This week on Spotlight On Maryland, Gina Crash was joined in studio by Dr. Gabriela Lemus, Executive Director of Maryland Latinos Unidos, (MLU), and Laura Johnson, Senior Vice President & Chief Acceleration Officer of the United Way of Central Maryland which launched the Bridging the Gap Fund on March 29, 2024 following the Key Bridge collapse focused on eviction prevention, food access and mid- to long-term economic stabilization-not just emergency relief, and partnered with MLU to commission community research in Dundalk, recognizing that the Latino community's needs required a culturally competent, research-grounded response. When the Key Bridge was struck by the cargo vessel Dali, six Latino construction workers were killed -all working a night shift, mostly from Central America, at least one a Dundalk resident. The collapse severed access to the Port of Baltimore. Dundalk Zip Code 21222 filed the highest number of port-related unemployment insurance claims of any Maryland zip code in the immediate aftermath.
The survey found that 55-57% of respondents said the bridge collapse had affected their health or their family's heath. The impacts were not just physical, they cut across economic stability, mental health, transportation, family routines and environmental safety. Dr. Gabriela Lemus walks us through how MLU approached gathering community voice in a moment of grief, uncertainty, and for many residents, real fear about immigration status. The research was bilingual and designed to surface what residents themselves identified as priorities; not what outsiders assumed. MLU's core principle is "co-creation with affected communities, ensuring that their voices shape research, policies and programs.
United Way of Central Maryland's Laura Johnson reflects on the United Way's approach now two years into the Bridging the Gap response and on what the partnership with MLU taught them about how nonprofits need to work differently in communities like Dundalk. The findings of the research reframe the challenge: this is not a community in need of charity-it is a community experiencing the compounding effects of long-standing structural underinvestment, intensified by a major disaster. United Way of Central Maryland's role is to accelerate opportunity, not just manage poverty. Long-term commitment matters: the communities around the Key Bridge were vulnerable before the collapse. Recovering requires sustained presence, not just a one-time funding cycle.
To find out more about the United Way of Central Maryland & their Bridging the Gap Fund, visit uwcm.org and follow them on TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube. To learn more about Maryland Latinos Unidos, visit marylandlatinosunidos.org and follow them on YouTube.
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After the Bridge: Building Opportunity in Dundalk
After the Bridge: Building Opportunity in Dundalk
