Housing The Homeless Suffering With Mental Illness

At Jacob’s Well (“AJW”) provides housing and supportive services to homeless mentally ill men and women in the Baltimore Maryland metro area. The program promotes dignity, accountability and self-esteem in order to improve the quality of life and residential stability of our clients.” At Jacob’s Well was founded in 1985 as a faith response to the problems of homelessness and mental illness in Baltimore Maryland.

In 2017 AJW launched a full capital campaign for the purposes of purchasing and renovating four homes to house our mentally ill residents. Currently AJW provides housing for thirty-eight persons in both our transitional and permanent housing programs; of those residents five are housed in properties rented from third party landlords. There are significant operational and financial benefits to owning these properties instead of renting them. Owning the properties allows AJW to better support our residents, particularly because of their mental illness. Additionally, owning these properties will allow AJW to annually reinvest the approximate $60,000 a year that is paid out in rent to third party landlords. Saving this rent will allow us to build liquidity as well as to grow our program organically, without any additional foundation gifts.

AJW was able to purchase a vacant row house that abuts the AJW offices in Baltimore MD in October of 2020. AJW is now attempting to raise the $425,00.00 that will allow the building to be rehab into three one-bedroom units for three of our residents. The purchase and rehab of 323 E. 25th St will allow AJW to reduce the number of leased units by three and in addition it has the advantage of abutting AJW’s office so that residents will have better access to their case workers and other services that AJW provides.

Three types of metrics will be used to gauge the success of the project: 1) The successful completion of the renovation of the property into three apartments for permanent residents. 2) Increased cash flows to the organization, which will be commensurate to the rents no longer being paid to third party landlords. 3) Increased cash reserves which will lead to increased resident capacity, which will come from using the excess cash flows to hire an additional case worker.

AJW is a 501-C-3 non-profit with a highly dedicated all-volunteer board of directors which leads the organization. AJW is audited every year and maintain a web site located at: AtJacobsWell.Org. Please consider supporting AJW capital campaign.