MIMA Community Matters: Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs

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Everyone in Baltimore Counts!

Join Mayor Pugh, elected officials, and MIMA on Saturday, September 29, 2018 at the Baltimore Convention Center from 9 AM to 12 PM for a Census Community Workshop.

Every Baltimore resident must be counted to ensure we get our fair share of the $675 billion in federal funds for essential programs that cover health care, education, housing, economic development, and transportation, and to strengthen our political representation at the state and federal levels. 

Our Census Action Plan needs YOUR VOICE to ensure that #BmoreCounts in 2020!

#BmoreCuenta   #BmoreCompte   #Bmore 很重要   #Bmore 카운트    #بالتيمور تحصي

Thanks to dedicated instructors and enthusiastic Zumba participants (or Zumberas), you can dance Zumba for free nearly every day in Patterson Park. Instructors hail from Sri Lanka, Bolivia, Mexico, and elsewhere, and each instructor offers classes with their own unique twist. Participants often come with their children or babies in strollers, and parents and kids dance Zumba together. One mother in her nineties attends the weekly Wednesday class with her daughter in her sixties.

What started almost 10 years ago as a demo class in the Virginia S. Baker Rec Center has exploded into, for many, a daily fitness routine and lifestyle. “It helps to work out the whole body, improve coordination, strengthen the cardiovascular system, and has positive mental health benefits,” says long-time Patterson Park Zumba Instructor, Conseulo Correa. Many participants will tell you about the positive health gains they have made because of Zumba in the park. However, that’s not all people are taking away from the program. “For me, initially, it was about health, but it goes way beyond that. I have established genuine relationships with people from different backgrounds who don’t speak the same language as me,” says Zumba participant, Joyce England.

Zumba may be one of the only fitness classes that you will see people doing while smiling and even laughing. Instructors are positive and encouraging, and the classes are welcoming and adaptive for all fitness levels, so join in! To learn more about Zumba in Patterson Park, contact katie@pattersonpark.com or check out the Friends of Patterson Park calendar.

Health Care for the Homeless (HCH) works to prevent and end homelessness for vulnerable individuals and families by providing quality, integrated health care and promoting access to affordable housing and sustainable incomes through direct service, advocacy, and community engagement. The organization provides a host of services for anyone experiencing housing instability: primary physical health care (including dental, pediatric, and convalescent care), behavioral health care (including psychiatry, therapy, and substance use treatment), supportive services (including case management, public benefits assistance, group support activities, housing, and supports to keep individuals housed), and community outreach, among others. HCH’s definition of housing instability is broad and inclusive so that they may serve those who are most vulnerable: those living on the streets; in shelters, transitional housing, abandoned buildings, or vehicles; staying with friends, neighbors or relatives; released from hospitals or prisons with no place to go; and those in any other non-permanent living situation. Services are available regardless of immigration status, and language assistance is available across all clinic sites through bilingual personnel (English-Spanish) and telephonic interpretation. At Health Care for the Homeless, ALL are welcome.

Health Care for the Homeless is hosting its annual Rock Your Socks 5K on Saturday, November 3rd at 9 a.m. at Lake Montebello in Baltimore City. The 5K is a family-friendly run that supports stable health and homes for those most vulnerable, including children and families. Early race registration only runs through September 30th, so register soon!