At the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB), the EMBRACE Initiative is reimagining what it means for an anchor institution to work in true partnership with its neighbors. Rooted in the principles of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s vision of a Beloved Community, EMBRACE works hand in hand with those most impacted by systemic inequities — youth, returning citizens, and individuals with lived experience — to lead change in areas too often defined by harm. 

Dr. King described the Beloved Community as a society based on justice, equal opportunity, and love of one’s fellow human beings. In such a community, poverty, hunger, and homelessness would not be tolerated; racism and discrimination would be replaced by an all-inclusive spirit of human solidarity; and conflicts would be resolved peacefully through reconciliation and understanding. EMBRACE seeks to make this vision a reality, embedding it in every program and partnership. 

Dr. Kyla Liggett-Creel, Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, and Embrace Resource Center partners celebrate the opening of the center’s new space, which opened in January 2024.

From violence prevention and youth leadership development to system transformation and trauma-informed care, EMBRACE is more than just a program. It is a movement that proves when communities lead, change is not only possible — it’s inevitable. 

That approach has earned recognition beyond UMB. EMBRACE’s executive director, Kyla Liggett-Creel, PhD, LCSW-C — better known across Baltimore as “Dr. K” — was recently named UMB’s Public Servant of the Year. The Baltimore City Council also honored her with a congratulatory resolution recognizing her leadership and EMBRACE’s contributions to the city. 

City leaders point to EMBRACE as a key partner in Baltimore’s recent progress on reducing violence. Stefanie Mavronis, director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement, said, “Baltimore is seeing historic decreases in homicides and nonfatal shootings because of EMBRACE and other partners doing the hard work on the ground to get upstream and prevent violence. Dr. K and her team show up with care and compassion every day from helping mediate conflicts to supporting neighbors returning from incarceration. They continue to be a key partner in Baltimore’s community violence intervention ecosystem and our collective work to build safer, stronger neighborhoods for all Baltimoreans.” 

From Talk to Action 

In late 2021, community representatives including business owners, police, and advocates gathered to discuss the future of the Eutaw Street corridor. With numerous open-air drug sales taking place within a single block, traditional responses — more surveillance and increased arrests — were on the table. UMB advocated for a different path. 

“As we started this work, UMB was clear that we did not want to continue the pattern of harm that has been done to this community, especially marginalized groups,” Liggett-Creel said. 

As an anchor institution, UMB recognized its responsibility to engage with communities as partners rather than as outsiders with ready-made solutions. That meant recognizing community members not just as beneficiaries, but as collaborators in shaping change. 

“Dr. K really, really believes in the people that live in this community,” said Marvin Garner, a peer recovery specialist and a credible messenger at the Embrace Resource and Reentry Center (ERRC), part of the larger EMBRACE Initiative. “In those earliest conversations, she pointed out that the people that live here are stakeholders as well.” 

Building Safety Through Human Connection 

The University began by supporting peer recovery specialists and recently incarcerated individuals — known as returning citizens — to conduct outreach. Social work interns were embedded with UMB Police Department’s Community Outreach and Support Team (COAST), and a donated storefront became the ERRC, which opened in December 2021. Its very first client came in seeking employment support, and within weeks, conversations had shifted into action. 

By March 2022, EMBRACE and the P.E.A.C.E. Team partnered to address the drug market on Eutaw Street — not by removing people, but by connecting them to resources. By April, open-air sales had dropped by more than 50 percent, and residents engaged with ERRC staff more than 400 times. 

The progress wasn’t just about numbers. It was about building trust and creating a welcoming place where people could find real help. 

Garner, who has played a vital role at the ERRC since its launch, describes the center as a “one-stop center” focused on removing barriers. 

“We use a unique but very effective form of trauma-informed, holistic case management,” he explained. “Our approach brings together credible messengers, peers, UMB law enforcement’s COAST, licensed social workers, social work interns, and other organizations to remove barriers that traditional social work alone has not been able to address.” 

Since its launch, the ERRC has logged more than 8,600 interactions with community members, including thousands of first-time engagements and follow-ups. Employment assistance and vital records remain the most requested services, but housing, behavioral health support, expungement, vocational training, and transportation are also common needs. To date, EMBRACE has helped community members achieve more than 3,700 tangible goals, from securing jobs to enrolling in drug treatment to obtaining birth certificates and IDs. 

Centering Lived Experience 

Every EMBRACE program is guided by the belief that those closest to the problem should help lead the solution. The credible messenger model — peer specialists and returning citizens using their lived experience to guide others — is central to this approach. 

One powerful example came when a returning citizen described being dropped on a street corner after decades in prison with no money, no phone, and no transportation. His story spurred EMBRACE to create a reentry pipeline that provides comprehensive services led by people who’ve been through it themselves. 

Today, the ERRC’s reentry staff includes Willie Hamilton and Gordon Pack, close friends who each served decades in prison before being released under Maryland’s Juvenile Restoration Act. Now they are advocates and mentors guiding others through one of the hardest transitions a person can face. 

“We went through the process of coming home after doing long, long terms of incarceration and trying to figure out life in a new way, in a new world,” Hamilton said. “We were great friends inside, and coming out and still being a part of each other’s lives and working together — they couldn’t pick a better person that I can work with for this great organization.” 

Hamilton said that while many people want to move on from their prison experience, he and Pack felt a responsibility to stay involved. 

“We still want to help, because we understand the need,” he said. “I was incarcerated when I was 16. I was a child. So coming home as a 47-year-old and trying to figure things out was very difficult.” 

To strengthen that work, EMBRACE’s reentry staff partner closely with groups such as the TIME Organization, which is an accredited behavioral health provider that operates outpatient clinics, transitional homes, shelters, and school-based programs while offering wraparound services such as case management, substance use treatment, psychiatric care, and peer support. Its reentry programs are especially focused on individuals released under Maryland’s Juvenile Restoration Act and, now, the Second Look Act. 

“Our collaboration with EMBRACE allows us to connect clients to housing, employment, and expungement opportunities while making sure they are supported by people who understand their experience. No single organization can do this work alone — but when we pool our resources, we create a stronger safety net for returning citizens and their families,” said Shareese Kess, LCSW-C, CCM, chief of staff at TIME. 

Kess added that too often providers work in silos, leaving gaps that hurt clients. “We are one community,” she said. “There are global issues we all face, and there’s not one organization that can meet every need. When we join forces, we make sure people don’t fall through the cracks. Together, we’re a mighty force.” 

The Challenge of Building Change That Lasts 

For Liggett-Creel, EMBRACE is about more than delivering services — it’s about reshaping the systems that created harm in the first place. Outdated procurement processes, administrative burdens, and credentialing requirements too often exclude grassroots leaders and returning citizens. 

“Systems created the environment that caused groups of people to be marginalized and therefore it is the responsibility of systems to address this harm and in fact change the systems to center those who have been marginalized,” she said. 

Baltimore City Council President Zeke Cohen underscored the importance of systemic reform, saying, “The EMBRACE Initiative represents the kind of cross-sector collaboration Baltimore needs to strengthen families and communities. Embedding trauma-informed care into our city's systems is essential to addressing root causes and breaking cycles of harm. I commend UMB and Dr. Liggett-Creel for their leadership, and the City Council looks forward to continued partnership to ensure Baltimore residents have access to the support and services they deserve.” 

Liggett-Creel said EMBRACE’s philosophy has pushed the initiative to confront systems built in ways that marginalized entire communities. She pointed to outdated procurement rules, the lack of value placed on community-based efforts, and heavy administrative demands on small grassroots groups as obstacles that slow progress. “UMB is committed to making these changes, but it takes time,” she said. “We often have to put in double or triple the effort to not only get the work done but also to reform the systems themselves.”