​​If magic, music and mirth are the three things you need to start the New Year off right, then dozens of friends and supporters of Main Street Housing are set for a terrific 2018! Our tremendous thanks go to everyone who came out on January 11th in honor of our 15 years of quality affordable housing development at the second annual Resolution is Latin for Loosen Up! benefit event at the White Oak Ballroom of the Radisson Hotel at Cross Keys.
 
Main Street Housing’s goal of achieving 100 Tenant Slots was long in the making, and that we would happen to cross this milestone right around the 15th anniversary of purchasing our first affordable housing property was cause for an even bigger and better celebration.

MSH Board of Directors President, Elijah A. Cheek and MSH Executive Director, Ken Wireman, welcomed everyone to the celebration and shared their own reflections on the organization’s journey.
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Honored guest Dr. Barbara Bazron, Deputy Secretary of the Department of Health, shared her congratulations with warm words about Main Street’s lasting impact on the lives of consumers and the critical role of safe and stable housing to recovery from behavioral health disorders. The Behavioral Health Administration has been a primary funder and instrumental to MSH’s success since our inception.
 
Deputy Assistant Secretary John P. Brennan, Jr. of the Maryland Department of Disabilities graciously presented a special Governor’s Citation commemorating our landmark accomplishment and personally commended Main Street Housing for creating quality, affordable housing that truly offers people living with psychiatric disabilities the opportunity to participate fully in communities across Maryland.

​Throughout the evening, a smorgasbord of items tempted even the most resolute attendees into trying something new. Boordy Vineyards poured samples of their most popular blends, the hors d'oeuvres were hot and hearty, and the dessert table was heaped with tempting treats and scrumptious sweets from Scotty Cakes (Baltimore), Fractured Prune Doughnuts (Parkville) and Great Harvest Bread Company (Columbia).

​Attendees’ ears were delighted by jazz pianist Gene Okonski of Ellicott City and a piece for piccolo by UM School of Social Work student intern Casey Saylor. Baltimore-based magician L.G. Gerace, Most Marvelous and The Juggling Kat, Kathryn Carr, amazed and astounded with the tricks of their trades, while guests played Minute-to-Win-It party games. (Stacking five apples is harder than you think!)

​Thanks to the generous donations of local artists, restaurants, theaters, museums, gyms, health professionals and businesses, the Silent Auction tables offered something for every type of New Year’s goal. All funds generated from the event are used to support Main Street Housing’s mission to develop and manage quality, affordable and independent housing for individuals and families living with psychiatric disabilities. We are deeply grateful to our sponsors, whose support made this event possible.

After 15 years of near continuous property production, Main Street Housing (MSH) has reached one of the most exciting milestones a non-profit housing development organization can dream of:
 
Our 100th Tenant Slot!
 
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Thanks to generous funding through the City of Annapolis Community Development Block Grant and a grant from the Anne Arundel Mental Health Agency, this October MSH broke ground on the property improvement project that will create the opportunity for a new tenant living with psychiatric disabilities and Extremely Low Income to experience quality, affordable, independent housing in their community.
 
Five years ago, MSH purchased a large townhome in a quiet residential community within the City of Annapolis. While it had a sizable ground-floor bedroom, the barrier to having three tenant slots for this building was that the full bathrooms were both on the top floor. One of our standards for a home ‘on Main Street’ is that individuals sharing a unit as co-tenants should have equitable private living and bathing space, and so this property has been occupied by two tenants since 2012.

Thanks to the new grant funding, construction of a new full bathroom on the ground floor started in October and is slated for completion by the end of the year. MSH is currently screening applicants to select the third tenant for the new slot at this property. Over the past 12 months, more than 30 single adult Anne Arundel County residents have applied to MSH, the majority of whom are experiencing homelessness.
 
Since our very first property purchase in 2002, MSH has been growing steadily thanks to the generous support of the MD Department of Health, MD Department of Housing and Community Development, local foundations and individual donors like YOU! We hope you feel as proud as we do!

Renovations are complete and this home has welcomed its third tenant!