Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership’s Housing Mobility Program serves over 4,300 families and approximately 8,000 children, helping these families move from areas of concentrated poverty to resource-rich communities in areas of opportunity. Many of the children in our program benefit not only from higher quality housing, but better health and access to robust educational opportunities with all of the lifelong benefits these improved resources provide. Studies consistently demonstrate that when families with young children move from high-poverty areas to resource-rich neighborhoods, their children end up having higher incomes and are less likely to live in high-poverty areas as adults.

Since 2020, BRHP has held a Back-to-School Supply Drive every August leading up to the new school year. With four years of successful events, we have recognized the ongoing need for and importance of school supplies for our families. This year, we organized our biggest Back-to-School Supply effort yet, raising over $10,000 in donations, and allocating an additional $12,000 from BRHP’s budget, to reach over 400 families with 858 backpacks full of supplies.

The Impact of Quality School Supplies

Access to school supplies at the beginning of the school year can have a profound impact on children and families, providing needed confidence and increasing engagement in school. At the same time, school supply costs have never been higher. The National Retail Federation, which has been conducting annual surveys on back-to-school consumer spending since 2003, expects back-to-school spending to reach $39B in 2024, a $13B increase from 2019. The expected spending per household for 2024 is $875, a $178 increase from 2019.

63% of students, or nearly 2 out of 3 children, arrive to school on the first day without the supplies they need.

Kids in Need Foundation – 2021 Impact Report

Without access to quality school supplies, students miss out on the benefits of fully participating in their school opportunities. In the 2021 Kids in Need Foundation Impact Report, based on data from interviews with over 10,000 public-school teachers across the country, educators reported that 63% of students, or nearly 2 out of 3 children, arrive to school on the first day without the supplies they need. Teachers in the study reported that in response to having access to needed school supply, students demonstrated an 87% increase in preparedness, 77% increase in in-class participation and a 70% increase in student confidence. In Maryland, data from The Annie E. Casey Foundation (AECF)’s 2024 Kids Count® Data Profile underscores the acute investment needed to support children in our state, with data showing 12% of Maryland children live in poverty and 30% live in a household with a high housing cost burden, making it more challenging for families to afford needed school items.

Providing quality school supplies not only has an impact on students, but on the teachers who educate them. Data from the Maryland State Education Association, which conducted a poll of 2800+ Maryland public school educators last year, found that 90% of Maryland educators have purchased school supplies out of their own pockets, up from 88 percent in 2019. In 2024, similar to the rise of U.S. household back-to-school spending, teachers throughout the country are projected to spend over $800 out of their own pockets on supplies for their classroom, based on information provided by the National Education Association, a labor union representing public school administration, teachers, faculty and staff. Helping families access the supplies they need also decreases this burden on our educators.

There is nothing that could have been done better, it (the supply drive) was right on time and definitely needed. Thank you BRHP.

Melody H., BRHP Housing Mobility Program Participant

Reinvesting in Our Communities

Our entire organization pulled together to sort and pack over 30,000 pounds of supplies, including about 100 children’s books, and transport them throughout the community. Thanks to this effort, we were able to provide families in our Housing Mobility Program with supplies designed to last them through the year at five different locations throughout our service area, helping ensure that families across the region were able to take advantage of the distribution.

This campaign would not have been possible without the libraries in our opportunity areas that opened their doors to us for supply distributions. We would like to thank the library branches that provided us space to distribute backpacks to families: Baltimore County Public Library – Owings Mills, Baltimore County Public Library – Towson, Anne Arundel County Public Library – Odenton Branch, and Howard County Public Library System – Central Branch; without the help and welcoming spaces these libraries provided, the community distribution would not have been possible.

As our campaign ends and schools start to open, we will be analyzing the feedback from BRHP families and finding ways to make an even more meaningful event next year. Thank you again to everyone who made this event a success and to our families, have a great, safe start to your school year!

Written by — Phillip Clark, Communications Associate

Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership (BRHP) offers GAIN to selected families in our Housing Mobility program as a means to help voucher holders attain financial goals. GAIN, short for “Growing Assets And Income”, is a Family Self-Sufficiency program, to help BRHP families increase their income and savings while in our program. Participants work with a financial coach to establish and achieve their financial goals, receiving monetary incentives when they achieve milestones in education, career, financial health, and homeownership. Payments are deposited in an interest-bearing escrow account to grow their savings.

Programs like GAIN are meant to reduce dependency on assisted housing by rewarding goal achievement, and GAIN can help participants receive incentives of up to $8,000 as they work towards their goals. The program is limited to 250 households who have applied and been selected to participate. We’re excited to celebrate our first GAIN program graduate, Ms. Breon H, for her achievements in meeting her financial goals and not only graduating the GAIN program after 8 months working on her goals, but exiting the Housing Mobility program with the purchase of her new home in Annapolis, MD. Our Special Projects Coordinator recently interviewed Breon about her accomplishments.

BRHP: How has our program benefited you and/or your family?
 
BH: I think the program mainly benefited me, just helping me save money. I actually graduated the program by being able to purchase a home, so it helped me a lot with saving money with my new home.

BRHP: Share with us some of the things you were able to accomplish personally and professionally while in our program.

BH: It helped me with a more stable career because I had a more stable home and a more stable family life for me and my daughter. And now I have two more children, so for me and my children, it definitely created a stable household. Financially, it helped me build my credit, everything, it just benefited me in every way possible.

BRHP: What do you think are some long-term impacts being a part of our program will have on your family?
 
BH: Benefits are long-term stability; my credit score is through the roof, but it’s always been like that because I’ve been a part of this program; it helped me save my money.

BRHP: Would you recommend our program to others?

BH: Yes, I would definitely recommend it. It gives you a boost on life. I started when I was 21. I was able to get my first unit with BRHP, and it’s only been up since then.

BRHP: Is there anything else you would like us to know about your experience?

BH: I can only say wonderful things about this program. It has only helped my life and my daughter’s life, it’s lovely. We were in an area I wanted to live in close to my grandmother because she was my support system. The school that my daughter was in was wonderful, and I just loved everything about it. I was so sad to go, but I had to graduate at some point, and I’m happy GAIN put me in a position to graduate from not only the [Housing Choice Voucher] program but the GAIN program as well.


BRHP is proud to have played a role in helping Breon and more like them reach their goals and thrive.

Follow us on social media as we cover more program participant experiences and successes with BRHP on Instagram and X (formerly known as Twitter)!

Written by — Phillip Clark, Communications Associate

May is mental health awareness month, and this piece explores the importance of color and exposure to nature in your day-to-day life and your overall mental health. The Department of Psychology at the University of British Columbia’s research on the effects of color and nature on mental health, illustrates how important it is for our communities to have access to natural elements and various colors daily. Mental Health America’s research on the psychology of color also demonstrates how colors in the built environment, such as your home, impact your mood.

In Noticing Nature: Individual and social benefits of a two-week intervention, University of British Columbia researchers Holli-Anne Passmore and Mark D. Holder observed how nature made their study participants feel during their daily routine. Passmore and Holder concluded that there is a difference in the participants’ response to man-made objects and naturally occurring objects in their regular surroundings. For example, a participant prompted to interact with nature shared, “I was already aware that being in nature made me feel more at ease and happy, so this study just helped reinforce how being in a natural setting can change my day.” Compared to participants prompted to interact with man-made objects, one of whom reported “Focusing on human-built objects did not have much of an effect on me. I think if I had to focus on nature there would be a positive shift in attitude, happiness, etc.”

Passmore said during an interview with the University of British Columbia, “This wasn’t about spending hours outdoors or going for long walks in the wilderness”, and further explained, “This is about the tree at the bus stop in the middle of a city and the positive effect that one tree can have on people.” Passmore asserts that even “a dandelion growing in a crack in the sidewalk” can have the slightest of impact on mood.

Passmore was “overwhelmed” by the response of her study participants and mentions that “The difference in participants’ well-being-their happiness, and their level of connectedness to other people, not just to nature was significantly higher than participants in the group noticing how human-build objects made them feel and the control group.” This is an example of how the benefits of living in opportunity areas extend beyond access to quality schools and employment opportunities and include access to quality parks and outdoor recreation. Our housing mobility programs expand housing choices for families with low incomes who have historically been excluded from housing in well-resourced neighborhoods by helping them to access and transition successfully to these safe, healthy, and economically vibrant communities that often include quality outdoor access.

Brightening up Your Day:

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.”

– Albert Einstein

Based on her research, Passmore suggests to, “Stop and smell the roses,” meaning slow down and appreciate the nature and colors that are around you. This could include taking a moment to observe the pink budding spring trees, the red and blue birds around, or even noticing how the sun’s seemingly yellow rays bounce off an object or nature. Sometimes improving mental health is as simple as a breath of fresh air, or just getting outside. The Baltimore region has some wonderful outdoor opportunities, including Sherwood Gardens in Baltimore City, Loch Raven Reservoir in Baltimore County, and the Annapolis waterfront and waterways.

Use colors to improve your mood:

When thinking about adding color into your day, Mental Health America suggests that bright, warm colors such as reds, oranges and yellows simulate energy and happiness – cool and subdued colors are calming. The brighter colors are best for dining and living rooms or kitchens, where we frequently entertain guests, and cooler colors are best for bedrooms and bathrooms.

Integrating nature into your home:

Indoor nature integration for stress recovery and healthy eating: A picture experiment with plants versus green color (2022), by Nathalie Michels, Gillian Debra, Louise Mattheeuws and Alexander Hooyberg, explores how integrating nature in the interior could be beneficial.

Michels and her team across various universities and institutions in Belgium tested 92 participants in four groups. They presented pictures that contained “either green plants, green objects, greyscale plants or greyscale objects.” The green plant pictures were reported by participants as the most “mentally restorative” and presented a great impact on the ability to recover after experiencing stress. The participants exposed to greenery also had a higher preference for vegetables than unhealthy snacks.

We can conclude that indoor green plants are associated with higher mental restoration and healthier food selections. If you’re looking for small ways you can integrate these findings into your life, taking a moment to notice even the slightest hint of nature, placing a plant or even a picture of a plant in the home can have a positive impact on your mental health and help improve your overall wellbeing.

Click here to learn more about BRHP and its programs.

Phillip Clark is a communications associate at the Baltimore Regional Housing Partnership