• OSI Baltimore Talks to WJZ about the Solutions Summit

    On Saturday, WJZ public affairs show On Time hosted OSI-Baltimore director Diana Morris, and Joe Jones, President and CEO of Center for Urban Families and the Vice Chair of OSI’s Advisory Board to talk about the upcoming Solutions Summit. The Summit will be held at the War Memorial on December 10 (register for free here), and […]

  • Solutions Summit to Present Pugh With Community-Driven Recommendations

    On December 10, Mayor-Elect Catherine Pugh will welcome an expected crowd of 800 to 1,000 people at Open Society Institute-Baltimore’s Solutions Summit, a free, full-day celebration of civic participation where city residents will vote on the priorities they want to see the new mayor and City Council focus on over the next 12 to 18 […]

  • WYPR’s On the Record Begins Series on OSI’s 2016 Community Fellows

    Last week, WYPR’s On the Record began a series of profiles about OSI-Baltimore 2016 Community Fellows. They started with a profile of Melissa Badeker and her project, the Baltimore Teachers Supply Swap, a service that collects supplies from teachers, schools, businesses and individuals and redistributes them –for free — to those who need them. The Swap was started after Badeker, with […]

  • US Department of Health and Human Services to expand opioid treatment coverage

    The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it would be expanding access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorders by allowing nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician assistants (PAs) to prescribe buprenorphine. “Today’s action will provide even more access to medication-assisted treatment,” said Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) […]

  • Teacher’s behavior highlights disturbing trend, as racists feel empowered

    The disturbing video of a Baltimore City Public School teacher verbally abusing her students has reverberated widely today. We applaud the school district for taking swift and decisive action in this situation by firing the teacher. The district demonstrated that some behaviors are wholly unacceptable and that teachers who cross lines of decency will be […]

  • New Survey: Marylanders Want to End the Cash Bail System

    Likely voters overwhelmingly support decisions based on risk assessment instead of economic status BALTIMORE – A new survey prepared by the Pretrial Justice Institute, with funding from Open Society Institute-Baltimore finds that 70 percent of likely voters favor using risk assessments as the determining factor for keeping someone in jail before trial, rather than their ability to […]

  • OSI-Baltimore Mourns the Loss of Gwen Ifill

    Sherrilyn Ifill and Gwen Ifill at OSI-Baltimore’s Talking About Race event in 2009.   OSI-Baltimore is deeply saddened by the passing of Gwen Ifill, the Peabody Award-winning broadcaster and a pioneer of political journalism. Ifill started her career as a reporter with the Baltimore Evening Sun from 1981 to 1984, and worked for the Washington […]

  • OSI’s Karen Webber weighs in on rise of school suspensions

    After years of declines, school suspensions increased 25 percent during the 2015-16 school year, the Sun reported this weekend. Karen Webber, director of OSI-Baltimore’s Education and Youth Development program is quoted throughout the piece, talking about OSI’s role in reducing suspensions over the last 12 years and expressing her concerns about a backslide. “We had […]

  • City Paper “100 Solutions” Issue Features Solutions Summit, OSI Staff

    This week’s City Paper, which came out the day after Election Day, includes 100-word suggestions from 100 Baltimoreans for solutions they’d like to see Mayor-elect Catherine Pugh and the new city council address in theit first 100 days in office (“100 Citizens, 100 Words, 100 Solutions,” Nov. 8). The introduction to the cover-story connects it […]

  • Baltimore City Mayor-elect Catherine Pugh announces priorities, transition team

    Mayor-elect Catherine Pugh participates in OSI-Baltimore’ Stoop Storytelling Mayoral Show Thanking the citizens of Baltimore after her election on Tuesday, Mayor-elect Catherine Pugh outlined the priorities for her new administration, announced her transition team, and launched a new website. Pugh says she will focus on healthy neighborhoods, public safety, education and youth development, transportation, and jobs […]