Back to Resilience Hubs

Level Up Youth Center at the City of Refuge Baltimore

A Resiliency Hub in Baltimore, Maryland, began making a transformative impact on the community around the City of Refuge Baltimore’s Level up Youth Center soon after it was installed in 2021, supporting the nonprofit’s community outreach during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that time, the City of Refuge met a community need for prepared meals that exploded from 250-300 prepared meals a week to 4,000 prepared meals a week (largely due to job loss and school closures). Rev. Billy Humphrey, the organization’s Executive Director, credited the location’s status as a Resiliency Hub as one of the reasons why the City of Refuge was able to meet those needs.

The Resiliency Hub at the City of Refuge is powered by a 36 kW solar installation connected to 40 kWh of battery storage. This location was selected for its ability to provide a centralized, trusted community location where community members can access reliable power for their essential devices, continue to receive information as emergency situations develop, store medications sensitive to temperature, and safely gather in the aftermath of an emergency or severe weather event to allow the community to recover safely and effectively.

As a developer of the project, Groundswell worked with community leaders and project partners to ensure that this Resiliency Hub could meet the greatest needs within the neighborhood while building on City of Refuge’s ongoing work in the midst of one of Baltimore’s most struggling and industrial neighborhoods where nearly 40% of the residents live below the Federal Poverty Level. This Resiliency Hub is possible thanks to the committed leadership at the City of Refuge Baltimore and Groundswell, in partnership with the City of Baltimore and the Maryland Energy Administration.

This Resiliency Hub was funded through a grant from the Maryland Energy Administration, and this work was made possible through ongoing support from the Baltimore Office of Sustainability. A.F Mensah — a minority-led solar battery storage company — oversaw engineering, procurement, and construction for this project with support from SunCatch Energy — a fourth-generation, Black-owned business with a track record of successful solar installations in the District and Maryland.

  • Celebrating a Milestone for Community-Owned Energy Resilience
    This month we celebrate a significant milestone for the City of Refuge of Baltimore, as they will be the first resilience hub in Maryland that will receive the benefits of a solar and storage project allowing them to expand its work. These benefits are made possible by the Direct Pay provision of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
  • SOUL: An Investment in Housing Equity & Rural Resilience
    Spring is here, and as temperatures rise, utility bills will increase to keep households cool in the warmer months. In rural areas, many older homes have massive energy burdens due to out-of-date appliances, air leakage, poor infrastructure, and other energy inefficiencies. Groundswell is revitalizing rural communities through energy-efficient upgrades with the Save on Utilities Long Term (SOUL™) program. An investment in energy efficiency is an investment in housing equity. Creating comfortable homes, and reducing the financial burden on households leads to thriving and sustainable communities.