Main Street Housing, Inc.
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission & History
    • Our Main Street Model
    • Organization & Staff
    • Awards & Publications
    • Contact Us
  • Life on Main Street
    • Property Locations & Application Process >
      • MSH Properties
    • Reporting Live from Main Street Newsletter
    • Tenant Tales
    • Local Resources
  • Support Us
    • Community Partners
    • Donate or Volunteer
    • Join Our Email List

Mission & History

Our Mission: To develop quality, affordable, independent rental housing opportunities across Maryland for individuals and families with mental health needs and limited means. We provide long-term homes where people can thrive and grow.
Picture
Main Street Housing, Inc. was founded in 1999 by a dedicated group of people with experience in the public mental health system who recognized an opportunity to both improve the quality of life for countless individuals and families and to help transform how the sector conceptualized of housing for people with disabilities.

Historically, housing opportunities for people with psychiatric disabilities have been tied to their participation in mental health services. This creates a paradox: achieving more independence and psychiatric wellness can place a person's housing in jeopardy.

With the support of leaders in the mental health consumer movement and state administrators, Main Street Housing, Inc. launched as a consumer-run organization with an effective and recovery-based model for the development of affordable, independent housing in the mental health community – one that allows people to be Tenants, not patients.

Although we ensure that individuals who choose to live in our housing have a psychiatric disability, we firmly believe that being a good Tenant should be the only fundamental condition a person has to meet to maintain decent and permanent housing that allows real recovery and wellness to happen.  Learn more about our award-winning “Main Street Model.”

History
  • 1999: Main Street Housing begins as a program of  Our Own of Maryland, Inc.
  • 2001: MSH is incorporated as a separate non-profit organization, led by Executive Director Kenneth Wireman
  • 2003: Purchased our first properties in Washington County.
  • 2005: Expanded into Howard County.
  • 2006: Expanded into Harford County.
  • 2007: Expanded to the Eastern Shore (Caroline, Dorchester, Queen Anne's Counties) by taking on properties from the non-profit agency Shore Alliance for Independent Living.
  • 2008: Expanded into Frederick County.
  • 2009: Expanded into Allegany County.
  • 2010: Expanded into Carroll and Talbot Counties.
  • 2012: Expanded into Anne Arundel County (City of Annapolis).
  • 2013: Expanded into Baltimore City.

MSH endeavors to continue expansion each year until we develop housing in every jurisdiction in Maryland. See our current Property Locations.
"Main Street Housing [has an]
impressive track record in providing affordable quality housing for people with mental illness in Maryland."

National Council for Behavioral Health
2013 Reintegration Award: Housing
(emphasis added)

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • About Us
    • Mission & History
    • Our Main Street Model
    • Organization & Staff
    • Awards & Publications
    • Contact Us
  • Life on Main Street
    • Property Locations & Application Process >
      • MSH Properties
    • Reporting Live from Main Street Newsletter
    • Tenant Tales
    • Local Resources
  • Support Us
    • Community Partners
    • Donate or Volunteer
    • Join Our Email List