Testimonials

There is no money in this world that can buy a mother’s love for her children. A Mother is the pillar of strength in everyone’s life. She is the one without whom our life is incomplete. Mother is not simply a word but it is a whole universe in itself. She is the most important person in everybody’s life. A mother has the ability to love selflessly. The sacrifices made by a mother cannot be simply written in words. It’s the capacity of a mother as a teacher that ignites greatness into a child.

Ladies and gentlemen meet Ms. Laytonia, she is a strong, caring, dependable, responsible and respectful mother of 2 adorable kids. In the early months of 2020 of the COVID-19 pandemic, as most of us know, all schools had to be shut down that meant her son, had to stop going to school. During that period, she was left with no choice but to quit her job and to stay home with her children.

As weeks and months went by, her bills started escalating. Her Landlord at the time forced her to leave her apartment which was wrong and shouldn’t have taken place but that’s another whole topic because so many other tenants faced illegal eviction during Covid-19 pandemic that couldn’t pay their rent. Just like that, Ms. Laytonia and kids got evicted and became homeless, in the process she lost all her possessions. She recalled the situation as one of the toughest in her life. She got another job to support her family but to cut the long story short, one thing led to another and it led to her kids being placed in foster care.

Ms. Laytonia resided at Fairfield Inn, for 7 months which is a shelter sponsored by The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services. Her Case Manager at the shelter reached out to us to assist her with furniture.

On Saturday, October 9th: FLO’s FAP team furnished her entire home.

Ms. Laytonia was very emotional and filled with gratitude to FLO for our service. Huge thanks to Ms. Laytonia for agreeing to share her testimony to help inspire other mothers / women and assist us in furthering our mission to get more donations in the future to support more vulnerable individuals / families in our community.

#FLO #LOVE #Hope #Baltimore

Meet Ms. Natasha, a single mother for 3 years she was homeless either couch surfing or living in different shelters. Through her walk in the storm, she never lost faith. On September 24th, 2020 she moved out of Pinderhughes, a shelter she had been residing. She received her key to move into a one bedroom apartment with her son in East Baltimore.

Ms. Natasha was very excited, she and her son moved into their apartment and the only belongings they had was their clothes. For 2 weeks, they lived on a tight budget, they couldn’t afford any furniture, just enough for food. So they slept on the floor and prayed things will get better. On Friday morning, Ms. Natasha approached the Resident Services Coordinator of the complex, Ms. Alexis and explained her situation. She asked her for referrals for furniture assistance.

Ms. Alexis told her, she had heard about FLO’s work on social media through our posts. She pulled up our information and she shared our contact with Ms. Natasha. Late Friday afternoon, October 2nd around 4pm, Ms. Natasha called us and asked if we could assist her with furniture. She explained her situation and due to the urgency of the matter, an inspection of her apartment was conducted the same day.

The very next day, yesterday, Saturday, October 3rd:
FLO and its volunteers delivered a bed, dresser, light bulb kit, dinning room set, bed sheets, comforters, coffee table, lamp, Fulton, bookshelf, microwave, vacuum cleaner, and much more.

We give a heartfelt thank you to all our donors & sponsors for their generosity for the furniture & supplies giving to Ms. Natasha, we also give a huge shout out to her Resident Service Coordinator, Ms. Alexis for referring her to us.

Ms. Natasha was so excited and filled with so much gratitude. We were excited to be creating a dignified setting for herself and her son with the furniture we provided and lastly improving their quality of life.

We will be serving her food, groceries and supplies every Tuesday during our weekly Mobile community outreach and continue to walk this journey with her on her road to self-sufficiency.

An individual’s state of mind trying to adjust after a residential fire can be filled with shock, anger, hopelessness, and overwhelming sense of uncertainty.

On Friday, January 29th, 2021 we received a call from Housing Authority of Baltimore City. Mr. Whipple, service coordinator at McCulloh homes reached out to us explaining the story of a senior, Ms. Taylor whom the night before had been affected adversely by a fire. He requested FLO’s assistance with furniture, food, clothing, and various other supplies in assisting their client, Ms. Taylor.

Without delay FLO accepted this request in supporting Ms. Taylor. In a week, our team lead by one of FLO’s Board of Directors, Carmen Stone Roberts coordinated daily nourishing meals catered and hand delivered by Chay’s Trays & Full Service Catering to Ms. Taylor at the temporary hotel where she was lodging.

On Wednesday, February 3rd Ms. Taylor was transferred from McCulloh Homes to Douglas Homes so her new home would be ramp accessible.

On Friday, February 5th FLO and its volunteers delivered a sofa, reclining chair, dresser, light bulb kit, China set cabinet, dining room table with chairs, bed, end tables, lamps, Tvs, cleaning supplies, clothes, groceries, and much more.

We give a heartfelt thank you to all our donors and sponsors for your great generosity. Your support helps to further our mission in such unfortunate time. Your support is in invaluable to us.

Special thanks to Housing Authority of Baltimore City for making the connection. Huge thank you to Mr. Whipple, service coordinator at McCulloh Homes and Ms. Neal, Service Coordinator at Douglas Homes for your coordination serving with care, compassion, professionalism and dignity.

Ms. Taylor couldn’t believe her eyes, in her words she mentioned “she has an attitude for gratitude.” She was filled with so much excitement and gratitude for the furniture, groceries, clothes, and supplies. She disclosed emotionally her loses which included her precious cat, family album, and lots of other irreplaceable items.

We were excited to give Ms. Taylor hope and playing a role in assisting her to rebuild creating a dignified setting and establishing stability. We will continue our mission by providing weekly groceries during our community outreach. We continue to walk with Ms. Taylor on her road to full recovery.

On January 11, 2021 we received a call from a nurse from Johns Hopkins ACT Team, ACT stands for (Assertive Community Treatment), inquiring about furniture for a client of theirs who recently moved to a home in the Latrobe homes apartment in East Baltimore. We were told she previously lived in her old apartment for over a year without any furniture.

We had the pleasure meeting Ms. Jessica, when we visited her home for an inspection, she was very laid back and expressed her desire to acquire furniture in her home. We felt more compelled to help her because she had been sleeping without a bed for far too long.

On Saturday morning, January 23rd:

FLO and its volunteers delivered a bed, dresser, coffee table, drawer, microwave, sofa bed, chair, Tvs, utensils, pots & pans, lamp, picture art frames, light bulb kit, bookshelf, rug, cleaning supplies, and much more.

We give a heartfelt thank you to all our donors and sponsors for their generosity for the furniture & supplies giving to Ms. Jessica. We were excited to be creating a dignified setting for her with the furniture we provided and lastly improving her quality of life.

She was so grateful, overwhelmed with joy for her new bedroom set and to be quite frank, the moment felt surreal to her with the resources and love she received from FLO. We will be serving her food and groceries during our weekly community outreach and continue to walk this journey with her on her road to self-sufficiency.

Covid-19 has caused a major food insecurity in our communities. We hear about the uncertainty for individuals and families for survival of food over and over again. It breaks our heart to know the situation people are facing each day.

Meet Ms. Drexler, she shared her testimony during our weekly mobile outreach on December 1, 2020. On a cold and windy December night on Wilkens Avenue, she and her family were walking back home with the thoughts of food on their mind.

They wonder where they will get their next meal. Luckily for them, we asked them, if they needed food and they responded back with an emphatic “Yes!”

They were very grateful, Ms. Drexler said the food in her home was very little for them to survive. We provided them with sandwiches, gift bags of food, groceries and masks.

Walking by faith and not by sight means that we live today according to God’s promises, even though we cannot see them, and not according to the temporary, arbitrary things that our eyes often focus on here on earth.

Walking by faith not by sight literally illustrates our next story. Ladies and Gentlemen, we will like to introduce you to Ms. Kenyatta. She is legally blind, she was connected to us by The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services. She moved into her 2 bedroom apartment in Latrobe Homes in August of 2021 where she and her live-in aide will reside.

Unfortunately, another agency had promised to assist her with furniture but they never did.

Frustrated and waiting on empty promises, Ms. Kenyatta never lost faith. She decided to reach out again to Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services, if they could connect her to another resource for furniture. Right away an application was submitted to us, to support her with furniture. Few days later an inspection was scheduled to inspect her apartment.

On Friday, September 3, 2021 FLO’s team furnished her entire home.

Ms. Kenyatta, was grateful we responded so fast to her request for furniture and thanked us for our service. Special thank you to Ms. Kenyatta for agreeing to share her testimony to help inspire others and assist us in furthering our mission to get more donations in the future to support more vulnerable individuals and families in our community.

We give a heartfelt thank you to our donors and sponsors for their generosity for the furniture giving to our recipient.

#FLO #FLOGIVING #Community #service #blessing #change #baltimore #transform #housing #nonprofit #homeless #homelessness #baltimorecity #help #hope #inspiration #love #instakind #change #sharing #dignity #hope

For many of us, Christmas is one of the best times of the year. But for others, it can be one of the hardest. The holiday season has a way of bringing up emotions in a way that nothing else can. We can feel joy, love, peace, and contentment or we can feel great sadness, loneliness, stress, and unrest.

Ladies and gentlemen allow us to introduce you to Mr. Tim. About a decade, he finally has his own apartment. Over that period of time, he was homeless, and he resided at the Weinberg Housing and Resource Center. When Covid-19 pandemic began he was relocated into the Knights Inn hotel and was lodged there for 18 months sponsored by the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services.

Recently he signed a lease to his new apartment in South Baltimore and he was filled with lots of emotions and excitement. The Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services reached out to FLO, to assist Mr. Tim with furniture.

On Christmas eve, Friday December 24th, FLO’s team delivered and furnished his entire apartment. An emotional, Mr. Tim was overwhelmed with joy and gratitude. He called our assistance with all the furniture he received a Christmas miracle. Mr. Tim said to our team “What you all have done for me in 30 minutes, is more than any one has ever done for me in the last 2 years.”

Special thank you to Mr. Tim for giving us consent to share his testimony to help inspire others and assist us in furthering our mission to get more donations in the future to support more vulnerable individuals / families in our community.

We give a heartfelt thank you to all our donors and sponsors for their generosity for the furniture & supplies giving to Mr. Tim.

#FLO #FLOGIVING #Community #service #blessing #change #love #ChristmasMiracle

Whether we are struggling with the fear and isolation of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic or we are just having one of those weeks where nothing seems to go right, relying on faith can help carry us through. God will make a way where there seems to be no way.

Meet Mr. Ben & his fiance, Ms. Mary. For 2 years they were displaced living in a shelter called Weinberg Housing and Resource Center also known as “Code Blue.” While in the midst of uncertain times, both Mr. Ben & Ms. Mary, started the ground work to get their own place by reaching out to Health Care for the Homeless to assist them with housing.

On Tuesday, November 3, 2020 they finally moved into their new home in South Baltimore.

Upon arrival into their new home, neighbors welcomed them into the neighborhood. Their next door neighbor hearing about their story provided a mattress and other items for them. To get assistance with furniture, Healthcare for the homeless referred them to St. Vincent De Paul Church but due to the number of clients on their waiting list, St. Vincent de Paul referred Mr. Ben & Ms. Mary to FLO.

On Wednesday, November 11th, Mr. Ben reached out to FLO requesting our assistance to support them with furniture. Inspection of their home was conducted the next day.

On Saturday, November 14th, FLO and its volunteers delivered a sofa, chair, bed for the guest room, light bulb kit, coffee table, 2 end tables, rug, cleaning supplies, cat food for their cats, shelf, lamp, dinning room set, China set cabinet, and much more.

Mr. Ben & Ms. Mary were emotionally grateful to FLO and all the donors that made this possible. Mr. Ben mentioned their new couch made him feel like he was home in his native country London, England.

We were excited to assist them with a hand up and providing then with a better quality of life with the furniture we delivered.

We give a heartfelt thank you to all our donors and sponsors for the generosity for the furniture & supplies giving to them. Special thank you to St. Vincent de Paul Church for connecting them to us.

During this time of uncertainty, so many people in our city are going through so much difficulty and they are suffering in silence. Some people are having issues with homelessness, food insecurity, rent or mortgage payments, financial obligations, health crisis, loneliness and so much other issues but here is the thing, we will never know, if they don’t tell us.

Meet Ms. Darla, we met her and her friend at the traffic light on Pennsylvania Avenue around 11pm on Tuesday, January 19, 2021 night during our Mobile Community Outreach. We asked them, if they were hungry and needed any food. They responded saying yes.

An emotional, Ms. Darla was so moved by our kindness began to cry. She said she really needed the food, the supplies and any blessings we can offer her. She said she lost her husband 5 months ago and she has really been going through hard times.

Today and always, we encourage everyone to check up on your neighbors, complete strangers, and people we care about show them some love, encourage them if you can, share blessings if you can. Our city needs hope, this world needs hope. Love Loudly!

Life is filled with uncertainty, especially at times like we are facing now. While many things remain outside our control, our mindset is key to coping with difficult circumstances and facing the unknown.

Uncertainty is all around us, never more so than today. The current COVID-19 pandemic has heightened uncertainty over the economy, employment, finances, relationships, and of course, physical and mental health.

For those of us that are in position to help others, all we can do is provide encouragement and opportunities for those among us that are vulnerable by giving them hope. As the cold of winter draws near, more of our brothers and sisters in need will need support and assistance more than ever before.

Our Testimonial spotlight on Tuesday, October 20th features Mr. Kevin. Over the last several months, we have been serving himself and others on Pennsylvania Avenue. He was so grateful for the food, beverage, mask, hygiene care kits and most of all, the thermal undershirts he received from us. He says, FLO is a blessing and he wants to fortified himself with layers of necessary winter essentials, he can get his hands on to stay warm during the winter.

In life the the best decisions we make are the ones made when we live by faith and not by sight. Even though we might not be able to see where we are going, we keep moving! Martin Luther King Jr., once said, “Faith is taking the first step, even when you don’t see the whole staircase.”

Ladies and gentlemen, we introduce Ms. Moore, for 5 years, she was in and out of homelessness. She stayed in different shelters like Karis home and My Sister’s Place Women’s Center. Eventually, she was able to rent a room for a while till in December of 2020, she moved into her own apartment in West Baltimore.

From December till February, Ms. Moore lived in her apartment without no furniture and no bed to sleep on. She reached out to various organizations for assistance with furniture but she was unsuccessful.

On February 15th, she randomly searched organizations in Baltimore that donates free furniture and “FLO” came up. So she decided to call. She explained her situation and an inspection was scheduled to inspect her apartment.

We had the pleasure meeting Ms. Moore, when we inspected her home, she was very excited about opportunity to finally have furniture in her apartment.

On Saturday morning, February 20th:
FLO and its volunteers delivered a bed, dinning room set, dresser, end tables, coffee table, drawer, sofa, chair, TV, entertainment center, utensils, lamp, radio, picture art frames, light bulb kit, bookshelf, rug, cleaning supplies, and much more.

We give a heartfelt thank you to all our donors and sponsors for your great generosity. Your support helps to further our mission in such unfortunate time. Your support is invaluable to us.

Ms. Moore was so grateful, she was filled with emotions and overwhelmed with immense happiness. She cried with tears of joy as our volunteers kept on bringing furniture in and out of her apartment.

We were excited to be creating a dignified setting for her with the furniture we provided and enabling her to become established and achieve stability in her new apartment.

Our testimonial feature from March 10, 2020, we introduce Mr. Chris. We have been serving him for couple years now. There have been many times we’ve found Mr. Chris, digging into trash cans searching for food. He says FLO has saved his life and we give him hope to overcome his hardship. In addition, Mr. Chris, wishes everyday was an outreach day, so he can get fed by FLO.

He says he prefers staying in Helping Up Mission for shelter but a lot of the time he does not have the $3 to get into the shelter.

We ran into Mr. Chris on Monument Street. He had his back turned away from us walking on the opposite side of the street, when we tracked him down. As we yelled his name out loud, he turned around, saw it was us and he was so excited. He ran as fast as he could to meet us on a one way street.

On his testimony, he didn’t hide his feelings, what FLO means to him and how it has impacted his life.

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