Changing the Storyline for West Baltimore
Supporting the United Way Neighborhood Zone in Poppleton
While resilient, the neighborhoods of West Baltimore are among the city's most under-resourced, ranking near the bottom on measures of social capital, education, neighborhood quality, and public health and safety.
Poppleton is a community in West Baltimore that has struggled against structural barriers for decades. But there is hope for positive change.
Based on the success of our nationally acclaimed Neighborhood Zone in Brooklyn (South Baltimore), University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), invited us in 2018 to join them in their work to improve lives in Poppleton.
Partnering with residents, University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), other stakeholders, and supporters, we can bring the successes of the United Way Neighborhood Zone strategy to Poppleton.
United Way’s Neighborhood Zone strategy will complement UMB’s Community Engagement Center in Poppleton, which opened in 2015 and promotes neighborhood and economic development.
An investment in United Way’s Neighborhood Zone in Poppleton will allow us to:
Provide a Family Center for student parents at nearby Excel Academy with full-day care for infants and toddlers so that students can stay in school and graduate
Hire 211 United Way Helpline staff to connect residents to critical resources in person
Provide our Housing Program so that families avoid evictions and their children don’t suffer academically from untimely school transfers
You can help improve lives in West Baltimore by supporting the Neighborhood Zone in Poppleton.
Read more about the need in Poppleton and the Neighborhood Zone here.