Health - Chestertown Spy

Developmental Disability budget cuts delayed for now, but still loom for next year

February 21, 2025 by Maryland Matters Leave a Comment

State officials said Thursday that they have been able to juggle the budget to delay Developmental Disabilities Administration cuts that had been scheduled to take effect in April — but cuts still loom on July 1.

The news left advocates grateful for the breathing space, but “concerned” about what the future holds for the state services that help their loved ones.

“It is a huge relief to us that the leaders … came together and restored that [cut for fiscal 2025],” said Laura Howell, CEO with Maryland Association of Community Services. “Now we have to tackle FY ’26.”

The joint statement Thursday by the Moore administration and legislative budget leaders said they had agreed to “reprioritize” about $76 million in proposed DDA cuts that would have taken effect on April 1. Once federal matching dollars are included, the funding will “restore” about 94% of cuts that had been scheduled to hit this spring.

The announcement follows weeks in which members of the developmental disability community came out in droves to rally opposition to the cuts.

“I think the grassroots advocacy had a big impact,” Howell said.

DDA Deputy Secretary Marlana Hutchinson told the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Social Services that the “disability community has stepped up and made their voices heard.”

“The Maryland Department of Health fully recognizes that the proposed reduction to the DDA budget has real consequences for the people who rely on those services,” Hutchinson said. “We are actively working to explore alternative approaches to protect essential programs while balancing fiscal realities together.”

Howell noted that there is still fear and concern about what will happen in the fiscal year that starts July 1, and how any budget changes could impact people with developmental disabilities. There is still some $235 million in DDA cuts slated for fiscal 2026 on the line.

In January, members of the developmental disabilities community were alarmed to learn that Gov. Wes Moore’s budget proposed $200 million in cuts to the DDA beginning this year and extending into fiscal 2026.

State officials said Thursday’s announcement buys time for budget officials to look at their options as they try to pull together a fiscal 2026 budget in the face of a $3 billion shortfall.

Meanwhile, the cuts scheduled to take effect July 1 still include a variety of services and programs, many of which would reduce pay for care providers that help people with developmental disabilities in their day-to-day lives. Advocates fear the cuts will lead to an exodus of providers and staff, leading to lower quality of care for people who depend on those services.

Emotions occasionally ran high at Thursday’s subcommittee hearing, as advocates and people with developmental disabilities pleaded with lawmakers to protect the DDA funding.

Jessica Gallatin of Cecil County has a twin sister, Jennifer, who has developmental disabilities. She told the subcommittee that the significant cuts will “undoubtedly change” Jennifer’s life.

“But more importantly, I fear it will threaten her life,” Gallatin said.

Fighting back tears, she told the committee that due to the death of their parents, she became the primary caretaker of Jessica through the state’s self-direction services program. She fear her sister’s services are at risk unless state leaders reconsider the proposed budget cuts.

“Sustainability is not achieved by rushed and careless, blanketed approaches,” Gallatin said. “Tough decisions will be made – we know the budget. But they should be made with mature calculation, sophistication and empathy.”

Jennifer Drucker, also fighting back tears, told the subcommittee that the proposed cuts are already affecting her 25-year-old daughter’s access to services, even without an official budget in place.

“Our main caregiver just left because of the instability the DDA is causing,” Drucker said. “If you pass these cuts, you’re not just balancing a budget, you’re breaking families.

“We depend on these services. Without them, we’ll fall into crisis,” she said. “Protect these services, because with out them, we will not make it.

“My daughter’s care is not a line item. It’s her life and my life,” Drucker said.

Rachel London, executive director for the Maryland Developmental Disabilities Council, told the subcommittee that she appreciates the temporary delay in cuts, but “we have a lot of work ahead.”

“Everyone, regardless of service model, gets serviced based on their assessed needs … everyone has different needs at different points in our lives,” London said Thursday. “Our system has to be flexible enough to meet those needs as they change and in the way people need them.”

by Danielle J. Brown, Maryland Matters
February 21, 2025

Maryland Matters is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Maryland Matters maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Steve Crane for questions: [email protected].

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For All Seasons announces staff appointments

February 20, 2025 by For All Seasons, Inc. Leave a Comment

For All Seasons has recently promoted two staff members to new positions in the agency. Erica Batson of Federalsburg has been promoted to Director of Administration and Grants Management and Carmeshia Williams, MSHRM, MBA, of Easton has been appointed to Associate Director of Human Resources.

Batson, who previously served as Director of Administration and IT at For All Seasons, has worked at the agency since 2017 as an Executive Assistant and IT Specialist. Before this position, she worked as the facilitator for the Healthy Talbot program and as a Communications Specialist at Mid Shore Behavioral Health. She completed an associate’s degree in business management technology from Chesapeake College and is a graduate of Easton High School. She received the Service with Distinction Award from Maryland Nonprofits and the Extraordinary Contributor Award from MENTOR Maryland.

“I’m thrilled to step into this new role, where I can bring my passion for the organization and my leadership skills to managing the agency’s grants process. Grants empower nonprofits to turn vision into action and fuel transformative work in our communities. I’m excited to contribute to this critical process,” Batson states.

Williams, who previously served as Executive Clinical Assistant at For All Seasons, formerly worked as Finance and Attendance Secretary at St. Michaels Elementary School and Deputy Director of the Neighborhood Service Center, Inc. She completed her Master of Business Administration – MBA, Human Resources Management and Services from Strayer University and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Strayer University.

“As the Associate Director of Human Resources, I am committed to fostering a supportive and inclusive environment that promotes employee growth and organizational success. I hope my support will empower our employees and continue strengthening our agency’s culture,” Williams shares.

According to Beth Anne Dorman, President and CEO of For All Seasons, “We are so proud of the investment of these women in our agency and the fine work they have done to advance our mission and values. We are thrilled with the new roles they will fill and look forward to the contributions they will make to the agency’s future.”

For All Seasons provides the highest quality mental health and victim services to children, adults, and families across the Mid-Shore and throughout the state of Maryland. Services are offered in both English and Spanish and include therapy, psychiatry, victim advocacy, 24-hour crisis hotlines, outreach, and community education. For information about For All Seasons walk-in hours, contact For All Seasons at 410-822-1018 or visit ForAllSeasonsInc.org.

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Done By Jamie Kirkpatrick

February 18, 2025 by Jamie Kirkpatrick 1 Comment

Now, I don’t know about you, but I, for one, am done with winter. Especially this one. To begin with, winter is overrated. After the December holidays, New Years Day (forget its Eve; sometimes I do), and a few college Bowl games, there’s really not much to warrant all the trouble—the cold, the snow, the ice, the wind, the rain, the endless string of gray days. Even getting dressed is a pain in the boots, gloves, layers, scarfs, hats, and coats that make me look like the Stay-Puft Marshmallow Man on steroids. My flip-flops are bored out of their skulls; my shorts and golf shirts feel like federal workers who have been fired. Sigh.

It’s not just the weather, although that is certainly the crux of the matter. It’s the backyard and the garden that look so forlorn; it’s the front porch that’s crying out for a gathering; it’s the golf course waiting to mock me; it’s my friend Chrissy whom I haven’t seen since the geese flew in from Canada. (Speaking of Canada, let me just say it’s a great nation and Canadians are wonderful people. I’m proud to be their neighbor. Same goes for the Gulf of Mexico.)

Anyway, I’m done with winter. Overdone, like the steak I left too long on the grill. Like a few writers I know who eschew simplicity and opine with words that require their readers to Google their meaning. (See what i did there?) Overdone like a metaphor hanging like low fruit on the bough waiting to be plucked. (Oops; I did it again.)

As a child, I was taught not to carp about the weather. The sun will come out tomorrow. Soon enough, I’ll be complaining that it’s too damn hot, or that we need rain, or that I’m sick and tired of tomato pie. There’s some truth to that, so let’s think about what’s good about winter.

I’m waiting…

Someone’s hand is up. “What about skiing? Skiing is fun, isn’t it?”

No. Skiing is expensive; it’s lift lines, broken bones, or, in my post-Montana case, a cold that has hung on like a leech for the past eight weeks. (Hmmm…maybe that’s why I’m so grumpy.)

I see another raised hand: “What about the beauty of a new snowfall? The revenant silence, the morning sparkle, making snow angels, or the gift of a day off from school or work.”

OK, maybe that was a little bit fun. Once upon a time, I could sleep in, or go sled-riding, or throw snowballs at cars, except for the time some huge man slammed on his breaks and chased me all over the neighborhood. He didn’t catch me, but I’m still breathing hard. And as for making snow angels, I got my face snow-washed more times than I made snow angels. I grew up in a tough neighborhood!

No; try again. “What about delaying gratification? Doesn’t a long winter make a verdant spring greener, more promising, all-the-more spectacular?”

OK; that may be true, but we’ve delayed long enough now. Let’s get on with the next act!

We have some friends who have escaped to Jamaica for a week. My wife and I could have gone, but for a variety of reasons, it wasn’t in our cards. I need a new deal.

The forecast for the week ahead doesn’t look promising. Inches or feet? Maybe ol’ Phil up in Punxsutawney is on to something. I wouldn’t mind going back to bed for another few weeks.

I’m sorry; I shouldn’t be so down on winter. I guess there are a few benefits: the crackle and warmth of the fireplace; another good book, beef stew. Hmmm…maybe that’s the antidote: beef stew!

I’ll be right back.

Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer who lives in Chestertown. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy Magazine. His most recent novel, “The Tales of Bismuth; Dispatches from Palestine, 1945-1948” explores the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is available on Amazon and in local bookstores.

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Choptank Health recognizes February as National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month

February 18, 2025 by Choptank Community Health Leave a Comment

Choptank Community Health System is joining the National School-Based Health Care Awareness Month celebration this February to highlight how school-based health centers help improve access to health care for children and adolescents.

School-based health centers bring essential healthcare services directly to schools, where students spend much of their time. By integrating health care with education, the centers ensure students can thrive, grow, and reach their full potential.

“All children and adolescents deserve the opportunity to grow into the young adults we know they can be,” said Choptank Health CEO and President Sara Rich. “But too often, barriers to health care stand in their way. School-based health centers bridge that gap, ensuring students receive the support they need to succeed academically and in life.”

Across the country, states are organizing activities throughout February to raise awareness, including legislative visits, state capitol events, youth advocacy efforts, and special recognitions. These initiatives emphasize the importance of SBHCs in improving health outcomes and making a lasting impact on the lives of young people.

“When health and education come together, great things happen,” says Choptank Health Director of Community-Based Programs Chrissy Bartz, PA-C. “Whether it’s through medical, dental, nutrition, or behavioral health services, we see firsthand how school-based health helps change lives for the better.”

Choptank Health’s school-based care journey began in 1999 with four school-based health centers in Caroline County Public Schools. Over the years, Choptank Health’s commitment to the community has expanded, with school-based health centers and programs now spanning all five of Maryland’s Mid-Shore counties.

Today, Choptank Health’s 18 school-based health centers and a mobile health unit reach more than 8,000 students each year, providing dental services in Dorchester County; medical, dental, nutrition, and behavioral health services in Caroline and Talbot Counties; and medical and dental services in Queen Anne’s and Kent Counties.

The school-based health centers are a partnership between Choptank Health, Maryland Department of Health, county health departments, and each county’s public school system. Care is coordinated with the student’s primary care provider and/or primary dentist.

Services include in-person, virtual, curbside, well, and urgent care during the school year and over the summer. Students can receive diagnosis and treatment of illnesses, behavioral health services, nutrition services, educational services, and more.

Choptank Health’s school-based dental programs include dental screenings and sealants, polishing/cleanings, oral health education, fluoride treatments, and dental emergency referrals.

Choptank Community Health System provides medical and dental services to more than 30,000 adults and children across Maryland’s Mid-Shore.

With a mission to provide access to exceptional, comprehensive, and integrated healthcare for all, Choptank Health’s services include primary healthcare, women’s health, pediatrics, behavioral health, chronic health management, lab services, care navigation, and more.

Student enrollment forms and more about Choptank Community Health System’s school-based health programs are at www.choptankhealth.org/schoolbased.

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For All Seasons Provides Tips on Healthy Teen Relationships

February 17, 2025 by For All Seasons, Inc. Leave a Comment

February is Teen Dating Violence Awareness Month. For All Seasons wants to share tips for parents and caregivers to share with teenagers in their homes about developing happy, healthy relationships.

“Adolescence is a key time for learning to form safe and healthy relationships. Unfortunately, many teens may lack the skills to develop and maintain healthy relationships or to break up appropriately when relationships become unhealthy. It is essential that parents and caregivers talk to teens. Even if you don’t know what to say, you can check in and keep lines of communication open. Your involvement in a teen’s life can make a huge difference and can help them recognize healthy vs. unhealthy relationships,” states Beth Anne Dorman, President & CEO of For All Seasons.

According to the website teensforcourage.org, there are several elements of a healthy relationship. It is built on mutual trust, honesty, and respect; includes good communication, compromise, and consent; encourages individuality and self-confidence; and involves staying calm during conflicts and supporting one another. Unhealthy relationships, on the other hand, can involve a power imbalance where trust, honesty, and compromise are lacking; feature poor communication and uncontrolled anger; may become physically, emotionally, or sexually violent; and often include manipulation, possessiveness, control, dependence, or disrespect.

Teens struggling with whether to stay in an unhealthy relationship or leave should seek the help of a trusted adult or professional. Having someone to support them when relationships are unhealthy is essential to helping them care for themselves and create a framework for a better understanding of what is happening.

For All Seasons offers services through virtual and in-person “walk-in” appointments during select hours if a teen or adult needs support. Further information is available on its website ForAllSeasonsInc.org.

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Catherine Halen, SPHR, joins University of Maryland Shore Regional Health

February 14, 2025 by UM Shore Regional Health Leave a Comment

University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH), a member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System, recently welcomed Catherine “Katie” Halen as Vice President of Human Resources.

In a distinguished career spanning more than 25 years as a human resources executive, Katie most recently served as the chief human resources office for Montgomery County government in Pennsylvania, where she developed and implemented comprehensive compensation and workforce initiatives and a DE&I strategic plan focused on employee retainment and recruitment.

Prior to her role with Montgomery County, Katie spent most of her career with Delaware-based Beebe Healthcare where she developed workforce recognition and retention programs and led a team through a rapid onboarding initiative resulting in a 45% increase in new hires in Fiscal Year 2022.

“Katie’s strength lies in successfully developing and implementing workforce strategies aligned with organizational and business goals, and her experience should prove to be a strong asset to University of Maryland Shore Regional Health’s future and growth,” said Ken Kozel, President and CEO, UM SRH. “We are excited to welcome her to our team.”

About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health

A member organization of the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS), University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) is the principal provider of comprehensive health care services for more than 170,000 residents of five counties on Maryland’s Eastern Shore: Caroline, Dorchester, Kent, Queen Anne’s and Talbot. UM SRH consists of approximately 2,000 team members, including more than 600 health care providers on the Medical Staff, who work with community partners to advance the values that are foundational to our mission: Compassion, Discovery, Excellence, Diversity and Integrity. For more information, visit https://www.umms.org/shore.

About the University of Maryland Medical System

The University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS) is an academic private health system, focused on delivering compassionate, high quality care and putting discovery and innovation into practice at the bedside. Partnering with the University of Maryland School of Medicine and University of Maryland, Baltimore who educate the state’s future health care professionals, UMMS is an integrated network of care, delivering 25 percent of all hospital care in urban, suburban and rural communities across the state of Maryland. UMMS puts academic medicine within reach through primary and specialty care delivered at 11 hospitals, including the flagship University of Maryland Medical Center, the System’s anchor institution in downtown Baltimore, as well as through a network of University of Maryland Urgent Care centers and more than 150 other locations in 13 counties. For more information, visit www.umms.org.

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Let’s Talk About It: A Different kind of Valentine with For All Seasons CEO Beth Anne Dorman

February 13, 2025 by For All Seasons, Inc. Leave a Comment

For All Seasons is bringing love and generosity with its annual Valentine’s Day Silent Auction, running online from February 8 to February 14.

Featuring exclusive experiences and unique getaways, this exciting event supports the organization’s mental health and victim services, helping those in need. Bid on incredible items like sports tickets, spa packages, luxury vacations, and local experiences—all with starting bids below their actual value! Don’t miss this fun, meaningful way to celebrate Valentine’s Day while giving back.

The Spy chatted with For All Seasons CEO Beth Anne Dorman last week about the plans.

This video is approximately three minutes in length. To preview and bid please go to ForAllSeasonsInc.org

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Your Side of the Bed by Jamie Kirkpatrick

February 11, 2025 by Jamie Kirkpatrick Leave a Comment

You’re probably aware that we—that is to say, my wife and I—have a small home in Chestertown, so small, in fact, that we call it SRO: Standing Room Only. One of the by-products of our housing situation is that when anything new comes into the house, the question one of us inevitably asks is, “Where are we going to put this?” The answer is always, “On your side of the bed.”

That’s easier said than done. There’s already a lot on her side and my side, everything from our computer printer to suitcases, shoes, two outdoor plants wintering over inside, a stack of books, a humidifier, and a large cedar chest full of next/last (take your pick) season’s clothes. To make matters worse, even the space under the bed is already claimed: storage bins, some artwork that has yet to find a permanent home on a shelf or a wall, even the bulky case where my bagpipes have resided, unused, since the onset of COVID. Sigh.

The attic might be a solution, but it involves a pull-down staircase and some careful footholds that are increasingly difficult for us to navigate. Plus, a lot of Christmas paraphernalia lives up there for eleven months of the year. To be blunt, there’s just not very much freeboard, anywhere.

But somehow we make do. I like to think that whatever furniture or artwork or dinnerware or knick-knacks that we use or display have risen to the top, cream-like. In these cramped quarters, if you’re used and enjoyed, it means you have passed muster and become part of the family. You’ve proved yourself worthy. You’ve won. In Darwinian terminology, you’ve survived by being the fittest!

There is, of course, attrition. Styles change, things break. Like the player who has toiled for years in the relative obscurity of the minor leagues, suddenly there’s an opening on the big league roster and its your turn to shine. You better be ready to make the most of that opportunity because if you’re not, someone or something else will come along and take your place.

But back to the issue of one side of the bed or the other. The truth is that if we want something to be part of our lives at SRO, we’ll find a place for it. There’s always room chez nous. We’re a naturally inclusive couple and we have no intention of abandoning our DEI roots. Exclusivity and minimalism may have its place somewhere in this crazy world, but not at SRO. That’s not to say we’re hoarders. We have standards. There is a certain set of dinnerware left over from my bachelor days that has been on my wife’s chopping black for a few years, but so far, I’ve been able to hold her at bay. Like faith, hope, and love, my old dinner plates and pasta bowls abide, and they’re not even on my side of the bed. Yet.

Cramped as it is, we love SRO. We’ve talked about finding bigger quarters that can give some extra space and accommodate the grandkids, but the conversation always returns to what we love most about our small house: our in-town location, our welcoming front porch, and our wide and warm circle of friends. There’s always more than enough room for them!

I’ll be right back.

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New laboratory equipment purchase for University of Maryland Shore Medical Center at Chestertown funded by Chester River Health Foundations

February 11, 2025 by UM Shore Regional Health Leave a Comment

Shown with the chemistry analyzers in the Chestertown hospital’s Laboratory Services are Medical Lead Scientist Anderson Griffith; Chester River Health Foundation Chair Libby Woolever, SMC at Chestertown Executive Director/VP of Rural Health Zack Royston; and Chestertown Lab Site Coordinator Karen Bitter.

The Laboratory Services Department at University of Maryland Shore Medical Center (UM SMC) at Chestertown is now home to two new chemistry analyzers, made possible by more than $300,000 in funding provided by the Chester River Health Foundation. UM SMC at Chestertown is University of Maryland Shore Regional Health (UM SRH) hospital; UM SRH is a member of organization of the University of Maryland Medical System.

“These new analyzers represent a significant technological advancement compared to our previous equipment,” said Julianna Hospodor, Director of Laboratory Services at UM SRH. “They provide overall faster processing and better cardiac readings, as well as some technologies we did not have before. We are so grateful to the foundation and its many donors for their generosity in making this new technology a reality for our hospital and our patients.”

Installing the analyzers first required significant updates to the Chestertown laboratory facilities, which began in 2021. “It was a lot of work to get the space ready,” said Hospodor. “Now that the new analyzers are installed and operational, this state-of-the art technology is consistent throughout our laboratory sites, and that consistency supports quality patient care.”

“The Board of Directors of the Chester River Health Foundation recognized the significant need to update the hospital’s laboratory equipment and we were happy to commit the necessary funding,” said Libby Woolever, foundation chair. “The lab team was a great partner in this project, working through the process with grace and commitment. It’s gratifying to see it come to fruition and to know that patients are benefiting from access to state-of-the-art laboratory services here in Chestertown.”

About University of Maryland Shore Regional Health

About the University of Maryland Medical System

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Soul Café: a WIN for everyone By Lisa J. Gotto

February 10, 2025 by Spy Desk 3 Comments

From left to right, store associate, Sondra Mack, Admin, Cheryl Hurt, and WIN’s director Karen Dionisio

Just one of the things we love about Chestertown is our small business community. We love to frequent and support our local shops, restaurants, and service providers whenever we can, and we certainly love when we hear about a new business opening up.

As part of our recent travels in and around town we stumbled upon a sweet, new little spot called The Soul Café. Perhaps, you have yet to hear about the Café, but before you start asking how good and affordable the food is, we have to tell you it’s more of a BYO-type place, and it isn’t exactly new.

More of a traditional concept with a new twist, the Soul Café is located in a place that you’d least expect, tucked into about 230 square feet of the existing 10,000 square-feet of display space of the Women in Need Vintage & Thrift store at 106 Philosopher’s Terrace—a store and a community stalwart celebrating 25 years in operation in 2025

Soul Café Coffee Bar

The Café, which has actually been open for well over a year now, is in-part the brain child of the thrift store’s director, Karen Dionisio. Designed initially to be a space for local artisans and craftspeople to display and sell their offerings within the confines of the greater thrift store, Dionisio fleshed the concept out further, added a donations-encouraged coffee bar and enhanced the space with some cozy little seating areas and curtains. With a lot of ingenuity and some existing (and charming) donated goods and furnishings, Dionisio created a place where “thrifters” can take a break from shopping and neighbors can sit and chat a bit when they inevitably run into one another there.

What is novel, is the concept of converting some of a thrift store’s square footage into a multi-use community gathering space that, Dionisio says, is attracting a respectable amount of repeat patrons. Those patrons could be among the many who support Women In Need, WIN, with their tangible donations on a regular basis, or those looking for items in the store, or basically anyone who enjoys the sense of community fostered around a cup of coffee and a space curated to encourage conversation and connection—and there has been a lot of both over the years at WIN.

It was connection that inspired Dionisio about three decades ago, to assist a friend in need who was struggling to find a way forward from an emotionally abusive marriage with little to no resources. Dionisio, who is a Chestertown native, said she was living in Virginia at the time with her young family, when she and some other friends saw their friend floundering and they all decided that they would pitch in in some way to get her back on her feet.

“We helped pay her rent, we helped find her a new place to live because she had to get out of where she was in Fairfax, Virginia, which is very expensive,” says Dionisio.

Thrifting at Win

“So, it took a lot of us. There was a group of us. And to make a long story short, we carried her through her situation for about two years,” after which, Dionisio adds, she felt the need to come back to Chestertown to address some issues with her own family homestead. What was supposed to be just a temporary stay, turned into a much bigger mission.

It turned out that Dionisio’s friend would also relocate to Chestertown, and in doing so, would shed light on the larger issue of women who are at-risk and low on opportunities when leaving untenable relationships.

“We recognized that this was a ministry basically, that there were many women like her that we needed to provide that kind of support and resources to. That’s really what started it, and so then we incorporated Women in Need,” explains Dionisio.

Many from the original group who assisted Dionisio would relocate to Chestertown, as well, and would play an integral role in the formation of the 501 C3 nonprofit as board members.

“They all loved it over here, so they relocated, which was great, because that made it much easier for us as board members to meet and to plan,” says Dionisio.

Those plans included assessing what the greatest needs in our local, rural area were. From those assessments several of the concern’s first programs were developed. One would address the issues that living and getting around in a widely rural area present if you don’t have access to an automobile.

In that first effort, Dionisio says, they received four or five donated vehicles.

“We provided the insurance, we kept them on the road, we lent them out to the women who were living outside of town who needed them to get their kids to school or needed them to get to jobs.

“And then we began to look at housing. We wanted to have a home where people could transition,” Dionisio explains. They wanted to ensure that access to a roof overhead was always available at least in the short-term so women could transition back to safer lives where they can start building agency for themselves and their children; lives where they would have access to the key things that everyone needs to perform life’s most basic, but necessary functions.

The programs that WIN was able to establish at that time would help people pay their rent, utilities and even prescription medication, when necessary. One of the ways they raised money to fund these programs was to hold a silent auction. Dionisio recalls a responsive community who were willing help make the auction a success.

“People donated a bunch of stuff to this silent auction.” It was from this effort, Dionisio says, they realized the funds that could be raised from goods liquidation, and they had so much to liquidate at that time, they asked the landlord of their present space, which was sitting empty at that time, if he would consider letting them use it for just a few weeks so they could house and sell the goods they collected for the good of others in the community.

And so began the relationship between that 10,000 square-foot storefront on Philosopher’s Terrace, the Women in Need organization, and the community at-large.

WIN was able to officially begin renting the space in 2000, and it has been a beehive of community-supported activity ever since.

Soul Cafe

“I have been patronizing the store ever since it opened,” says long-time Chestertown resident, Sue Caswell.

“I’ve always been committed to recycling and re-using, and that piece of what WIN’s mission is, struck a responsive chord, and I am also very committed to any woman who has encountered challenges, and could use a hand in meeting those challenges in a variety of ways.”

Beyond the obvious give-and-take going on at the store, Caswell says, she also appreciates how involved Dionisio, and her organization have been on many levels and with many people throughout the area.

“Karen helps out on the periphery, as well,” Caswell continues, pointing to the subtle ways the organization supplements their mission by working with other businesses and organizations throughout the community to address needs.

“For example, if the theatre is doing something at the Garfield or the high school, and they need props or furniture, Karen is more than willing to lend anything that she has in her inventory.”

Caswell relays that while she often shops the store for fabrics for the quilting and crafting she does, she sees the experience of shopping there as something much more, and she has also donated her own time to assist WIN with special projects and events.

“It’s that small-town awareness, liaisons, and comradery that happens in a community like Chestertown.”

And it is that sense of comradery that encouraged Dionisio to want to create The Soul Café, which she hopes will become that great little spot where small local groups can gather, grandmas can compare their WIN “finds” and where good friends can just sit and share a moment, a smile, and a cup of coffee.

When asked what her favorite “find” at WIN has been over the years, Caswell posited, “You mean besides friendship?”

And a better find we do not know.

To learn more about all the ways WIN works within the community, visit win-foundation.org. Store hours are Thursday & Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Lisa J. Gotto has written for What’s Up Annapolis, Star Democrat, and Kent County News, among other publications.

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