Comments (0)Joann Levy Helps Former Homeless Women
January 16, 2009Barbara Pash
Associate Editor
Click here to purchase photos.
It is called the Margaret Jenkins House, a historic mansion in Charles Village. Built in 1890, the house has seen many owners and gone through many uses. Last November, it began its newest phase when it officially opened as a residential facility for formerly homeless women.
The Women’s Housing Coalition and its development partner, Homes for America, bought the property. The 21,000-square-foot house was sold for $512,000. The renovation, to historic standard status, cost $3.2 million.
“It has been owned by the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi. The house was empty, but they wanted a buyer with a mission to help the poor,” said Joann Levy, the coalition’s executive director. “The bidding [to purchase the property] was quite competitive.”
Founded in 1979, the coalition is a non-profit organization that offers affordable housing and supportive services for women and children. Ms. Levy lists a few: job and computer training, financial literacy, addiction prevention, nutrition and exercise.
“We do a bunch of cool stuff,” said Ms. Levy, often in partnership with other organizations.
But the coalition’s main thrust is affordable housing for Baltimore City women and families who are homeless. It owns two houses in Charles Village (of which the Jenkins House is one) and one house in Mount Vernon. There is a second house in Mount Vernon that it does not own, but whose program it runs. In addition to the houses, the coalition works with city landlords to find other rental units.
Altogether, the coalition serves 120 women and 40 children annually. “This is permanent housing. They can stay as long as they want,” said Ms. Levy, who receives rental subsidies from the federal and city governments. Women who have jobs pay a portion of their salaries for rent.
Ms. Levy has been the coalition’s executive director for almost five years. Her career has been devoted to helping the disadvantaged and disenfranchised, she said. She was formerly deputy director of the Baltimore office of the Enterprise Community Partners, which is involved in low-income housing and innovative programs for that population.
“I used to say you’d have to drag me kicking and screaming [from that job]. I loved it,” said Ms. Levy, 51, a native Baltimorean and Baltimore Hebrew congregant. She is the mother of two adult daughters.
But then a friend told her the coalition was looking for a new executive director and she applied. So did 78 other applicants but in the end, Ms. Levy got the job.
“My belief is that we’re all not that different. We’re not separated by much,” she said. “Some people just need a little extra help.”
The coalition’s clients are referred by social service professionals. They come out of shelters, transitional housing, halfway houses or inpatient psychiatric facilities. They have to be able to live independently, and the coalition provides services to help them do that.
Ms. Levy said they range in age from 18 to 65, and 80 percent are recovering addicts, either drugs and/or alcohol.
“They’re not typical of the homeless. Some had good careers and have fallen on difficult times, either addiction or mental illness. We help them get back on their feet,” said Ms. Levy, who is proud that in the past 10 years, the coalition has reunited 20 families, primarily women who lost custody of their children.
Ms. Levy also is proud to cite coalition success stories. A woman in her mid-50s who had been diagnosed as bipolar just earned her master’s degree in social work. She has a job at the University of Maryland Medical Center and lives on her own in a market-rate apartment. A former heroin addict, a woman in her 30s, is now in the management training program for McDonald’s, and is in line for a supervisor’s position.
Other clients have gotten their cosmetology certifications and nursing assistance licenses. “Everyone has an individual capacity. We help people attain that with the right services and the right environment,” said Ms. Levy.
Ms. Levy said she envisions the coalition buying another house; but not right now. “In this really difficult time,” she said of the economy, “public financing is difficult. We’ve seen an increase in the number of phone calls” for coalition services.
“I’ve always worked in the non-profit or government sector,” she said. “I’m having a wonderful career, and it’s all about helping people.”
For information about the Women’s Housing Coalition, go to its Web site at http://www.womenshousing.org .