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Baltimore street named in honor of trans activist

Iya Dammons is founder of support groups Safe Haven in Baltimore, D.C.

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Iya Dammons was honored last week in Baltimore. (Photo courtesy Iya Dammons)

Baltimore city officials and LGBTQ activists participated in a ceremony on June 29 officially dedicating the renaming of a street in honor of transgender woman Iya Dammons, who founded and serves as executive director of the LGBTQ services organization Maryland Safe Haven.

A section of Baltimoreā€™s 21st Street at the intersection of North Charles Street, where the Maryland Safe Haven offices are located, has been renamed Iya Dammons Way.

The ceremony took place six years after Dammons founded Maryland Safe Haven in 2018 and one year after she launched a Safe Haven operation in D.C.in 2023 located at 331 H St., N.E.

A statement on its website says Safe Haven provides a wide range of supportive services for LGBTQ people in need, with a special outreach to Black trans women ā€œnavigating survival modeā€ living.

ā€œThrough compassionate harm reduction and upward mobility services, advocacy support, and community engagement, we foster a respectful, non-judgmental environment that empowers individual agency,ā€ the statement says. ā€œOur programs encompass community outreach, a drop-in center providing HIV testing, harm reduction, PrEP, medical linkage, case management, and assistance in accessing housing services,ā€ it says.

Among those participating in the street renaming ceremony were Baltimore City Council member Zeke Cohen, interim director of Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scottā€™s Office of LGBTQ Affairs Alexis Blackmon, and Dominique Morgan, an official with the national foundation Borealis Philanthropy, which provides financial support for transgender supportive nonprofit organizations, including Safe Haven.

ā€œThis is a significant achievement and historic moment for our city,ā€ a statement by Maryland Safe Haven announcing the ceremony says. ā€œIya Dammons has been a tireless advocate for transgender rights and has worked tirelessly to provide safe spaces and resources for transgender individuals in our city,ā€ it says. ā€œThis honor is well-deserved, and we are thrilled to see her contributions recognized in such a meaningful way.ā€

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Baltimore

Baltimore Safe Haven announces expanded services in new building

LGBTQ group provides housing, health, legal, other programs

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The new building is located at 806 North Collington Avenue in Baltimore. (Image courtesy of Baltimore Safe Haven)

The LGBTQ community services organization Baltimore Safe Haven announced it intends to expand its services in a recently acquired building that itā€™s currently renovating at 806 North Collington Avenue near the Johns Hopkins Hospital.

ā€œThe new facility, named the Mary Lynn Washington Building and the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation Community Hub and Resource Center, is set to open soon, marking a significant milestone in our ongoing mission to create safe and inclusive spaces for all,ā€ a statement released by the group on Dec. 30 says.

ā€œThe expansion would not have been possible without the generous support and commitment of our community donors,ā€ the statement says.

A report by Baltimoreā€™s WMAR 2 TV news says the building’s rooms will accommodate two dozen people ā€œwho need transitional or permanent housing and will include clinical resources under the same roof.ā€

The TV news report says Baltimore Safe Havenā€™s founder and CEO, Iya Dammons, completed the purchase of the building over the Christmas weekend but neither the news report nor the Safe Haven statement disclosed the buildingā€™s purchase price.

ā€œWe extend our deepest gratitude to [Maryland State] Senator Mary Washington, Congressman Kweisi Mfume, Mayor Brandon Scott, Borealis Philanthropy, the Astraea Foundation, The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, MOHS, COC, and MDH,ā€ the statement says. ā€œTheir unwavering support has been instrumental in bringing this vision to life,ā€ it says.

ā€œThe new community hub will serve as a one-stop resource center, providing expanded clinic services in collaboration with the University of Maryland, including mental health and wellness programming,ā€ according to the statement.

A separate statement on its website says Dammons, a transgender rights activist, founded Baltimore Safe Haven in 2018. The statement says the group has previously expanded its services since its founding to provide housing services for members of the LGBTQ community facing homelessness and housing insecurity.

ā€œThe organization has also developed a wide range of programs and services focused on mental health support, physical health coordination, workforce development, legal support, advocacy, and community building.ā€

In July 2023, Safe Haven opened a D.C. office and drop-in center at 331 H St., N.E. that Dammons said would seek to provide services for the LGBTQ community, especially people in need, like the services provided in Baltimore.

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Baltimore

5 more Salisbury students charged after man said he was lured to apartment attack

Suspects allegedly targeted victim on Grindr

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Twelve total Salisbury University students have been charged in an attack, which police said was captured on video, that is being investigated as a hate crime. (Photo from Tom Nappi/Office of the Maryland Governor)

By CODY BOTELER | Five more Salisbury University students have been charged in an alleged attack where a man said he was lured into an apartment and punched, kicked, and spat on because of his ā€œsexual preferences,ā€ the Salisbury Police Department said Thursday afternoon.

The latest charges come after seven students were arrested earlier in the week, in an incident law enforcement officials are investigating as a hate crime.

The rest of this article can be read on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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Baltimore

Kevin Spacey wonā€™t leave Baltimore mansion yet, buyer says

Actor has yet to move out

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Kevin Spacey (Photo by Vonora via Bigstock)

BY TIM PRUDENTE | A Bethesda real estate investor nabbed Kevin Spaceyā€™s waterfront Baltimore mansion at auction last month for a bargain, only now he has a problem.

Spacey, he said, has not given up the house.

The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.

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