Melissa Gerr

Baltimore

Writer and Producer, On the Record at WYPR-FM (Baltimore, MD)

Writer and producer, WYPR radio. Tweets are mine, all mine! Unless it's a retweet, then it's not.

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Articles

Baltimore-based Global Refuge: “a crushing blow to Afghan allies who were promised U.S. protection”

5 days ago | wypr.org | Sheilah Kast |Melissa Gerr

In less than three weeks, more than ten thousand Afghans who fled their country when the U.S. pulled its military forces out three years ago will lose the protections that allow them to live and work in the U.S. When the government announced it was revoking Temporary Protected Status, or TPS, the Baltimore-based nonprofit Global Refuge called it “a crushing blow to Afghan allies who were promised U.S. protection.” Global Refuge is the new name for ‘Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service,'...
Frary Gallery Brings the Work of Baltimore Artists to Washington DC

1 week ago | wypr.org | Ashley Sterner |Melissa Gerr

1 of 7 — Jerrell Gibbs_Can't let 'em see me cry.jpg Images of artwork featured at The Irene and Richard Frary Gallery in Washington DC. Images courtesy The Irene and Richard Frary Gallery in Washington DC. 2 of 7 — PhaanHowng_Monstera Mash.jpg Images of artwork featured at The Irene and Richard Frary Gallery in Washington DC. Images courtesy The Irene and Richard Frary Gallery in Washington DC.
Make Studio Highlights Work of Eddie Kil in 'Express Impressionist'

1 week ago | wypr.org | Ashley Sterner |Melissa Gerr

Baltimore-based non-profit Make Studio supports the work of artists with disabilities in myriad ways and the space creates an atmosphere that churns with creativity, collaboration and fun. Their latest exhibit is: ‘Express Impressionist: The Inversive Artistic Practice of Eddie Kil’ and there’s a gallery opening tomorrow night. We talk about the exhibit and about Make Studio's mission with Stefan Bauschmid,Make Studio's Associate Director and Studio & Art Preparations manager...
The Loop is Back at Baltimore's Druid Hill Park

2 weeks ago | wypr.org | Ashley Sterner |Melissa Gerr |Sam Bermas-Dawes

The paved 1½ mile trail that around the lake at Baltimore’s Druid Hill Park (aka the loop) has reopened! It’s been out of commission for years because of a federally mandated infrastructure project that broke ground in 2017... a project that put two massive water tanks underground to protect drinking water for Baltimore residents. Now that this project is nearly complete, another project is about to begin... a project that could bring fishing, boating, and more to Druid Hill Lake.
Maryland Food Bank CEO steps down: A look back and ahead

2 weeks ago | wypr.org | Sheilah Kast |Melissa Gerr

Every day in the Free State, 120-thousand people who might otherwise be hungry get a meal through the Maryland Food Bank. The nonprofit has been distributing food for 45 years— it was the first food bank on the East Coast — and a lot has changed. These days it’s serving more working families, children and older adults. It’s paying more attention to nutrition, distributing millions of pounds of fresh produce.
Congressman Johnny Olszewski on the fight for SNAP benefits

2 weeks ago | wypr.org | Sheilah Kast |Melissa Gerr

Democratic opponents of the cuts Congress intends to make in SNAP -- the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program for people with low incomes, what used to be called ‘food stamps,' say it’s the biggest rollback in an anti-hunger program ever. In Maryland, more than one-tenth of the 684-thousand people who now get SNAP benefits may lose them, and another one-fifth may see their benefits reduced.
Arts for Learning Maryland educates and inspires students

2 weeks ago | wypr.org | Ashley Sterner |Melissa Gerr

The arts can provide an outlet of expression that other ways of communication cannot. Making art can foster expanded thinking, creative problem solving, empathy, and more. And: art can help kids learn in ways that traditional education cannot. Enter Arts for Learning Maryland. The non profit provides schools with programming across all creative disciplines, and has based its work on these fundamental ideas for 75 years.
Raising awareness about child trafficking

2 weeks ago | wypr.org | Sheilah Kast |Melissa Gerr

From the middle of 2013 to the end of last year, more than 1,300 reports of alleged child sex trafficking were screened by Maryland Child Protective Services. Last week hundreds of people working to stop child trafficking gathered in Towson to raise awareness and focus on partnerships to protect vulnerable kids. We talk with conference organizer Nadine Finigan-Carr, executive director of the University of Maryland, Baltimore's Center for Violence Prevention.
Healthcare for the Homeless builds trust, delivers care to people right where they are

3 weeks ago | wypr.org | Sheilah Kast |Melissa Gerr

Think “homeless in Baltimore.” Think “healthcare”. Right away, your brain may paint a picture of the nonprofit Healthcare for the Homeless, reaching out to people on the street, without housing, connecting them to healthcare. Except that until this spring, Healthcare for the Homeless wasn’t actually delivering medical care on the street.
Kids, screen time and mental health

3 weeks ago | wypr.org | Sheilah Kast |Melissa Gerr

Professionals worry there’s a mental-health crisis among young people; some say social media and excessive screen time makes it worse. We ask Dr. Ernestine Briggs-King, a licensed psychologist in charge of the Department of Family and Community Interventions at Kennedy Krieger Institute, how parents can safely curb its use and build “digital resilience.’’Links: Get Help - 988 Lifeline (resource for getting support), Parents' Ultimate Guides | Common Sense Media.