Our Blog: Forward Progress

Single mother Franora Gray and her 4-year-old daughter Hylah Frances, a first year Ellicott City Head Start student, are reaching for the stars despite down to earth concerns. That’s just what the comprehensive school-readiness program aims to foster. “From the time I pick her up at the bus stop until she goes to bed, she sings songs and talks a mile a minute about daily school trips. They ‘travel’ all over the world through reading – they even took a trip to the moon when they studied space exploration.” Adds Ms.

Ask Natasha Pilgrim –help at the right time can be crucial. Howard County’s Community Action Council (CAC) gives people short-term funds in emergencies, and Ms. Pilgrim is one of their thankful recipients. A single mother of 3 sons, during the Great Recession Ms. Pilgrim was laid off from her IT job. For the thirteen months she was unemployed, the bills kept coming. On the verge of losing her home and with the power about to be turned off, CAC stepped in and gave her energy assistance, weatherization, and access to Head Start for her youngest boy.

Lamont. Telina. Mimi and Max. These are some of the names running through my mind as Maryland House and Senate conferees get ready to talk about numbers, and make very consequential decisions about the shared burdens and benefits of living in a community.

Last Monday, several advocates from different groups, led by Moving Maryland Forward Network (MMFN) member Maryland Consumer Rights Coalition, met for a press conference and then a meeting with several Vice Presidents at Wells Fargo Bank in Baltimore.  I felt excited to be there. Partly, because I was unaware of what may happen, and I was hopeful that some changes would come out of our meeting.

Despite Additional Funds, Families Still Wait

Stephanie Flamino Pippen is the mother of two children with serious developmental disabilities. Her son and daughter each has a genetic disorder that prevents them from speaking and means they need extensive care. Though Max and Mimi each qualify for Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) help, the family has been desperately waiting for more than three years. "We've been in a crisis state," Stephanie says. "We've refinanced our house to hire help," she explains, but the family is at risk of losing its health insurance, and "Everything is a fight." Finally, after being removed from the DDA waiting list because of a hospitalization and other circumstances, Stephanie's children are now near the top.

Huge Backlog for Small Businesses Seeking Help

Telina Jones works as a Revenue Specialist in the Compliance Division for the Maryland Office of the Comptroller. "We work hard to help small businesses get the answers they need to pay taxes on time,” she explains. “But over the past several years staff has been cut to the point that we do not have enough employees to adequately staff our call center. Maryland small businesses are in a waiting list for answers that is 600 taxpayers long,” she says.

As we begin the MMFN “Just Kids” campaign, focusing on keeping children out of adult jails, I have been reflecting on this dangerous problem of children being housed with adults.  This is a problem not just for the kids who are directly experiencing it, but for their families, friends, neighborhoods, and larger communities.

In just two days, Governor Martin O’Malley will sign the same-sex marriage bill into law. For me, the issue of marriage equality is personal, and I think that this issue is personal for all Marylanders - no matter their sexual orientation.