Volume 26 | April 13, 2020
Our Update Regarding Coronavirus (COVID-19)
AIRS | EHM | City Steps is committed to serving our clients during this unprecedented public health crisis. Although we remain open to assist our clients, we have modified our operations to comply with the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) , the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) , the Executive Orders of Governor Hogan and the leadership of Baltimore City and Baltimore County. To do our part to help "flatten the curve" and keep our staff and clients safe we have taken the following steps:

  1. Our main office is closed to the public and where possible our staff is working remotely.
  2. We activated our essential personnel policy so employees can travel to and from work during the state of emergency.
  3. We expanded our use of virtual meeting technologies to assist our clients, meet with our teams, and collaborate with our partners.
  4. Implemented a client only newsletter to share real-time developments in policies and procedures in response to the pandemic.
  5. Developed a COVID needs assessment survey for clients to gather data in an effort to ensure that we are delivering the services our clients need.
  6. Our programs that house our most at-risk clients are closed to the public.
  7. The buildings and offices that remain open have been provided cleaning supplies and when available, safety masks.

In addition to these operational steps our team has been involved with national, state and local efforts to educate our community about the facts of the virus, the impact of the state of emergency, and resources available to get through this crisis. If you have questions about COVID-19 or available resources please visit our COVID-19 page on our website.

Please remain diligent and remember to wash your hands for a minimum of 20 seconds, cover your cough, wipe your spaces and if you must go out, practice social distancing by keeping at least a six foot. distance between you and the next person.



Sincerely,
Anthony I. Butler
President & CEO
Our Work Continues
As people from all walks of life continue to be affected by the rapidly changing COVID-19 pandemic, businesses across Maryland have been forced to respond in different ways, in part dictated by the state of emergency which has labeled some businesses essential and others non-essential. Our organization is considered an essential human services agency. Although we remain open to serve our clients, many of those clients have lost their income and are experiencing increased anxiety, stress, and food insecurity.

Our job is to "stand in the gap" and minimize the impact and collateral consequences created by COVID-19 and the state of emergency.

But we cannot do this alone.

Please visit airseffect.org/donation and consider making a donation to support our efforts to make sure that every one of our clients has the food and access to resources and supplies necessary to survive this pandemic.
Before the outbreak...

Believe it or not we actually have some non-COVID news.

March started off with a bang as our City Steps leadership team Anthony Butler and Alexandra Glover, joined by our superstar City Steps client and Baltimore City Youth Advisory Board member Jordan Devega, presented at the National Network for Youth annual conference at the Hyatt Regency Capital Hill in Washington, D.C. Their session on Trauma Informed Care for Property Managers was a hit! View the pics of our team in action here.

Nadiyah Williams (pictured here) our City Steps clinical case manager was promoted to Director of City Steps as Alexandra Glover assumed duties as our Chief Program & Compliance Officer. Congratulations to both Nadiyah and Alex!

As COVID-19 was beginning to spread throughout the region and stay-at-home orders were rolling out in jurisdictions across the country AvalonBay still found a way to support our work. The AVB corporate office graciously donated 15 computer monitors to upgrade our resource center at Restoration Gardens. Thanks again, AvalonBay!
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ABOUT US
AIRS provides supportive housing, emphasizing self-sufficiency, for low-income and homeless individuals and families living with and at risk of HIV/AIDS.
EHM is a non-profit Community Housing Development Organization whose mission is to develop, manage and maintain affordable residential properties for low-income people and those with disabilities.
CITY STEPS is a consortium of residential programs that provides housing for homeless and unstably housed youth ages 18-24 and services that include case management, life skills and clinical workforce development assistance.