Open Door America Blog

Baltimore's Strangely Positive Week

Fri, 01 May 2026 00:00:00 -0400

BALTIMORE -- From the death of Freddie Gray on Sunday morning to the arrest of six Baltimore police officers on Friday afternoon, this has been some week in Charm City. When the streets erupted in anger on Monday night, there was widespread concern that the city might go up in flames. Immediate comparisons were made to the King riots of April 1968. The Orioles played in front of an empty Camden Yards on Wednesday and then got out of town to Tampa. The national media descended on the city with cameras rolling and microphones sizzling. In our highly-divided America, the stage was set for a meltdown of historic proportions.

And, then, the strangest thing happened -- the city stepped up big! Its leaders led and its people followed. Its preachers prayed and its orchestra played. Its children went back to school and its businesses went back to work. Most importantly, its citizens loved on the city. They marched in peace while shouting with passion and urgency. It's been said all week by the pundit class that Baltimore is a "real city" with caring people and vibrant neighborhoods. We didn't need NBC and CNN to tell us that, but we'll take it as a compliment. Because it's true.

In the end, we shouldn't have been surprised by Baltimore's resiliency and stamina during the last week of April '15. It's been there all along. And while we're not out of the woods yet there is ample cause to be positive about the city's next few chapters. The city made famous by Francis Scott Key, Frederick Douglas, Johns Hopkins, H.L. Mencken, Thurgood Marshall and Johnny Unitas, is the same proud city that found its footing again on the 1st of May. What ails Baltimore is a national illness borne of too few jobs and too much poverty. It's not unique to the city on the Chesapeake. But, if America's next wake-up call had to start somewhere, it picked the right town. Just as the HBO show The Wire came to represent American urban blight in 2002, so too can the Freddie Gray story reach far beyond the macadam and streetlights of North and Pennsylvania Avenues. Baltimore was born in 1729 for moments just such as these. Its Old Otterbein United Methodist Church near Oriole Park has tolled its bell on every day of national consequence since 1771. Let's hope it tolls tonight.

Not everything is settled and not everyone performed magnificently. But don't get caught in the age-old trap of perfection being the enemy of the good. In the last six days, Baltimore has answered the call on most fronts and risen to the occasion in many important ways. As we close out, there were two images that really mattered to us this week: the "average man" sweeping up his street under the protective watch of the Maryland State Police and the young State's Attorney, Marilyn J. Mosby, confidently addressing the city and nation at the end of the week. Both individuals represent what's good and right about Baltimore. Both deserve our respect and appreciation. Here's hoping that Baltimore continues to show the way.

The Blame Game is Pointless Because Cities are Our Future

Tue, 28 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

BALTIMORE -- The blame game being played out in Baltimore serves no useful purpose. It has the same productive value of a dog chasing its tail. What erupted at North and Fulton on April 27th has been building for decades so pointing the finger at a 2015 politician or street activist really misses the point. Call it what you like but the truth is our great cities are littered with poverty "quarantines" that effectively shield most Americans from the kind of economic decay and social chaos that are fueling the rage in Baltimore. What makes this week so exceptional is that CNN, Fox, and MSNBC have finally been forced by their own self-interest (ratings) to shine a light on America's greatest human crisis -- the implosion of our inner cities.

An overstatement? Consider the thought-provoking work of DAVID HOULE (www.davidhoule.com), Futurist in Residence and Faculty Member at the Ringling College of Art + Design (www.ringling.edu) in Sarasota, Florida. Writing in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune on January 16th, Houle warned that "The future of humanity between now and 2050 is inextricably tied to the future of cities and urban environments. In 2013, for the first time in human history, more than 50 percent of us lived in an urban environment. That percentage will increase every year. Forecasts vary but generally show that 70 percent of humanity will live in an urban environment by some time in the 2040s." Houle contends that between now and 2050, the worldwide urban population will increase by an average of 75 million people a year.

In other words, we don't have any choice but to change how we think about our cities and the people who live there. The days of suburban bliss are fast coming to an end. People are moving to the cities because of jobs, lifestyle, and transportation costs. To continue to neglect our inner cities in 2015 is to put at risk our nation's ability to remain a world leader in the 21st century. Baltimore is demonstrating that we're sitting on a powder keg with dangerous sparks coming from all directions. We need to grasp the meaning of David Houle's research and analysis. And, we need to learn the lessons of April 27th. Our cities are here to stay and they're growing by the hour. We're all in this together. In the future, most of this togetherness will be occurring in our cities.

It Was Only a Matter of Time Before Baltimore Became Part of the Story

Wed, 22 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

Everyone knew it was coming.

It was only a matter of time before Baltimore became part of the national story about black men being arrested and harmed by police officers under questionable circumstances. We can now add East Baltimore's Freddie Gray to the growing list of names that has come to represent social unrest in impoverished 2015 America -- Michael Brown in Ferguson, Tamir Rice in Cleveland, Eric Garner on Staten Island and Walter Scott in North Charleston. Each story is different but the common theme of race and class is there for all to see. Even the most poorly-informed Americans are beginning to understand there is something terribly wrong out there. There's a tremor on our city streets that's being felt all across the nation.

Our private perceptions of "urban unrest" (my carefully chosen euphemism for a topic so explosive I fear writing about it) are strongly influenced by when and where we grew up. For millions of "non-urban" (another clever writing device) Americans over a certain age, the image of a young black man in handcuffs is nearly always conclusive -- the man broke the law and the police responded accordingly. Such is the power of the news camera (and now social media) and the lingering effect of our upbringing and family context. Too often our view of America breaks along racial lines.

I grew up in a suburban white world that was highly ambivalent about the marches and speeches of Dr. Martin Luther King. I was ten years old when Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis. While there were some adults in my childhood orbit who privately believed he was right about ending segregation and other forms of discrimination, deep inside my family, church, and community, Dr. King was often the target of a "whisper campaign" that went something like this: "All I know is that wherever King goes, he stirs the pot and starts trouble." Such were the words of frightened and confused middle-class people who lacked the proper context and perspective to fairly evaluate what Dr. King was facing and doing.

Four decades later, our country is still seeing issues of race, class, and justice through opposing prisms. Despite the high-definition sound and pictures of today's looping cable news coverage, we're still struggling to understand what it is we're hearing and seeing. Questions abound. Are we reliving the strife of the 1960's? Haven't we made tremendous progress since Selma and the March on Washington? Wasn't the "Great Society" supposed to make this problem go away? Isn't this story really just about law and order? Why is this occurring at the same time we have a black President? What is happening to our country?

My main concern about the Freddie Gray story is that his tragic death will become the latest catalyst for social unrest and national division. "More heat than light" as preachers like to say. A June 2014 report from the Pew Research Center -- Political Polarization in the American Public: How Increasing Ideological Uniformity and Partisan Antipathy Affect Politics, Compromise and Everyday Life -- finds that "Americans are increasingly living in ideological silos" and that "animosity [among demographic groups] has skyrocketed." Citing this same Pew study, noted political scientist Norman Ornstein of the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) recently wrote that the United States has moved "beyond polarization to a kind of tribalism that threatens the underpinnings of democracy."

Is Ornstein correct? Is this what's really happening on the streets of our most impoverished urban communities? Is our "social compact" in such disarray that we're now devolving to the level of primitive tribes? Time will tell -- and heaven help us if it's so -- but this much bears stating now before the great collapse occurs: if we only see Ferguson and Baltimore in the context of "law and order," we're going to miss the much bigger picture. If we allow ourselves to go to our separate corners in the ring -- police haters at one end and police defenders at the other -- we're going to miss the opportunity to have a meaningful dialogue with ourselves. In the final analysis, what's ailing inner city America can be greatly remedied with "living-wage" jobs and "dignity" work. That's because at the root of the problem, what's killing these communities and stirring the unrest in the first place is pervasive inter-generational poverty and its related social ills. Quite bluntly -- out of economic necessity more than moral failure -- Baltimore has become a city over the years where the "drug game" is on steroids. It's been on steroids since the cocaine deluge arrived from New York City in the early 1980's. And, it will remain on steroids until cooler heads prevail and leaders risk the consequences of leading. There are certainly no panaceas, but there is one overarching answer to the question of how best to help Baltimore: create more good-paying jobs. Jobs that feed families and offer dignity to parents. Jobs that give young men better choices than selling drugs on the corner. Jobs that give police officers a fighting chance to fulfill their mission of "protecting and serving." Jobs that enable parents to raise their children with dreams and goals. Yes, it's about the jobs!

If the story of Freddie Gray becomes just one more hapless account of pain and anger, if nothing changes for the better after the t.v. cameras go home, then Mr. Gray's death will be more than a personal tragedy -- it will be a societal catastrophe. What's needed at this hour as the country wrestles with Ferguson and Baltimore is a new wave of elected officials who value the good of the community over their own political destinies. To fix this crisis, elected officials are going to have to risk losing elections because they're going to have to stand up to donors and constituents. To create a new economic reality for America's unemployed and under-employed, the Congress, President, and the CEO's of Wall Street, are going to have to put America first in every decision that influences job creation. It's time for America to learn the most important lessons of Ferguson and Baltimore. The prevailing "push-and-pull" that pits police against the citizenry, and vice versa, is no way for a great nation to conduct itself. We're better than this. We can create the new job market that turns Ferguson and Baltimore into a national wake-up call. Or, we can choose to see these eruptions on our streets as simple law-and-order moments that have no bearing on the rest of society.

So far, Baltimore, you're doing yourself proud. You're making your point while maintaining your composure. A lot hangs in the balance. Follow Dr. King's lead. Be cool and calm and peaceful. This is your moment to lead the nation. Lead.

We Should be in the Governor's Report

Thu, 16 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

BALTIMORE, MD -- On tax day 2015, the State of Maryland had a much-needed, astonishingly honest conversation with itself. Leading the discussion was the new Lieutenant Governor of the Free State, the Honorable Boyd K. Rutherford, a public official better known for saving taxpayers money than solving complex social problems. What follows is our take on the discussion, the key issues at play, and the advice we would give if we were invited to the table.

Called the "Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force," Mr. Boyd is heading a panel of ten drug policy experts who are touring the state in 2015 searching for answers to Maryland's growing heroin crisis. According to Baltimore Sun reporting (Jean Marbella, 04/16/15), "the number of people who have fatally overdosed on the drug has gone up 95 percent from 2010 to 2013." Getting to the bottom of this crisis is the panel's chief goal though we would all be wise to manage our expectations. This will be a challenging, indeed, brutal process. For example, testimony yesterday before the panel's "Central Maryland Regional Summit" at the University of Baltimore Law School spotlighted the persistent sharp divisions within the drug treatment community over strategies and best practices. The fact that the "treatment drug" suboxone remains controversial after 15 years of trials is certainly a bit of a head-scratcher, but in truth, should really not be all that surprising to those of us who have worked at the street level with heroin addicts. We know from our East Baltimore heroin-addict clients that the medical system is constantly reevaluating their participation in suboxone (and subutex) treatment programs, for lots of solid medical reasons. But, on the back-end of this process, where a client's life intersects with work and family and basic survival, it has always seemed to our nonclinical eyes that the clients who consistently remained on these treatment drugs tended to do better, much better, as functioning human beings. Perhaps they were merely replacing one addiction with another, but their upward mobility and sustainability in the material world always seemed to be enhanced.

What is most surprising coming out of yesterday's summit -- and what we see as a long-overdue positive step in the right direction -- is evidence of a Governor's Office that is trying to be more solutions-focused than politically self-serving. Going all the way back to Nixon's "war on drugs," the politicization of "dealing with the dealers" has nearly always gotten in the way of finding real solutions for the millions of Americans whose lives and families have been shattered by the sale or use of heroin. News of yesterday's summit comes as a breath of fresh air. Again, there are no panaceas, but just knowing that the new Governor is making this issue a matter of early focus in his administration is no small matter. We applaud his courage in taking on this fractious, perhaps politically perilous topic.

This much is certain: heroin knows no boundaries when it comes to race, class, or geography. It is not a "ghetto thing" or a "black thing" or an "immigrant thing" as some would have you believe. No, after all these years of addiction, violence, and social failure, it's an "American thing." Whether we like it or not, we all own a piece of it. In his comments yesterday, the Lt. Governor clearly communicated that he and the new Governor get it. We are particularly pleased to hear an elected official say that "we cannot arrest our way out of this," and, that when it comes to solutions, "there's no one size fits all." From our perspective, we see the inherent value of drug treatment and we encourage the treatment community to push ahead with a core belief that less-than-perfect treatment is far better than no treatment at all. Because we live in an "instant rice" society that too often sees slow achievement as no achievement, we need to remember that the "lock'em-up" crowd is never far removed from taking the stage and grabbing the microphone.

As the panel continues its work from now until its report is due to Governor Larry Hogan in December 2015, they would be smart to follow our tracks as we attack the "supply side" of the heroin game. For over two years now, we have made it our primary mission to identify, vet, mentor, employ, and redirect former drug dealers who once worked the corners and back alleys of Charm City. We do this for the most obvious and best possible reasons: (1) if we change the hearts and minds of dealers, we reduce their harm to the community while enhancing their status as positive role models for younger siblings; (2) if we change the hearts and minds of dealers, we eliminate Maryland's cost of arresting and incarcerating them at an annual rate of $37,118; (3) if we change the hearts and minds of dealers, we open up their lives to the endless possibilities of legal employment, job training, education, parenting, and community service; (4) if we change the hearts and minds of dealers, we help create the essential indigenous leadership that can be bring real change to the inner city; and, (5) if we change the hearts and minds of dealers, we ultimately expose the rest of America to the basic humanity and core decency of hundreds, even thousands of young people who have been dying in our drug wars for lack of better options.

In our work at Open Door America, we are constantly amazed by the talents and dreams of young men and women who used to be known as drug dealers. We know first-hand after two years of our "pilot project" that sustainable change is not only possible, it's highly predictable under certain conditions. For us, the model includes these essential elements:

We only work with clients over the age of 21 and younger than 36 (though we are always open to age-related exceptions).
We only work with clients who have a child in their lives.
We prefer working with clients who are one arrest away from a mandatory sentence of five years or more.
We only work with clients who demonstrate a high level of self-awareness and personal ambition.
We only work with clients who are willing to tackle the six life domains of our Individual Life Plan (ILP) -- education, employment, health & wellness, community service, finances, and family.

While our 2-year pilot project has been limited to 10 young adults (mostly due to funding limitations), our approach yielded a 100% success rate in 2014. That's zero failure. We know we're on to something and we know America desperately needs it. As the Governor and his team take a hard look at Maryland's heroin crisis in the coming months, let's hope the panel gives sufficient attention to the supply chain that is feeding the monster in the first place. We'd be glad to take their call and help them with their report.

Benefit Golf Outing Set for June 8, 2026

Thu, 02 Apr 2026 00:00:00 -0400

The 2nd Annual Component Assembly Systems Golf Outing to Benefit Open Door America is set for Monday, June 8, 2026 at the Hobbit's Golf Course in Columbia, Maryland. CAS Executive Vice President David Procida is once again leading the charge to raise awareness and support for the life-changing work of Open Door America. To learn more about how you can get involved, write to Bill Simpson at bsimpson@opendooramerica.org or David Procida at dprocida@componentassembly.com.

Client Arnold Johnson Tells His Story

Mon, 22 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

http://video214.com/play/GcVqKGBdANwLAzNJt7dV3A/s/dark

It's That Time of Year Again

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

It’s that time of the year again for nonprofits in America.

In the retail sector they call it “Black Friday,” that make-or-break day that can determine whether or not your enterprise goes forward into the next year. For nonprofits like Open Door America, the month of December marks the last 31 days on the calendar that someone can make a tax-deductible donation in the current tax year. Often, dollars not corralled in December do not appear again on the giving horizon for another 12 months. It’s tough work for nonprofits to make their best case, but it’s also a lot of pressure on the donor class as they sort through the million or so options they have to do “community good” before Uncle Sam comes calling in April.

For nonprofits, December is social entrepreneurship, capitalism and Darwinism all rolled into one. It’s “survival of the fittest” in the odd spectator sport of “do-gooders vs. do-gooders.” It’s the way America has chosen to underwrite its charitable initiatives, and for the record, we mostly like it. We think we’ve got a good story to tell and we see this annual end-of-the-year competition as healthy for everyone. It definitely keeps you on your toes.

At Open Door America, we have always taken pride in our philosophical bent toward fundraising. For 10 years, we’ve tried to follow three guiding principles in how we view the support we receive:

1. We don’t allow ourselves to develop a “sense of entitlement” about someone else’s money. Over time, even the best donors can fall in love with someone else -- some other cause – and before you know it their dollars can disappear. It’s just the way it works. Fundraising professionals call it “normal 20% attrition.” From our perspective, the most important thing about not feeling entitled is it helps you maintain proper balance in the natural tension between your mission goals and your resourcing needs. When you clearly understand that good people have lots of good places to spend their charitable dollars, you learn to respect the process and wisely choose mission discipline over playing to the crowd.

2. We have always been “decidedly grateful” for the support we receive. Altogether, since we began fundraising in earnest 6.5 years ago, we’ve been blessed to receive nearly $2 million in donor support, none of it from the government and much of it coming from so-called “small donors” who understand that making a snowman requires hundreds of handfuls of snow. When you have the right attitude about fundraising – and we do – you come to understand there are no small donors, only small spirits of gratitude. We have a very large spirit of gratitude that is infused throughout our organization from top to bottom. When you give to Open Door America, you can be assured that your dollars are treated as blessings to be honored and put to good use.

3. Finally, we have always been frugal and responsible with the funds we receive from our donors. Since 2008, at our board’s strong insistence, we have undergone an annual audit-review performed by the public accounting firm of Peters, Woodring & Quast (pwqcpa.com) of Owings Mills, Maryland. We have done this to maintain the highest level of financial integrity in everything we do. If you check around, you will find that many much-larger nonprofits do not do this. We think it’s important to undergo this process for very obvious reasons. By the way, our last audit-review shows that over 70% of the dollars we received in 2013 were spent on direct client programming! We anticipate that 2014 will look even better!

If you read this blog throughout the year (and we certainly hope you do), you can attest to the fact that we seldom speak about our fundraising needs. Our belief is if you learn enough about our work in the inner city you will naturally be inclined to support our anti-poverty mission in some way or another. In other words, we need your financial support but we prefer you make that decision based on inspiration, not aggravation. That said, it is December and we know many of our readers are looking around for ways to make a difference before the end of the year. We’d like to help you with that decision -- if you are inclined to give, or if you know of others who might be, we’ve made it as easy as pushing the DONATE BUTTON on our HOME PAGE. You can give monthly or you can make a 1-time donation in whatever amount you choose. Your gift is 100% tax-deductible and you will receive a “tax letter” from us within 15 days of receiving your donation. We thank you in advance for helping us move forward into 2015.

Thank you for finding our website and for reading this end-of-year article. Please check out our Facebook page and beginning the week of December 22, 2014, our serial presentation of 3-minute videos on YouTube about our amazing clients and their exciting, life-changing progress!

Season’s Greetings and Happy New Year to One and All!
Open Door America Board of Directors, Staff and Volunteer Mentors

Welcome Rebekah Ghosh

Fri, 24 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

BALTIMORE, October 23, 2025 --

The Board of Directors of Open Door America has unanimously elected Rebekah Ghosh to a one-year term as a board member effective 10/23/14. Rebekah is the Executive Director of the Eudaimonia Foundation and Principal of the Maryland Academy of Technology and Health Services (MATHS), both of Baltimore. Rebekah holds a B.A. in Chemistry and an M.S. in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Johns Hopkins University.

Rebekah's extensive experience as a nonprofit executive and her daily interaction with Baltimore City children and parents make her a perfect fit for the vision and mission of Open Door America. Prior to her current positions, Rebekah served as the Director of the Children's Manor Montessori School in Ellicott City, MD and as a teacher at Northern High School in Baltimore. She holds Administration I and II certifications from the State of Maryland.

Rebekah was nominated for board membership by Board Secretary, Allan Wong. Like all ODA board members, Rebekah was elected to an unpaid, one-year term.

Welcome Rebekah and thank you Allan for your hard work in recruiting Rebekah. If you are interested in board membership, please contact Board Chairman Dan Crow at dancrow@covenantlife.net.

The Power of a Heroic Mentor

Fri, 17 Oct 2025 18:00:00 -0400

No one would have ever put the two of them together. Not in any place or any context. They are two men from different generations, different faiths and different races. Certainly, they come from two different Americas.

No, they weren't supposed to ever meet. They weren't supposed to teach and inspire one another. They weren't supposed to form a lifelong bond that has grown to include their families.

But come Monday morning at 6:30 a.m., the younger of the two will take his place in the American workforce in large measure because of the nurturing and persistence of the older man.

Don Sweeney is many things -- a family man, a devoted follower of Christ, a board member past and present with a hospital, a counseling service, a church, a college, and yes, Open Door America. Since retiring as a partner with Ernst & Young, Don has used his considerable accounting and management skills to help lots of organizations work better and smarter. He has chosen people over things, giving over taking, caring over indifference, and action over words.

Though he comes from the other side of the tracks, Kevin Branch is equally admirable. He is a devoted family man and a conscientious worker. That is, when he can find work. Like so many young men from the streets of East Baltimore, there have been bumps along the way that have had long-lasting consequences related to education and employment. Kevin will be the first to tell you he hasn't always made the best choices. But, he grew up in an America that few of us can really understand, and having survived that world, he has been looking for a chance -- any chance -- at redemption and renewal.

Since coming to Open Door America three years ago, Kevin has seen his fair share of ups and downs. Through lousy jobs and terrible employers, layoffs and evictions, and moments of deep family despair that would break most men, Kevin has persevered. He has kept his family together in spite of his infant daughter's health crisis. He has remained kind and gentle with his sweetheart and two older children despite enormous economic pressures and uncertainties.

Through it all, his close companion has been Mr. Don. There is little doubt in anyone's mind that without Don Sweeney's heroic involvement, Monday's "living wage" job would never have occurred for Kevin. There were just too many obstacles that needed to be hurdled. Too many setbacks that required a coach and a cheerleader. Kevin needed Don.

On October 20, 2014, Kevin begins his new life in the American workforce. Having been along for the ride, we will be watching with great interest and enthusiasm.

Stay tuned as we continue to follow this remarkable story of two lives that have intersected through Open Door America.

We're glad they met.

Open Door America Golf Tournament a Big Success

Fri, 10 Oct 2025 12:00:00 -0400

The Open Door America annual golf outing on Monday, September 29 warmed hearts while raising awareness. Held at Pine Ridge Golf Course in suburban Lutherville, MD, the "best ball" tournament included 18 fearsome foursomes of ODA friends and supporters. Major corporate sponsors included Component Assembly Systems, Capitol Building Supply, Greenburg Gibbons Commercial, Clark Construction and Bode Floors.

On a beautiful early autumn day along the picturesque Loch Raven Reservoir, 72 golfers were treated to a continental breakfast, a tasty barbecue lunch, and two inspirational stories of lives being changed through "living wage" employment and ODA mentoring. Clients Arnold Johnson and Mike Jones were magnificent in their remarks to the luncheon audience.

After expenses, the tournament netted over $17,000 of support for future ODA operations. More importantly, the mission of ODA was on full display, leading to new corporate relationships and new jobs for future clients. A special thank you to our tournament chairman, George Kennedy (Board Vice Chairman), and our volunteer administrative staff of Becky Crow, Christina Hahn, Donna Hitesman, Deneka Rosenburgh and Carla Spence.

Additional photos and details can be found on our Facebook page.