BALTIMORE — Nine organizations will receive a grant from Johns Hopkins, which will fund projects to reduce crime in Baltimore City.
One of the recipients was House of Ruth Maryland.
Lisa Nitch, who is the director of training and education for the non-profit, said she was incredibly surprised to receive the money.
Nitch said it will receive about $380,000 over three years, which will fund a program that’s been historically hard to fund.
The money from Johns Hopkins will support its intervention program called the Gateway Project that’s aimed to change the long-term behavior of an abusive partner.
“People who complete the program are 40 percent less likely to not commit any crime at all not just a crime of domestic violence,” Nitch said.
She said the grant will now allow the organization to expand the program by providing wrap around services for the abuser.
“Survivors for years have been asking us to support and to figure out how to engage their abusive partners,” she said.
The timing of the grant money couldn’t be better. Not only because crime is surging in the city, but also because she says there’s been an increase in domestic violence related calls.
“We know that programming if we can reduce unemployment, struggles with mental illness, substance abuse, we’re going to make sure those folks are reducing their harm. They’re much less likely to be lethal,” Nitch said.
Nitch says the money is huge for the organization and the 8 others working to reduce violence in the city.
“It funded creative programming. Sort of the non-traditional things beyond policing, prosecution [and] prison,” she said. “We’re moving beyond these things to community-based solutions that are focused on health, wellness [and] taking a public health perspective.”
Altogether, Johns Hopkins says the projects it chose to fund will support 30 community partners serving nearly 16,000 people in Baltimore.
