BALTIMORE — The city of Baltimore awarded more than 30 organizations with nearly $6 million in grant money to help in their efforts to revitalize overlooked neighborhoods throughout the city.
It was a part of the city’s Community Catalyst Grants Program.
“By supporting meaningful investment in these neighborhoods and promoting equity and access together we will move Baltimore forward,” Mayor Brandon Scott said.
Baltimore City’s Department of Housing and Community Development awarded capital and operating grants to the organizations.
Shelley Halstead, who is the founder and executive director of Black Women Build, received hundreds of thousands of dollars in which she called “life changing.”
“We don’t have to struggle. Like when we first started, I was pitching in out of my money. We can do this thing. I just need to show people we can get this thing done.”
Black Women Build is a home ownership and wealth building initiative that trains black women in trades such as carpentry and plumbing. The organization also restores vacant houses in West Baltimore.
Now, Halstead and her team will be able to rehab even more homes because of the infusion of cash.
“There is so much need and we can just keep rolling,” she said.
Scott believes the program will spark positive change in communities by addressing blight and creating jobs which he hopes will also lead to a reduction of violence in the city.
“All of that plays a part. It’s not one solution. It’s a part of a greater solution to dealing with that issue,” he said.
