BALTIMORE COMMUNITIES ASSISTING AND ADVANCING NEIGHBORS + BALTIMORE 2GEN ECOSYSTEM: ALIGNING INITIATIVES FOR GREATER OUTCOMES With over two decades of experience in human
Wealth goes beyond dollars and cents. It is about the
services, the Center for Urban Families has fine-tuned
tangible and intangible assets that give an individual
our support strategies and programmatic design
the freedom and opportunity to live the life he or she
serving Baltimore’s most marginalized populations
desires. Similarly, poverty is not just about a lack of
living in high crime and high poverty communities.
money; it is also about a lack of power. According to
We’re driven to help our members fully exit poverty
the US Partnership on Mobility from Poverty, although
and sustain themselves and their families inclusive of
measures of economic success such as income and
fathers—ultimately strengthening urban communities
assets are foundational to upward mobility, they do not
by addressing the real systematic barriers that prevent
fully capture people’s experiences. Consideration must
neighborhoods of color from growing.
be given to one’s intangible assets, such as their unique
In the wake of the ongoing racial injustices and socioeconomic disparities exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, there have recently been numerous efforts to close the racial wealth gap. In order to successfully do so, however, requires understanding a fundamental component of wealth inequality often void in the dialogue of these efforts: the definition of wealth and poverty in communities of color.
CFUF 2021 IMPACT REPORT
skills and talents, educational opportunities, emotional and mental well-being, relationships and networks, their sense of belonging within their community, and their sense of control over the trajectory of their lives to enhance both their social and material capital—the true representation of one’s overall wealth.