4
April 29
How the Army in Baltimore is turning a new corner, gaining ground... one building at a time
B A L T I M O R
E RENAISSANCE
Central Maryland reaches out with boldness and innovation to help city heal
By Brooke Turbyfill SOUTHERN SPIRIT STAFF
Like any major city, Baltimore, Maryland, has had its share of struggles: lack of affordable housing, concentrated pockets of poverty and a negative national reputation. But it’ s also got a small-town vibe: When someone is introduced in conversation, his new acquaintance will often ask,“ Where did you go to school?” It’ s not a college reference, but a high school one – there is a direct connection among locals to the neighborhood in which they live and grew up.“ It is this strong sense of belonging that anchors individuals to this city,” said Major Gene Hogg, area commander.
Most of the nation watched as riots rose up in Baltimore in 2015, reminding everyone just how heated a divided city can become. While onlookers and the media termed the division“ racially motivated,” Major Hogg said the issues actually stemmed more from a longstanding distrust between the citizens and the city’ s police force. Yet The Salvation Army has long held a firm imprint in
Baltimore, and since last spring’ s riots, that imprint is undergoing an even more robust renaissance through community partnerships and innovative neighborhood outreach.
In addition to Catherine’ s Cottage, a safehouse for trafficking survivors set to open in late summer 2016, the Army is offering solutions that meet real needs in the communities where it serves. Capitalizing on something the Army has traditionally done very well – food service – the Central Maryland Area Command
“ It is this strong sense of belonging that anchors individuals to this city.”
- Major Gene Hogg Central Maryland Area Command
has proposed a solution to one of the biggest casualties of the Baltimore rioting in 2015.
“ During the riots, we had our canteens providing( food) to victims and first responders,” said Major Hogg.“ We saw the results of the plundering by a handful of individuals. Many small grocers were permanently put out of business and this exasperated the food desert that already existed in East and West Baltimore.”
The innovative solution goes beyond a food pantry or emergency disaster services. Even while the command was delivering food bags following the riots, Major Hogg said he knew there had to be a more permanent fix.“ There were long lines and for the next two weeks we delivered over 1,000 bags to the inner city of Baltimore; although this met the immediate need, we could not sustain the effort and it did not solve the problem,” he said.“ Through God’ s intervention, we decided to open a grocery store that would bring dignity to our clients and quadruple their buying power – providing a consistent supply of healthy food.”
The grocery store – which will be called DMG Foods( short for the Army’ s Doing the Most Good brand promise) – definitely originated out of divine inspiration.“ A lot of the mom and pop stores where people were accessing foods in the neighborhoods were looted and they didn’ t have insurance after the riots,” said Major Hogg.“ So after the riots we were taking 150 bags a day of groceries into these areas. We