Baltimore Safe Haven announces expanded services in new building
The LGBTQ community services organization Baltimore Safe Haven announced it intends to expand its services in a recently acquired building that it’s currently renovating at 806 North Collington Avenue near the Johns Hopkins Hospital. “The new facility, named the Mary Lynn Washington Building and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Community Hub and Resource Center, is set to open soon, marking a significant milestone in our ongoing mission to create safe and inclusive spaces for all,” a statement released by the group on Dec.
30 says. “The expansion would not have been possible without the generous support and commitment of our community donors,” the statement says.
A report by Baltimore’s WMAR 2 TV news says the building’s rooms will accommodate two dozen people “who need transitional or permanent housing and will include clinical resources under the same roof.” The TV news report says Baltimore Safe Haven’s founder and CEO, Iya Dammons, completed the purchase of the building over the Christmas weekend but neither the news report nor the Safe Haven statement disclosed the building’s purchase price. “We extend our deepest gratitude to [Maryland State] Senator Mary Washington, Congressman Kweisi Mfume, Mayor Brandon Scott, Borealis Philanthropy, the Astraea Foundation, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, MOHS, COC, and MDH,” the statement says. “Their unwavering support has been instrumental in bringing this vision to life,” it says. “The new community hub will serve as a one-stop resource center, providing expanded clinic services in collaboration with the University of Maryland, including mental health and wellness programming,” according to the statement.
A separate statement on its website says Dammons, a transgender rights activist, founded Baltimore Safe Haven in 2018. The statement says the group has previously expanded its services since its founding to provide housing services for members of the LGBTQ community facing homelessness and housing
