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The Baltimore region ranks among the worst in the U.S. for air pollution. According to a 2018 study, the region had 114 days where the air quality ranked as yellow or worse by the EPA’s Air Quality Index. Poor air quality triggers asthma and can cause other health issues. In fact, children in Baltimore City […]

Even as a kid, Janet Glover-Kerkvliet was interested in career development. “Since I was 10,” says Glover-Kerkvliet, “I would look at the job listings because I was interested in finding out all the ways that people made money.” Her interest became even more personal when she was 14 – her father, who was 48 at […]

The pale-yellow box stands about four feet high, with stacks of canned fruit, packs of pasta, and boxes of mixes visible through the glass pane. “Free To Those In Need” is painted on in bold letters, along with a vibrant floral design. This is the first Parts of Peace (PoP) Pantry Mariah Pratt-Bonkowski established, and […]

Growing up in Baltimore, Alphonso Mayo’s experience was all too common. His mother was a drug addict who left him with his grandparents when he was six months old. His father was incarcerated throughout his life. And he relied on football to escape from his reality. But that didn’t stop him. When Mayo was 21, […]

There are longstanding and deepening health disparities in birthing outcomes for black women. As a group, African American women are at least three to four times more likely to die during or after pregnancy. According to the Centers for Disease Control, nearly 60 percent of maternal deaths in the U.S. are preventable. Black women are […]

There’s a feeling we’ve all had when a new idea finally clicks. When you’ve just learned – after a great amount of effort – how to solve a tough problem. For many, it’s been a teacher who has helped them achieve that moment. When Damien Haussling was a high school math teacher, there was no […]

In 2017, the Maryland legislature passed a “ban the box” bill that removed the question about criminal convictions from applications to Maryland colleges. The legislation was vetoed by Governor Larry Hogan. But when the legislature reconvened in January 2018, they overturned the veto, removing a barrier to higher education for many people. For Elyshia Aseltine, […]

Word quickly spread around Baltimore’s Brooklyn neighborhood that Kendra Summers could help translate for renters. She helped interpret when Spanish speakers met with landlords for assistance with heat, roof, or flooring repairs. Sometimes, a landlord would try to excuse a delay or attempt to avoid completing the work, and Summers would step in and advocate […]

Food sustains us, but it can also break us. A lack of access to healthy, fresh, nutritious foods diminishes wellness and increases health risks. There are few places where the deleterious effects of poor food conditions can be felt more than in correctional facilities. Kanav Kathuria reflected on the role of food when speaking with […]

As a Mexican immigrant who came to the U.S. in 1982, Dinorah Olmos knows firsthand how difficult it is to navigate the American education system. When her daughter first started going to school, it took Olmos a while to understand how it all worked. In 1986, Olmos started working as a bilingual assistant in schools […]