How Can Donors Impact The Center for Restorative Change

Photo of Students

Dear Friends and Supporters of The Center, 

wendy headshotThe Center for Restorative Change (the Center), formerly known as the Social Work Community Outreach Service (SWCOS) and Promise Heights, is the community outreach arm of the School. With the combined expertise and resources of SWCOS and Promise Heights, the Center will help further the School’s mission to advance social justice and promote the well-being of individuals and communities. 

Donors who support the Center are supporting an interdisciplinary group (social work, education, and public health) whose work is based on restorative approaches centered by an anti-racist and anti-oppressive analysis. As a supporter, you provide critical resources that help the Center to:  

  • Provide a community-centered strategic planning process in Upton/Druid Heights to inform future work  
  • Strengthen early childhood programming as part of a prenatal to college/career pipeline 
  • Launch a new Family Support Center in West Baltimore 
  • Continue building a training institute around the SHARP antiracist/anti-oppressive Framework and Restorative Approaches 
  • Expand education of MSW students and build connections with BSW students. 

 

Wendy E. Shaia, EdD., MSW (she/her or they/them) 
Clinical Associate Professor  
Executive Director, The Center for Restorative Change 

 

The Center for Restorative Change 2023 Annual Report

  • PROMISE HEIGHTS

    Place-based strategy in Upton/Druid Heights with a goal of improving health and educational outcomes for children.

  • POSITIVE SCHOOLS CENTER

    Coaching, training and lead support for community schools in Baltimore City. 

  • B'MORE FOR HEALTHY BABIES

    Reducing infant mortality and promoting family and community health and wellbeing. 

  • FAMILY CONNECTIONS BALTIMORE

    Neglect prevention program promoting safety and wellbeing for families. 

  • FAMILY SUPPORT CENTER

    Family-focused programs serving parents and children aged birth through four years. 

  • SWCOS

    Teaching and training graduate interns along with innovative community partners.

Your Gift in Action: Supporting Promise Heights

The Promise Heights place-based strategy is a coordinated, comprehensive pipeline of solutions that begins at pregnancy and continues through college to career. Promise Heights staff believe that success for children in Upton/Druid Heights requires integration of family services, educational programs, wrap-around supports, and community systems to create quality responsive programming.  

The Early Childhood team hopes to impact our community by supporting parents, students, and teachers in social-emotional learning and kindergarten readiness. Our goal is that children develop skills like self-regulation, focus, and empathy that help them be ready to learn and grow. Parents are their children’s first teachers. We not only connect parents to needed resources, but also provide opportunities for parents to grow in confidence by sharing parenting strategies and ways to encourage learning at home.

Linda Callahan, LMSW, Early Childhood Mental Health Consultant, Promise Heights

Your Gift in Action: Positive Schools Center

The Positive Schools Center (PSC) creates positive, supportive, and mindful learning communities where students and school staff connect, develop, and grow. PSC partners with schools and districts to address punitive discipline and dysfunctional school climates. The foundation of their work is built on a strong racial justice understanding and equity focus. Together PSC staff and partners approach school change through embedding restorative approaches, trauma-responsive strategies, social-emotional learning, and community voice into their routines, policies, and culture.  

Students deserve safe nurturing healing spaces so that they can thrive and be successful. Your donation will help us support principals, teachers and school staff create those spaces.

Shantay McKinily, Director, Positive Schools Center

Your Gift in Action: B’more for Healthy Babies in Upton/Druid Heights

B’more for Healthy Babies (BHB) helps pregnant and postpartum women access prenatal services, supportive services and resources so that they can have healthy, full term babies. BHB Upton/Druid Heights works collaboratively with faith-based groups, businesses, schools, and community leaders to build networks of support for women. To date, the program has provided pre- and post-natal navigation services, education, and referrals for additional supportive services to 532 pregnant women and expectant fathers.

Your generous gift will help us to assist pregnant and parenting families as they provide foundational support to their healthy and growing family.

Stacey Stephens, LCSW-C, Director, B'more for Healthy Babies Upton/Druid Heights and Early Learning Programming

Your gift in action: SWCOS

Social Work Community Outreach Services (SWCOS) was established over 30 years ago to provide outreach services for the community. Today, SWCOS provides students with hands-on experience working on critical social issues in an encouraging, creative atmosphere that prepares them to be leaders in community social work. Through their work, students are provided with unique opportunities to support communities, doing meaningful, innovative work while viewing individuals, families and communities through a social justice lens, whether the focus is clinical, policy, community organizing or program management.

MSW interns are the next generation of advocates. Your gift enables us to continue supporting and training students to be effective community organizers.

Temeka Parker, LCSW-C, LICSW, Director of Social Work Education & Field Initiatives

Your gift in action: Family Connections Baltimore

Family Connections Baltimore is one of the main pillars of the Center for Restorative Change. Their staff centers the whole family as they work to meet needs tangibly and therapeutically in a way that builds power. Staff, faculty, and social work student-interns partner with families creating therapeutic spaces to heal, strengthen relationships, and opportunities to amplify their voices, building family and community cohesion. 

Your gift today enables Family Connections to impact more children, caregivers, and families in the community.

Chris Beegle, MSW, LCSW-C, Director of Clinical Services

Your gift in action: Family Support Center

The Family Support Center is the Center for Restorative Change’s newest initiative. Through this model, parents can finish their education, learn job readiness skills, build solid social networks and improve their parenting skills. At the same time their very young children have access to a state-of-the-art early care and education setting that helps them reach their greatest potential.  The Family Support Center promotes children’s healthy development through activities for parents and children as well as connect families to a solid network of lasting peer and professional support. 

The Family Support Center will support the Upton/Druid Heights community and is slated to open its doors by January 2024.  

How Do Donors Make an Impact?

Individuals who support community initiatives and social work students provide critical resources that make an impact on students, staff, and community members. Here is an example of how donors can make an impact: 

  • A gift of $100 provides school supplies for a youth member served by the Positive Schools Center
  • A gift of $250 provides hot meals for a parenting group session within B’more for Health Babies
  • A gift of $500 provides 6 months of monthly bus passes for a family receiving workforce development in the soon-to-be established Family Support Center 
  • A gift of $3,000 provides training and coaching for public school principals and teachers 
  • A gift of $5,000 provides an annual stipend for a social work student to offset the expenses of attending graduate school 

Ready to be a Changemaker?