Open Society Institute – Baltimore
Open Society Institute (OSI) – Baltimore : Audacious Thinking For Lasting Change
While civil unrest may have eased in Baltimore City, many of the individuals swept up in the police crackdown are still in jail—going on two months later—as they await final judgment of their criminal charges.
It must be lost in the jumbled priorities of Washington. And it’s a real shame. Because with a little help, cities like Baltimore could bail out the entire country. Everyone seems to agree that America needs to become energy independent. And that we need to find a way to lower energy prices. And that we […]
Reduced school suspensions by 74% by advocating to rewrite the overly punitive Baltimore City code of conduct, and funding alternatives to student suspension over several years. Addressing harsh and inequitable discipline practices, this work reversed the devastating impact of out-of-school suspensions on student achievement, gradation rates, juvenile arrests, and post-graduation success. Supported and encouraged community-based organizations to […]
Addiction and Health Equity Tackled health disparities, particularly regarding drug use, to reduce inequitable outcomes for community members. Launched the Baltimore Buprenorphine Initiative, introducing a new evidence-based treatment for individuals addicted to opioids. Grew a local harm reduction movement that has spread across the state and greatly increased the availability of overdose prevention services. Led […]
OSI-Baltimore’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice Program seeks to reduce the use of incarceration and its social and economic costs without compromising public safety, and promote justice systems that are fair, are used as a last resort, and offer second chances. It supports advocacy, public education, research, grassroots organizing, litigation and demonstration projects that focus on […]
Herbert Sturz, the onetime deputy mayor of New York City who founded the Vera Institute of Justice and relentlessly sought to reshape the criminal justice system, died last week at 90. Sturz was an early member of OSI-Baltimore’s Advisory Board and served as a liaison with colleagues in New York. “Herb was an incredible man,” […]
OSI-Baltimore’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice Program seeks to reduce mass incarceration in Baltimore and Maryland through strategies that dismantle structural racism in criminal justice policies and promote restorative justice as the way to achieve lasting and widely-shared community safety. 2019 was a year of planning and strategizing for the Criminal and Juvenile Justice Program. We […]
This Friday, June 19th, a wide range of local organizations will hold events and campaigns to mark Juneteenth, the oldest national commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States. But as OSI grantees Job Opportunities Task Force (JOTF), Out for Justice (OFJ) and the Baltimore Action Legal Team (BALT), explain on the Facebook […]
OSI-Baltimore has permanently closed. It has been our honor and privilege to partner with and serve the Baltimore community for the past 25 years.
This website is available for historical purposes. It is no longer being updated.