Maryland
Federal funding uncertainty has The Pride Center of Maryland on edge
The Pride Center of Maryland has been on a funding rollercoaster, after it lost — then got back — a $2 million grant in a matter of days.
The Trump administration last week reversed nearly $2 billion in grant cuts at the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The grants support programs for mental health and addiction treatment programs.
More than 2,700 grants were impacted.
While it’s keeping the funding, The Pride Center of Maryland is making sure i will keep running if the government decides to change its mind again.
What the funds do
The impact of the center’s $2 million SAMHSA grant can be seen at its clinic, the AmAssi Center.
It’s a one-stop shop for health and wellness, providing services and resources for substance abuse, mental health, and sexual health.
Cheria Johnson, who first found the AmAssi Center while she was in another recovery program, said the center has been a lifeline.
“It gives me a safe space to evaluate my emotions and really get to communicate with other people, the community that’s been through similar experiences as I,” Johnson said.
Lynnae Gantt said she owes the AmAssi Center her life.
“If AmAssi wasn’t here, I would still be on drugs,” Gantt said. “I would still be in a mental spill. I probably would be pretending to be a boy. I just probably wouldn’t be here.”
Keeping things running
Cleo Manago, The Pride Center of Maryland’s CEO, learned the grant was cut late Tuesday night in an email.
He learned the funds were reinstated in another email about two days after that.
“It’s like getting in a car accident and the car accident is over. You’ve lived, but now you have to heal, refocus, and get yourself back in order like you were before that,” Manago said.
Manago said this is the second funding back-and-forth in the second Trump administration. As far as he’s concerned, federal funding’s always at-risk now.
Due to that, Manago is finding ways to diversify how the organization will raise money. He’s planning to try and find new funders and foundations to work with, especially those that aren’t federally-based.
“We are looking at opening up a store to sell merch from The Pride Center of Maryland and other items as a fundraising option,” Manago said.
Manago said it’s about making sure the LGBTQ+ community, and other communities his organization supports, keep getting help.
“I’m glad that I found out about AmAssi through my hard time, because now it’s helping me shape my life into a better time,” Gantt said.
Maryland
Inseparable Maryland couple of 70 years died holding hands after tragic car crash: ‘They were simply quite the pair’
A beloved Maryland couple who were married for 70 years died holding hands in their hospital beds after being taken off life support following a horrifying car crash last week.
Kenneth and Marilyn Oland, high school sweethearts who wed in July 1955, died side-by-side Monday in a Baltimore hospital, six days after a car slammed into the side of their vehicle on Route 15 near their Thurmont home, according to their obituary and multiple reports.
Kenneth, 90, who was driving, and his 88-year-old wife were rushed to the hospital and placed on life support after suffering complications from the collision.
“I don’t think one could’ve lasted without the other,” their heartbroken friend, Nancy Echard, told Fox 5.
“That’s how tight they were. You always saw them together, no matter where you were.”
An employee at Thurmont Senior Center, where the couple were regulars who played bingo there twice a month, said they had just finished lunch and left about 15 minutes before the fatal crash.
The senior center posted a touching tribute to the late couple – parents of three, grandparents of five, and great-grandparents of six – hailing them as pillars of the community who were never seen without each other.
“To those of us here at the Senior Center, they were simply quite the pair,” Tuesday’s Facebook post said.
“You rarely saw one without the other, and that was no accident, they were two people who genuinely chose each other, every single day. In the end, even in their passing, they were not apart for long. They were a living reminder of what lasting love looks like, and we were blessed to witness it.”
The loving pair, devout churchgoers, regularly brought flowers to friends in nursing homes and were known for deeply cherishing their friends and large family, always uniting everyone for holidays, birthdays, and celebrations, their obituary said.
Marilyn devoted 25 years to chiropractic care before retiring in 2023, and Kenneth spent his life working in marketing.
Grief-stricken family members were comforted that the elderly couple died together and hope their love and legacy will live on.
“If there’s one thing we could share about my grandparents, it’s not only the 70 years they’ve had together and that they chose to be together every day and chose to go away together and leave this earth together,” their granddaughter Kristie Hopkins told the outlet.
“Their legacy is just how to be humans – be humble and kind and graceful to others and help strangers in need.”
Maryland
Power restored to University of Maryland after campuswide outage
COLLEGE PARK, Md. (7News) — A campuswide power outage at the University of Maryland prompted crews to respond overnight, including dispatching staff to assist people stuck in elevators.
In an advisory, the university said Facilities Management staff were on site assessing the situation and that crews were being dispatched to individuals in elevators.
Just after 1:30 a.m, the university said power was in the process of being restored across campus and that most residence halls had power. The university said steam and hot water would continue to improve as full campus power restoration continued.
SEE ALSO | Iranians rally in DC for democracy and Iranian leadership back home
Pepco said that around midnight, it began receiving calls about an outage impacting the university. Pepco crews responded and determined Pepco equipment was not the source of the outage.
As of publication, university officials have not responded to 7News’ request for a comment.
Maryland
Body pulled from river near Bladensburg Waterfront
PRINCE GEORGE’S COUNTY, Md. (7News) — An investigation is underway after a body was spotted in the Anacostia River near the Bladensburg Waterfront in Maryland on Saturday.
The Prince George’s County Park Police confirmed on social media around 4:50 p.m. that officers responded to the area after reports of a dead person in the water.
Authorities said the investigation is in its early stages.
Officials have not released the identity of the person, and the cause of death has not yet been determined.
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This is a developing story that will be updated as more information becomes available.
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