Baltimore, do you hear Carrollton Ridge crying?

By Chrissy M. Thornton

Carrollton Ridge is a community that deserves to be heard, and right now, Baltimore may not be listening closely enough.

Associated Black Charities (ABC) hosted a Community Convos session in partnership with the Carrollton Ridge Community Association in the heart of Carrollton Ridge, a historically Black neighborhood in Southwest Baltimore that has long borne the weight of structural disinvestment, systemic neglect, generational poverty and what residents consider political disregard. We convened the gathering to listen, to learn and to lift up the lived realities of residents. What we heard was at once heartbreaking and galvanizing: a neighborhood fighting every day while holding tight to the belief that things can – and must – change. What we heard revealed the urgent need for coordinated action, accountability, and above all, attention.

Let’s be clear: Carrollton Ridge is in crisis.

Housing insecurity, joblessness, the proliferation of vacant and collapsing properties, the rise in youth violence and the looming threat to one of the neighborhood’s most vital community anchors all surfaced during the conversation.

One long-time resident spoke emotionally about the recent loss of life on a single corner – three young people, gone – with what the community believes garnered little acknowledgement or response from city leadership. “We’ve had shootings, kids killed,” he said. “And nothing changes. No one even shows up for the news story.” 

Another young man, eager to pursue a better life and a career in firefighting, shared that no one had ever shown him how to take the first step. “I don’t even know the process,” he admitted, “and no one around me has ever done it.”

Their stories reflect the daily reality of what residents repeatedly referred to as a “containment community,” a place strategically neglected, allowed to absorb the city’s toughest issues so that other neighborhoods are spared the burden. Uncollected trash, blight, open air drug markets, sex work and violence are concentrated here, not by accident, but by design. Residents described decades of being boxed in – by red lines, by budget priorities, by vacancy and by a political culture they believe too often overlooks those without a platform or donor base.

It’s a strategy as old as segregation: neglect a neighborhood until it breaks, then say the people there broke it.

But Carrollton Ridge hasn’t broken – it’s fighting back.

There are bright spots. There are local heroes doing the work every single day. ABC Park, where kids are coached in sports and community. The Food Project, which provides 500 meals a week, in-house therapy, housing navigation, learner’s permit testing, a safe drop-in space for women and dignity. Safe Exit Initiative welcomes women off the streets with unconditional love and a place to rest. Fathers Fighting for Fathers is building bridges for Black dads to reenter schools and homes. At this meeting, Maryland Volunteer Lawyers Service (MVLS) and the SOS Fund brought forward resources for estate planning and to help families protect their homes from tax sale. The Department of Planning was also there with representation from the Bmore Fresh program, offering vouchers for free produce. These are all of the heroes – quiet, consistent, uncelebrated.

And yet, even these critical resources are under threat. The Food Project, one of the few consistent sources of food security and care in the neighborhood, is now facing a fourfold rent increase – an unsustainable jump that jeopardizes its ability to remain in the community it serves. They’ve reached out to officials for advocacy and are hopeful that help will soon come. If the Food Project disappears, the community loses more than meals. It loses its anchor, and trust, respite and hope.

That’s not just tragic – it’s unacceptable.

Housing, however, was the central issue of the evening. We heard repeatedly about skyrocketing rents for properties that remain in disrepair, about landlords who live out of state and fail to maintain their properties, and about blocks lined with city-owned vacant homes that are collapsing into themselves. Residents shared the grim irony that the largest landlord in the area is, in fact, the City of Baltimore. They asked pointedly why the city has not developed or shared a comprehensive strategy to redevelop these vacant homes in a way that centers their needs. While the streets have buzzed with a Baltimore City DHCD strategy to perform mass demolitions in this community, they say no current representative has spoken with community leadership. 

Residents expressed frustration that with all the clamor about vacant housing, the city has failed to articulate or implement a plan that would allow them to reclaim and restore the very blocks they have fought to stabilize. Residents spoke clearly: they don’t want demolition, they want restoration. They don’t want to be erased and replaced — they want to be invested in and empowered.

Beyond housing, the community also spoke about a lack of access to jobs, the challenges of transportation, and the difficulty many face simply acquiring the documentation needed to apply for work. Over half of those who visit The Food Project lack identification or basic personal records. Nearly half report transportation as a major barrier. These may seem like small logistical issues, but when layered upon poverty, trauma and neglect, they become structural obstacles to survival.

The jobs aren’t there. The training isn’t there. The housing is collapsing. And many of the people responsible for fixing it weren’t in the room.

While no elected officials attended the Community Convos session, despite the invitation, we assume they have a desire to activate in this community as they do in many others. But on this particular night, their absence was deeply felt. The result is a mounting sense of abandonment. The people of Carrollton Ridge expressed needing them there – with us, in the room, listening. If there are strategies or advocacy efforts in motion to uplift this community, the residents haven’t been informed. And when people don’t know the plan, they lose hope that one exists. 

We were grateful, however, for the presence of several key city agencies. The Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement discussed the Group Violence Reduction Strategy (GVRS). The Mayor’s Office of Innovation was present, along with a representative from the Baltimore City Fire Department and one from Baltimore City’s State’s Attorney’s Office. Their attendance mattered, and their willingness to listen was appreciated. But this moment requires more than presence, it will require real partnership, sustained communication and a commitment to invest not only dollars but decision-making power in the hands of the people.

In a city with more than 13,000 vacant properties (with vacant properties being added to the list almost as quickly as they are eradicated), and in a neighborhood like Carrollton Ridge, where many of those crumbling homes sit and are supposedly already under city ownership, we have to ask ourselves: What are we waiting for? This is a community with generational roots, proximity to transit, stadiums, and hospitals, and families who want to stay. It is not a blank slate. It is a foundation waiting to be honored.

Carrollton Ridge should also be at the top of the list to be part of the bold initiative by Gov. Wes Moore to reverse historic disinvestment and prioritize state funding for neighborhoods most harmed by systemic racism. They should receive priority access to the over $400 million in housing, revitalization and energy-efficiency funding through the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development. However, with the veto of the proposed reparations commission and without true study and a rigorous, community-led process for assessing neighborhood conditions and equitable repair, the designation has also extended to areas that, while once redlined, have now undergone significant gentrification. This means Carrollton Ridge (where vacant homes outnumber working ones) must now compete for the same pot of funds as neighborhoods that already benefit from new development, higher incomes and improved infrastructure.

The most recent data in Carrollton Ridge paints a stark picture. According to the AARP Livability Index, 46 percent of residents live below the poverty line, the median household income is just $16,316, and life expectancy hovers at a devastating 67 years. There is an alarming health crisis and nearly one-third of the population lives with a disability, and a staggering 81 percent of households do not have access to a vehicle.

The people of Carrollton Ridge want what anyone wants: clean streets, safe housing, jobs they can access and hope for the community they love. But, who is listening? 

As the meeting concluded, the drum beats from the youth marching band that had begun rehearsing outside rang of possibility. Associated Black Charities will continue to stand with Carrollton Ridge. We will continue convening, advocating and elevating their voices until they are not only heard but also centered in the solutions this city is pursuing.

This neighborhood is not invisible, and this community is not disposable. It is Baltimore.