I care deeply about Sandtown-Winchester because I’ve walked its streets, talked with its residents, and seen both its history and its pain firsthand. As someone pursuing a career in social work and committed to healing communities, what’s happening here breaks my heart and motivates me to speak out. If you live in Baltimore, you should care too, because the health of our city depends on the well-being of all its communities, especially the most vulnerable.
Sandtown-Winchester isn’t just a place; it’s a symbol of Black resilience and perseverance. It has produced legends like Thurgood Marshall and Cab Calloway. But today, it faces a crisis rooted in generations of neglect. Over time, harmful policies like redlining, along with broken promises and disinvestment, have hollowed out a neighborhood that once thrived. If you drive through Sandtown now, you’ll see boarded-up homes, crumbling sidewalks, and far too many people struggling to get by.
The data reveals a grim reality: According to the Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, 43.6 percent of households in Sandtown earned less than $25,000 in 2023. In the same year, out of 5,984 residential properties, 28.4 percent were vacant and abandoned. Many of these houses were built before 1950 and still contain lead paint, mold, and other serious health hazards.
According to FiveThirtyEight and ABC News, Baltimore still has nearly triple the national average of childhood lead poisoning cases. Data shows that most of these cases are concentrated in just a few neighborhoods, with Sandtown being one of the most affected. This means children in this community are still exposed to a serious health risk that many other cities across the country have largely eliminated…