Baltimore Station

In 1987, Minister David Pollitt and community activists Gloria DeBarry and Jaye Burtnick decided to address the homeless problem of South Baltimore. They began by simply handing out blankets and serving hot food, but as their involvement grew, they opened an office, Baltimore Station, and each night welcomed into it as many as could be accommodated. For several years, Baltimore Station functioned as a part-time, emergency station, open during the winter months.

In November 1991, the organization moved into the South Baltimore Station, a vacant fire house. Since, recognizing that the vast majority of homeless men are chronically addicted to drugs and/or alcohol, the station’s focus shifted from emergency services to long-term supportive transitional services, addressing the dual conditions of drug/alcohol addiction and poverty. The South Baltimore location now includes a 50-bed dormitory where participants live in a communal setting for the program’s duration, typically six months to two years.

In spring 2004, Baltimore Homeless Services asked Baltimore Station to replicate its successful program and assume the operation of another fire station that had been operating as a homeless shelter, this one in the Seton Hill community. This station has a 25-bed maximum with a capacity to serve 40 to 60 men a year, each for a period of six months to two years. In June 2004, The Abell Foundation awarded a $75,000 grant to Baltimore Station to assist with the expansion to the Seton Hill location.

Both Baltimore Station facilities are operated as self-help therapeutic communities for men who have become homeless due to a history of chronic substance abuse. A resident completes the program when he has transitioned to independent housing, worked to repair broken relationships, and acquired a means of supporting himself while maintaining sobriety.

Access the website for Baltimore Station, Inc.