tough times

Many of you reading this will have read or heard that HUD has delayed payment on Congressionally approved housing contracts. This directly effects AJW as 70% of our budget for housing programs in Baltimore City comes from rental reimbursements funded by the federal government.

Our board came together to strategize on next steps in the event we receive no federal funding going forward. These conversations and workgroup planning sessions are ongoing. For now, we are waiting to see if funding will come through, but are cognizant that we will need major modifications to our operations and vision if funding is cut or eliminated and this could greatly impact our residents.

We are thankful that last year retiring board member, Matt Bjonerud, and others, worked with local foundations to secure funding to expand our housing units. Currently, we have added 3 new units of Permanent Supportive Housing to our portfolio and will add 3 more units by the end of 2025 and an additional 3 before March of 2026.

The following foundations helped to expand our portfolio and this has granted us financial stability in tumultuous times:

The Weinberg Foundation
France-Merrick Foundation
The Abell Foundation
Middendorf Foundation

We are immensely grateful.

Lisa

2024 Highlights

• 1440 cups of coffee served

• 1116 Hours of Case Management

• 950 Resident Visits to the office

• 372 Home Visits

• 316 Toiletry Bags Distributed

• 288 Food Bags Distributed

• 55 Dinners/Lunches Served

• 41 Bible Study Gatherings

• 12 Resident Council Meetings Held

• 8 Bingo Sessions (with prizes)

• 3 Positive Exits

• Numerous movie days, computer classes, art lessons and budgeting & money-talk workshops

• 27 unique Permanent Supportive Residents served

• 21 unique Transitional Housing Residents served

• 8 unique youths, ages 18-24 served

• 2 unique Veterans served

A Lasting Legacy

Galen Smith passed away in 2023. He was one of the founders of our organization and was a member of the Board of Directors for more than 25 years. He served as our Treasurer for a good portion of that time.  He resigned from the Board in 2011 due to poor health. Galen was a quiet guy but was very dedicated to AJW and our mission. He rarely missed a board meeting, attended most of our monthly dinners for residents, and always helped out with our fundraisers.  Galen not only generously donated his time to the organization, but also regularly made monetary contributions. Over the years, he donated a total of more than $40,000 to AJW. A few months ago, we found out that Galen is still looking out for AJW. His sister, Julia Carlson, told us that his will included a sizeable contribution (over $75,000) for At Jacob’s Well. We know how to put that money to good use. Galen’s legacy with AJW will continue and (by board vote) one of the houses that we rehab with the money will be named after him. May he rest in peace!