Hunger, Housing, & Poverty
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Top Committee Priorities for 2026
- Feature HOUSING 101, a series of workshops, podcasts, and webinars to educate ourselves about housing issues, e.g., vacate housing.
- Use letter writing and social media platforms to endorse local and relevant housing legislation in Baltimore City and surrounding counties.
- Use letter writing campaigns of support on the federal level to end hunger and poverty at home and abroad.
- Build relationships with our local and state representatives.
- Host a Speakers Bureau at St. Ignatius Catholic Community featuring social justice speakers.
- As a parish located in Baltimore City, identify and directly support key housing, hunger and poverty issues that impact the communities we serve.
- Continue to expand parish support and community relationships.
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Meetings
2nd Thursday of the Month
at 6PM - Ignatian Hall -
Next Meetings
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Thursday, June 11, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PMThe Justice & Peace Ministry of Saint Ignatius Catholic Community is dedicated to serving faith and promoting justice.Read More
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Thursday, July 9, 6:30 PM - 8:00 PMThe Justice & Peace Ministry of Saint Ignatius Catholic Community is dedicated to serving faith and promoting justice.Read More
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Landmark Fair Housing Legislation Signed into Law in Maryland May 26, 2026 After a concerted effort by national civil rights organizations and local fair housing advocates, Governor Wes Moore today signed Fair Chance Housing Act (SB 937) and Fair Housing and Housing Discrimination – Regulations, Intent, and Discriminatory Effect (HB 573) into law. These new laws mark a significant step forward in ensuring that every resident in the state of Maryland has access to affordable and accessible housing in well-resourced neighborhoods of their choice, without discrimination standing in their way.
The Fair Chance Housing Act places limits on how landlords use criminal background checks, ensuring applicants are evaluated on their qualifications as tenants today, such as their ability to reliably pay rent and be a good tenant and neighbor, rather than their past. It is the most progressive statewide fair chance at housing legislation in the country. The Fair Housing and Housing Discrimination – Regulations, Intent, and Discriminatory Effect bill, now signed into law, strengthens the state’s fair housing laws by codifying protections against policies that have unjustified discriminatory effects and by ensuring Maryland takes proactive steps to combat housing discrimination and overcome patterns of housing segregation.Read Complete Article Application Period Now Open for Community Catalyst Grants Operating Funds (Faith Based Organizations Eligible) NEW 
The Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) is pleased to announce the next round of funding for the Community Catalyst Grants (CCG) operating funds program. Through this Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA), DHCD is making up to $1,020,000 available to support locally-driven community revitalization projects that align with DHCD’s Framework for Community Development.
The Neighborly Application Portal opened on Monday, March 23, 2026, with a submission deadline of Monday, April 24, 2026.- Emerging organizations may request operating support up to $120,000.
- Established organizations may request operating support up to $60,00.
Each year, Baltimore sells homeowners’ unpaid city bills (liens) to outside investors through its annual tax sale. Once sold, these third-party purchasers are permitted under Maryland law to charge interest and additional fees to the property owner. To avoid having your property included in the tax sale, all overdue bills must be paid by April 30 each year. If you’re unsure whether you have an outstanding balance, it’s important to check early and make arrangements before the deadline. Please contact the office of Councilwoman Odette Ramos, District 14 at 410-396-4814. The district 14 email address is [email protected]. Councilwoman Ramos or her District 14 Staff will get back to you. Hablamos español, llámenos si necesita ayuda.Monday, Dec 15 from 6 pm to 8 pm EST- Baltimore Unity Hall
1505 Eutaw Place
Baltimore, MD 21217
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Baltimore City Affordable Housing Trust Fund CLT Information- 2025 New Construction and/or Rehabilitation of Existing Affordable Rental Housing - Round 6
The Baltimore City Department of Housing & Community Development (DHCD) made up to $6,500,000 available from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to support new construction of affordable rental housing and/or rehabilitation of existing rental projects for affordable housing. Qualified applicants were eligible to request up to up to $1,000,000. The application period for this NOFA closed on 3/17/2025. Awardees, pending Board of Estimates approval, are as follows:See Awardees
More Information
Applications for Funding Opportunities Open September 19
BALTIMORE, MD (Wednesday, September 10, 2025) - Today, Mayor Brandon M. Scott announced the first application round for the City-Wide Affordable Housing TIF Funds to support the redevelopment of vacant properties throughout Baltimore City. Tax Increment Financing (TIF) is a public financing tool used by local governments to encourage development and redevelopment in underutilized or distressed areas. The application and program guidelines will be available on DHCD's website.
"My administration is taking on a challenge that's been ignored for generations - vacant housing - delivering $3 billion to end this crisis for good within 15 years," said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. "This is a critical component of solving this challenge. Using these funds in our neighborhoods that have been disinvested in for decades will increase homeownership while preserving communities. It will take all of us working together to get there."
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State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) Updates.
What a new report says about Baltimore’s property tax problem | GUEST COMMENTARY
This month, the Center for Land Economics, an independent research firm, published the results of a months-long investigation into the accuracy of state assessments of vacant property here in Baltimore City. Using state assessment and property transaction data, the report found that flawed assessment methods undervalue the city’s vacantproperties by almost half a billion dollars.
The report connected the poor quality of Maryland Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) assessments to the city’s vacancy crisis by showing how the systemic undervaluation of vacant properties makes them “tax-privileged” assets attractive to speculators. This, they observe, amounts to an effective subsidy for speculators — the costs of which are passed on to residents and businesses who bear the cost of the undervaluation in the form of higher tax rates.
Continue Reading
Baltimore is sitting on nearly half a billion dollars of undervalued, vacant land.
Our investigation reveals how flawed state property assessments systematically undervalue empty lots, often assessing them at a fraction of their true market price. This practice creates an unintentional incentive for speculative blight and unfairly shifts the tax burden onto homeowners and active businesses.
Read Full Report
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Sixteen groups to receive $50M to transform vacant properties in Baltimore City
Photo courtesy The Office of Governor Wes Moore.Gov. Wes Moore announced who will receive $50 million in grant awards to help reduce the number of vacant properties in Baltimore City.
These grants are through the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative (BVRI), a program that helps redevelop vacant properties.
Awardees include Baltimore Redlining and Blight Elimination CDC, Coppin Heights CDC, Park Heights Rennaisance, South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, and many other groups and community organizations.
Moore also announced a new Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative Support Fund, which has collected more than $1 million from philanthropists to award funds for technical assistance.Last year, the Moore-Miller administration created Reinvest Baltimore last year to address vacant property issues in Baltimore City.
“For this to be Maryland’s decade, it has to be Baltimore’s time,” Moore said in a statement. “We know that if we want to drive investment and growth in Baltimore City, we need to address its vacant housing crisis. And the future of these properties will be written in coordination with local leaders – because those closest to the problem are closest to the solution. Together, we will build a more vibrant, prosperous, and growing Baltimore for all.”
Continue Reading
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On Sunday, BUILD joined with state and city leaders, the Greater Baltimore Committee, and financial institutions at Greater Harvest Baptist Church in West Baltimore to take another major step in the fight to end the legacy of redlining in Baltimore. A huge thank you to the more than 600 people who attended a packed GHBC.
Led by PNC Bank, financial institutions and the Greater Baltimore Committee committed to lead the work of organizing a private capital fund that would support our work of ending the vacant housing crisis in Baltimore. BUILD announced a public goal to capitalize the fund with at least $100 million.
This fund will help leverage the $1.2 billion in public investment already committed by the city and state to revitalizing historically disinvested neighborhoods. Maryland Housing Secretary Jake Day announced the state's willingness to work with BUILD, GBC, and financial institutions to establish a secure and effective structure for housing these funds.
Mayor Brandon Scott pledged to take concrete action on specific issues on housing-related issues -- permits, stabilization, demolition, and acquisition -- with a public report to BUILD leaders in July.
Leaders also shared updates on our work to fight for a Fair Chance in Housing for people coming home from incarceration and our ongoing work organizing with immigrant families to respond to this current moment.
Together, we can build a more just and equitable Baltimore. Thank you for being part of BUILD!
Here's some press about the action.
Baltimore Banner (if the article is behind a paywall, click here.)
Baltimore Sun (if the article is behind a paywall, click here.)
Fox Baltimore -
Community Housing Hub 
What Baltimore Can Learn From Other Cities that Have Tackled Vacant Properties
From the Baltimore Banner
Baltimore isn’t the only place that has struggled to reduce a glut of vacant properties: several other cities and towns also are dealing with decades of flight to the suburbs, the Great Recession housing crash, and the lingering effects of redlined neighborhoods or other remnants of racist or discriminatory practices.Some states — including Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Rhode Island and Washington, D.C. — have been able to use a $1.5 billion Obama-era program to prevent foreclosures and address neighborhood blight, but Maryland did not qualify. Baltimore’s vacant house problem is so stubborn and pervasive that no one tool, developer or community association alone can solve it, but those working on the issue say the city should try new ideas, tap community resources and pursue legal options to make progress.
The Baltimore Banner went looking for examples of how other cities have addressed vacant and blighted housing. These are some of their stories.
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Details for Free Grocery Pickup. An Excellent and Needful Resource.
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Defining Hunger
The U.S. government does not use the term “hunger” but defines and regularly measures the incidence of two related conditions.
One is “low food security,” or not always being sure of having enough money to pay for food.
The other is “very low food security,” skipping meals or not eating for a whole day or longer because there is not enough money for food.
The term “food insecurity” refers to households in either group. Bread for the World considers food insecurity to be hunger. Americans frequently interpret “hunger” or “food insecurity” to mean that someone does not have enough food.
And, of course, it’s true that not having enough food is hunger. But the two terms also encompass not just the number of calories available to people, but the nutrients they consume.
Since nutritious foods tend to cost more and may be harder to access in low-income neighborhoods, people who live below the poverty line are too often forced to choose cheap foods that may be filling but do not provide the nutrients needed for good health. Their health—especially the health of children—can and does suffer as a result.
Protect Food Aid for Millions Around the World Tell Congress to prioritize international hunger-reducing programs in the Farm Bill.
You can write your legislator by clicking here -
Hunger is about more than food. It’s about people!
Volunteer
- Support of our Loaves and Fishes MinistryAdvocate
- End the pause on U.S. foreign assistance and protect domestic nutrition programs.
- Pledge to advocate for the protection of lifesaving foreign assistance and domestic nutrition programs.Support Loaves and Fishes Ministry - visit our webpage for ways to support our work.The Loaves and Fishes Ministry began in order to provide a nourishing weekend meal to the homeless and poor of Baltimore City and create an opportunity for fellowship for homeless patrons and ministry volunteers, trying to understand and live out the Gospel challenge of Matthew 25.Go to the Loaves & Fishes Ministry PageSupport Local Food PantrySt. Vincent de Paul of Baltimore's Beans and Bread Resource Center400 S. Bond StreetBaltimore, MD 21231Call (410) 732-1892Email [email protected]Read this article and find out how you can help: https://www.cbsnews.com/baltimore/news/baltimore-food-pantry-critically-low-donations-st-vincent-de-paul-beans-bread/
St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP) of Baltimore's Beans and Bread Resource Center is experiencing critically low donations ahead of the colder months.
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“The Face of Poverty” by student artist Megan Jackson is a national entry of the Catholic Campaign for Human Development (CCHD) Multimedia Youth Contest. This contest allows students in grades 7-12 to learn about poverty in the United States, its root causes, and faith-inspired efforts to address poverty, especially through CCHD. The contest is sponsored by
CCHD and RCL Benziger.
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Money Power Day - March 14th
Money Power Day is next weekend at Poly! Sponsored by the CASH Campaign, this annual event connects residents with free resources and workshops on saving money, improving credit, and filing taxes. There will also be a shredder on site, so bring your sensitive documents. Details are in this link.
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“The need to resolve the structural causes of poverty cannot be delayed, not only for the pragmatic reason of its urgency for the good order of society, but because society needs to be cured of a sickness which is weakening and frustrating it, and which can only lead to new crises. … Inequality is the root of social ills.”– POPE FRANCIS
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WNADA’s final planning meeting this Saturday; next phase brings search for partners
November 12, 2025
The West North Avenue Development Authority (WNADA) will hold its final comprehensive planning meeting on Saturday, Nov. 15 from 10 a.m.-noon at Coppin State University’s Tawes Ballroom.
WNADA’S executive director, Chad Williams, announced the meeting in a message sent to the West North Avenue community. He also announced the end of the comprehensive planning phase of revitalizing the West North Avenue corridor and its 16 historic neighborhoods.
Read ArticleBaltimore Vacants Reinvestment Council releases 2025 annual report
November 10, 2025
The Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Council (BVRC) released its fiscal year (FY) 2025 annual report on Oct. 20. Established in October 2024 by Gov. Wes Moore (D) through his Reinvest Baltimore executive order, the council brings together community, government, corporate and philanthropic leaders under the mission of revitalizing 5,000 vacant properties.
The new report lays out how city, state and private partners are aligning $100 million in state funding across FY25 and FY26 to aid coordinated, whole-block redevelopment strategies aimed at building stronger neighborhoods. The $100 million will help fund demolition and renovation of more than 2,000 vacant properties in the city. five years.
Read ArticleTrump administration demands states ‘undo’ full SNAP
payouts
November 9, 2025President Donald Trump’s administration is demanding states “undo” full SNAP benefits paid out under judges’ orders last week, now that the U.S. Supreme Court has stayed those rulings, marking the latest swing in a seesawing legal battle over the anti-hunger program used by 42 million Americans.
The demand from the U.S. Department of Agriculture came as more than two dozen states warned of “catastrophic operational disruptions” if the Trump administration does not reimburse them for those SNAP benefits they authorized before the Supreme Court’s stay.
Read Article
Maryland Workers Impacted by Recent Federal Actions
On October 1st, Governor Wes Moore announced a series of additional actions to help Marylanders impacted by the federal shutdown. These actions reinforce the Moore-Miller Administration’s commitment to supporting Marylanders. This webpage outlines resources available to impacted federal employees and contractors.
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The false promise of zoning bills being pitched as a path to affordable housing
October 20, 2025
Councilman Ryan Dorsey and Mayor Brandon Scott are instituting a sweeping overhaul of Baltimore zoning rules that will hurt residents of this “city of neighborhoods” [OP-ED]
As community leaders who have grappled with the same stubborn housing problems that plague so many Baltimore neighborhoods – lack of safe affordable housing, unscrupulous real estate speculators, absentee landlords, gentrification – we were intrigued when lawmakers unveiled legislation meant to bring about positive change.
Read ArticleBill to slow affordable housing in Anne Arundel rejected by County Council
September 16, 2025The Democratic majority of the Anne Arundel County Council defeated a Republican-backed bill designed to roll back an incentive for developers to build more affordably priced housing.
The 4-3 vote along party lines followed impassioned public testimony at the end of a four-hour legislative meeting Monday night. The result marks a victory for proponents for expanding housing, but disappointed a Glen Burnie community that mobilized in opposition to an affordable-housing development there.
It means one of the county’s landmark housing laws remains undisturbed, for now.
As Baltimore’s Massive Permit Backlog Persists, City Council’s Patience Runs Thin
July 22, 2025
One Baltimore resident had to beg her council member to intervene to secure a permit to fix a leaky roof. A developer tackling a long-vacant building has lost $10,000 a month as he waits for permits requested in February. A restaurant owner must seek an extension from the city’s Liquor License Board due to a six-month delay on a permit to install electrical outlets.
Weeks after Baltimore leaders sounded the alarm about massive backlogs in the city’s newly instituted permitting system, housing and building permits issued by the city continue to lag well behind previous years.
Read Article
Gov. Wes Moore announced who will receive $50 million in grant awards to help reduce the number of vacant properties in Baltimore City.July 8, 2025
These grants are through the Baltimore Vacants Reinvestment Initiative (BVRI), a program that helps redevelop vacant properties.
Awardees include Baltimore Redlining and Blight Elimination CDC, Coppin Heights CDC, Park Heights Rennaisance, South Baltimore Gateway Partnership, and many other groups and community organizations.
Read MoreHunger in Your Neighborhood: How Families Fare with Food Insecurity Across Maryland
May 5, 2025
For a long time, we’ve known that food insecurity has a negative effect on Marylanders. But as we continue to gather more, and take a deeper dive into local data, our research and reports are showing some surprising information about how much where families live affects how much hunger impacts their lives.
Geography plays a role in which of the different root causes (lack of financial resources, transportation or dependent care challenges, etc.) families are forced to overcome.
Our colleagues at the United Way of Central Maryland offer excellent insights into the intersection of geography & hunger, through their A.L.I.C.E. Report.
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CRS Urges Congress to Prioritize Critical Poverty-Reducing Humanitarian Aid in FY26 Appropriations
April 2, 2025
WASHINGTON, D.C.– Bill O'Keefe, Executive Vice President of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), along with other organizations, is urgently calling on Congress to protect and prioritize poverty-reducing international humanitarian and development assistance in FY26 Appropriations.
In a written testimony submitted to the House Subcommittee on National Security and the Department of State, O'Keefe urged Congress to maintain funding for critical programs that address global health, development, disaster relief and migration challenges. The total funding request for these programs amounts to about $30 billion.
Read Article
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Community Partners
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Contact Us
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Candra Healycandrahealyst-ignatius.netHunger, Housing & Poverty Committee Chair
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