Outreach

Editor: The Richlin Ballroom was packed recently as the Harford County Republican Women held its annual outreach and fundraising event. Candidates for local and state offices joined elected officials, including Congressman Andy Harris, Senator Nancy Jacobs and Delegates Bill Frank, Glenn Glass and Wayne Norman and Diana Waterman, 1st Vice Chair of the Maryland Republican Party in supporting the HCRW. The HCRW is committed to vetting candidates and supporting them for election.

Akua Zenzele, a community supervision agent in Southeast Baltimore who works with parolees, knows the first few days after being released from incarceration are crucial for former inmates. Many are paroled with few resources and nowhere to go. Some end up homeless, and without a way to meet basic needs; others wind up back in jail after committing new crimes just to get by. Zenzele, whose job is to monitor those on parole and probation, has seen the cycle play out before. When she found out that one of her clients was living in a homeless shelter, she decided to try a new strategy to help people get settled as soon as possible.

Philathia Yvonne Reese-Calhoun, former director of community outreach at Maryland New Directions, died Monday of cancer at Northwest Hospital. She was 63. The daughter of a church sextant and a homemaker, Philathia Yvonne Reese was raised in Richmond, Va., the youngest of 11 children. She graduated from Maggie L. Walker High School in 1966. After earning a degree in sociology from Virginia State University in Petersburg in 1970, she went to work for the Commonwealth Girl Scout Council of Richmond.

I read the article about the Oliver neighborhood with great hope and jubilation ("Blitz of help set in Oliver," March 13). I applaud Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake and her team for their efforts in trying to resuscitate this community by using a holistic approach. I particularly like the integration of law enforcement and drug treatment but with some words of caution. National statistics tell us there is very high prevalence of co-occurring substance use and mental disorders specifically among minorities.

State officials on Wednesday announced the start of an outreach plan for the 2010 census that includes advertising at Motor Vehicle Administration branches, on buses and on county and state Web sites. Gov. Martin O'Malley and Baltimore County Executive James T. Smith Jr. outlined the initiative at the Randallstown Community Center, rallying leaders in education and business to spread the word about the importance of accuracy for the once-a-decade population count. In 2007, Maryland received more than $5.8 billion in federal funds for programs that rely on Census Bureau data.

Jose Portillo left his native El Salvador 20 years ago for Baltimore and a better life. When his daughter followed 10 years later, she opened a business in the city's Spanish Town, but chose to live in Baltimore County. "Here [in the city] the houses are too close," said Sinia Zelaya, 30, who has been trying to persuade her father to move out of the city and in with her since he was robbed at gunpoint three months ago. "It's not too safe." Long a magnet for immigrants, Baltimore has failed to attract them in recent decades as the suburbs and other cities have become more appealing.

After increasing social service outreach to area Latinos and leading a campaign to raise money to expand her agency's offices, Haydee Rodriguez is stepping down next week as executive director of the Centro de la Comunidad.The 33-year-old Guatemala native, whose full name is Haydee Marilu Rodriguez de Leon, will pursue a law degree full-time at the University of Maryland, where she's in her second year of evening classes, focusing on international corporate law. She leaves the nonprofit outreach and social service center as it plans to double in size.

In a sharp turn from the previous use of prosecutors in a nationally praised outreach effort, Howard State's Attorney Timothy J. McCrone has hired a public relations specialist who also acted as treasurer and an adviser in his political campaign to be a point man for the office's community prosecution program. T. Wayne Kirwan, 51, who runs a consulting business, has been working part time with the office for the past few weeks and will handle public relations while also working with the office's community justice coordinator on the state's attorney's outreach efforts.

Pausing at the front door, Emily Garey hollers up the stairs, "It's me!" Within moments, she is at Mary McNeil's kitchen table, chatting with the diabetes patient about her blood sugar levels, glaucoma, and exercise routine.Ms. Garey has a little black bag, but she isn't a nurse or a doctor. She is a community health worker who takes on the roles of sister, friend, and social worker, visiting poor people with chronic illnesses such as diabetes and hypertension.The success that Ms. Garey and her peers have had controlling disease -- and its costs -- is the subject of a study released yesterday at a meeting of the American Public Health Association.

On December 10, 2004, PRINCE HENRY; father of ten children. Friends may call at the FAMILY OWNED MARCH FUNERAL HOME EAST, 1101 East North Avenue, on Thursday after 3 P.M. The family will receive friends at Bethel World Outreach, 5436 Harford Road, on Friday at 12 noon. See www.marchfh.com

T'Jae Gibson, of Abingdon, won first place in the Community Relations-Special Events category at the major command level in a U.S. Army public affairs competition. She leads the Army Research Laboratory's broadcast services area. She also serves as the public affairs office's designate for public affairs planning and project integration. A panel of eight civilian sector and government public affairs practitioners from around the country judged the competition. As a result of winning at the Army Materiel Command level, the program will compete at the Pentagon to be named a 2012 Maj. Gen. Keith L. Ware Public Affairs award winner, a pinnacle achievement for Army public affairs practitioners.

Maryland homeowners could lose out on hundreds of dollars in tax bill savings if they miss a deadline that's a week away. Many may not realize they must sign up for the Homestead Tax Credit, which saved the average Baltimore homeowner more than $1,000 in the most recent tax year. To receive the credit in property tax bills starting this July, homeowners must sign up by Dec. 31. "When you say the words 'tax credit' to some homeowners, it doesn't really resonate what they're getting out of it," Baltimore City Councilman Nick Mosby said.

City officials are expected to sign off Wednesday on a deal that promises to help residents seeking the 1,700 jobs planned for Horseshoe Casino Baltimore — addressing one of the main arguments made by gambling supporters in the debate over expanding casinos in Maryland. A Caesars Entertainment subsidiary has agreed to fund a temporary employee in the mayor's employment development office to lead hiring efforts in Baltimore, to print informational materials targeting potential employees in the city, and to report twice a year to city officials on hiring progress toward its workforce development plan.

Last week's column was all about why certain of us (49 percent nationally) continue to identify with the party of individualism and free markets. This week, a related topic: what it will take to increase that 49 percent to 51 percent in 2016. First, we should not attempt to emulate liberal Democrats on their core issues. A "Democrat-lite" approach is simply a nonstarter, despite the apparent dawning of a new progressive era in the U.S. Believe me, this too shall pass. Accordingly, any recipe for wholesale redrawing of the party platform should be resisted.

The GFWC Woman's Club of Westminster Inc., has begun sales of its 2012 ornament - this year depicting Baker Memorial Chapel at McDaniel College in Westminster. The ornament depicting Baker Memorial Chapel is the ninth in a series presenting historic buildings in the community of Westminster. Baker Memorial Chapel was dedicated April 20, 1958. The ornaments are $21 each. The ornament sale is a major fund raiser for the Woman's Club of Westminster, which for the last 101 years has provided volunteer service and support to our community.

Instead of a traditional Halloween haunted house filled with fog and ghoulish scenes, an outreach ministry in East Baltimore is offering stark glimpses into real-life issues, messages of hope and firm promises of help. The images portrayed at Reality House can be as haunting as any in a tale of horror, mostly because they are based on actual situations. Within a 46-foot-long tent pitched behind the Patterson Park Library, visitors can check out scenes that depict social ills like drug addiction, suicide and teen pregnancy.

Sixteen-year-old Alicia Younger wasn't interested in hearing her friend boast about his sexual exploits; she just wanted him to answer one essential question: Did he use a condom?"

On May 2, 2004, CHARLENE HOLT, beloved mother of Derrick Marshall. Friends may call at the family owned Howell Funeral Home, 4600 Liberty Heights Ave, on Thursday 3 to 7 P.M. Funeral Service will be held on Friday in the Sanctuary of Antioch Community Outreach Church, 5300 York Rd. Family hours 10:30 A.M. to 11 A.M. with Services to follow. Interment Holly Hills Cemetery.

On Oct. 23, a purse was the ticket to a good time at Power of the Purse, an event hosted in Towson by the Baltimore County Commission for Women 's and the nonprofit Samaritan Women. The night's goal was to raise awareness — and ultimately money through the resale of donated purses — to fight human trafficking, an issue that commission members say has shown increasing concern in Baltimore County, and Maryland overall. Outside 7 West Bistro Grille, people were asked to drop off new or gently used purses.

The Rev. Edward F. McNally, a Roman Catholic priest who later became executive director of the Franciscan Center, died Saturday of lymphoma at the University of Maryland Medical Center. The Mount Washington resident was 46. "Ed had volunteered here when he was a seminarian at St. Mary's. Afterward, he saw an ad in the paper for executive director of the Franciscan Center and applied," said Sister Ellen Carr, former interim director of the center and now a member of its board. "I hired him and felt totally comfortable turning over the reins to him," said Sister Ellen.