hosts “Understanding Addiction” training for Baltimore Police

    On Thursday, OSI-Baltimore hosted its second “Understanding Addiction” training for Baltimore police officers and cadets. As The Guardian reported in its story about the training, the officers and cadets heard from people who had been directly impacted by police abuse, including Heaven Godley, who described being beaten by officers and denied medical treatment for three […]

  • OSI Community Fellow Curates Exhibit of ex-Prisoner Shane McCallum’s Work

    On August 27th from 7-10 p.m., Gallery Four in Baltimore will host the opening of THESE EYES, an exhibition by the late artist, Shane McCallum, curated and organized by 2015 OSI Community Fellow Dave Eassa and his project Free Space. McCallum spent nearly 40 years in the Maryland prison system, where he turned to artistic […]

  • Punishing the Poor: Audacious Thinking Summer 2016

    In the Summer 2016 issue of OSI-Baltimore’s newsletter, Audacious Ideas, we announce our plans for the Solutions Summit on December 10, check in with some of our Community Fellows as they work to build an alumni network, and highlight the effects of a cash bail system that punishes the poor. Included are photos featured in […]