MDGA26 is in the books!
The 2026 legislative session in Annapolis has officially come to a close. Although the environment this session was a difficult one due to the state’s ongoing budget woes, the Horizon Foundation was proud to join with our partners to successfully advocate for a number of policies to protect and strengthen public health here in Maryland. We thank all of our partners and community members who raised their voices this session to defend Medicaid, restore funding for mental health, stand up for vaccine science, improve maternal and child health and more. Check out this month’s blog to read more about our work this session.
Reminder: Birth Justice RFP
Don’t forget! Applications for our 2026 Birth Justice RFP are due on May 12.
In 2024, the Horizon Foundation established a maternal health workgroup, which brought together OB/GYNs, perinatal mental health providers, doulas, midwives, researchers, mamas, grandmothers, public health professionals and advocates – all working to improve birth experiences for all in their community. During their time together, the group developed a vision which identified potential policy opportunities and strategic areas for investment in FY25 and beyond to address maternal health challenges in Howard County and greater Maryland. Our Birth Justice RFP reflects the themes, experiences and co-created opportunities the Foundation seeks to advance as part of the Birth Justice Initiative.
Celebrating complete streets!
In his latest capital budget, County Executive Dr. Calvin Ball proposed $12.5 million in funding to support Howard County’s Bicycle Master Plan, Pedestrian Master Plan and Complete Streets Policy. This follows several years of record-level funding for these important projects, which helped give Howard County national recognition for how to bring complete streets to life. When the Horizon Foundation first started advocating for the importance of complete streets, funding for bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects were an extremely minor part of the County’s budget. Over the last 8 years, thanks to County Executive Ball’s leadership and the work of many community partners, nearly $80 million has been dedicated to complete streets projects across Howard County, including many in historically underinvested neighborhoods. These projects make a real difference in the day-to-day lives of our residents, and this administration should be immensely proud of this legacy. We must continue to make progress, particularly in historically disinvested areas, so we can achieve our vision of making Howard County a more walkable, bikeable, equitable, accessible and connected community.
Check out this video we put together a few years ago to learn more about our community’s complete streets journey!
A word on co-creation
If you’ve followed the Horizon Foundation’s work over the last couple of years, you have seen a lot of emphasis on co-creation: what we define as a collaborative process of building transformational relationships, trust, shared power and a joint vision to catalyze movements for long-term, systemic social change to improve health. This is crucial to how we do our work and how we believe we will ultimately achieve the better, healthier community we want to see.
From supporting and creating shared connections with our new group of mental health grantees, to building on the expertise and lived experiences of our maternal health workgroup, to planning for the next phase of the Healthier Choices Coalition to tackle food insecurity and chronic disease, to coming together with our housing justice grantees to speak out in supporting of sustainable funding for Howard County’s Housing Opportunities Trust Fund (with more to come on opportunities to get involved around housing – stay tuned!), we are so proud of how our grantees and partners have come together to support one another and work collaboratively to design and implement solutions. Over the next several months, you will learn more about opportunities to get involved and lend your voice to the co-creation process. We hope you will join us!
First Thursdays – May 7
Let’s keep our great 2026 First Thursdays community conversations going! Our next gathering will take place on May 7 at 10 a.m. at the Horizon Foundation’s office. Please join us and your fellow Howard County residents for connection and community. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, May’s conversation will focus on mental health and ensuring students have the supports they need in school.
To join, please RSVP to our Senior Power and Movement Building Officer, Gerardo Benavides, by Monday, May 4. Contact us with any questions!
Staff Picks & Resources: Check out what we’re reading, watching & learning
- The Right to Suburbia: Combating Gentrification on the Urban Edge by Willow S. Lung-Amam
- There’s a Good Reason You Can’t Concentrate (The New York Times)
- The American Affordability Tracker (Urban Institute)
- ‘How Are You?’ Has Lost All Meaning. Here’s A Better Way To Greet People (TIME Magazine)
