Volunteer Spotlight – Meet Rochelle Arnold-Simmons

Rochelle Arnold-Simmons –

For nearly a year, Marian House has been fortunate to benefit from the warmth, generosity, and leadership of volunteer Rochelle Arnold-Simmons, who recently left her position as Senior Director of Global Talent Development at Under Armour. After an accomplished corporate career shaped by strategic vision and a commitment to people, Rochelle has embraced a new purpose —serving others with heart, humility, and consistency. Rochelle first stepped through our doors in January 2025 with a large group of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority sisters led by Donna El-Amin, Chair of Uplift Our Local Community. Rochelle has since become a cherished member of the Marian House volunteer community.

What began as a one‑time service activity quickly transformed into a monthly ritual of nourishment and connection. Rochelle prepares home‑cooked meals for our residents—meals rooted in comfort, tradition, and the belief that food can be a source of dignity and healing. Each month, she arrives with thoughtful menus, carefully planned ingredients, and a genuine eagerness to make residents feel seen and cared for. Her meals are more than dishes on a plate—they are acts of encouragement and reminders that the women of Marian House are surrounded by a community that believes in them.

Rochelle’s background in global human resources shines through the way she engages with residents and staff alike. She listens deeply, supports wholeheartedly, and brings an innate ability to make people feel valued. Whether she is cooking, serving, or simply sharing conversation with residents, she approaches each encounter with respect and empathy. Her presence in the kitchen is energetic and joyful—a reflection
of her belief that service should not only meet a need, but also uplift the spirit.

Rochelle continues to champion the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority’s legacy of sisterhood, scholarship, and service each time she returns to Marian House.

Marian House is deeply grateful for volunteers like Rochelle and her AKA sisters—leaders who bring
their gifts forward with humility and heart. Her commitment to showing up month after month is a testament to the transformative power of service. We are honored to spotlight her remarkable contributions.

“As I reflect on my goals for 2025, one of the most meaningful was to volunteer more — specifically to support women navigating some of life’s hardest moments. I chose The Marian House in Baltimore City, a holistic, healing community for women and their children seeking housing, stability, and a path forward.”

Resident Spotlight – Salaunah

“Marian House was a game changer!.”

Salaunah is a quiet force of resilience and transformation. A recent Marian House I graduate who now lives in Marian House II, Salaunah celebrates 17 months of sobriety. A devoted mother of two holiday-born sons, Donte (12/25 Christmas) and Dayson (11/22 Thanksgiving), she draws strength from motherhood on her healing journey from dependence to independence.

What was life like before coming to Marian House?

My life was a living hell to be honest. I didn’t have anything or anyone when I came here. I had burned all my bridges everywhere.

What led you to Marian House?

I was in and out of the hospital with 16 blood transfusions, I had to make some serious changes in my life. My health was out of control because of my alcohol abuse. Coming to Marian House was the best decision I ever made.

How would you describe Marian House to someone else?

Marian House was a game changer for me. The programs work- if you work it. My counselor from another program suggested I come to Marian House. She said it was the best place for me to change my life. She was right.

What’s been the most helpful to you at Marian House?

The things that have helped me the most are the levels of housing and support, along with the encouragement by everyone on the staff to take time, be still, and heal. The process moving from MHI to MHII has given me time to grow gradually and maintain my sobriety. I have been writing during my healing process.
This poem is dedicated to my sons….” My heart skips a beat when I saw their faces… My mind was in a zone traveling all kinds of places… Their hands were small and they cheeks were so fat…. I knew they were mine there was no going back… They curled in my arms as I rubbed their hair… They stole my heart with only one glare… I couldn’t believe how they stole my heart…. The love was so strong it should never part… I became a mother a protector and a friend… And I will always love them till the very end… Words can express what they mean to me… A dose of their love has set me free… They open up a world that I wouldn’t have known…. They smooth out the past they set the tone…. Only time will tell if I pass the test… Then my heart and soul shall be at rest”

What are people supporting when they support Marian House?

My life! And every woman like me who needs time to heal and grow.

Farewell Letter from Katie

 

Dear Friends of Marian House,
After 18 years of profound growth, meaningful service, and deep gratitude, I am writing to share that I am stepping down from my role as President and Chief Executive Officer of Marian House. This decision was not made lightly. Marian House has been my professional home, my community, and one of the greatest honors of my life. Yet, the moment has arrived for me to embrace a new opportunity—one that both excites me and invites me to grow in new ways.

As I look back on nearly two decades of service, I am filled with deep appreciation for the people who have shaped this journey. I have witnessed extraordinary courage from the women who walk through our doors—women who choose healing, growth, and renewal every single day. Their resilience has taught me more than any textbook or training ever could. Their stories, victories, setbacks, and triumphs will stay with me forever.

I have also had the privilege of working alongside a dedicated staff, board, volunteer community, and countless supporters who believe fiercely in the mission of Marian House. Together, we have strengthened programs, expanded services, built new partnerships, and created spaces where women and their families can reclaim their futures with dignity and hope. Every achievement belongs to this collective community, not to one individual.

While stepping away is bittersweet, I do so with complete confidence in the leadership and vision that will carry Marian House forward. This organization is strong, and its mission has never been more vital. I am excited to watch its next chapter unfold and to cheer from a new vantage point as it continues to transform lives. I am confident in transferring leadership to Rebecca Perry, our newly appointed Interim CEO, who has been serving as our Chief Operating Officer for over a year. Her deep knowledge of our operations and commitment to our mission position Marian House for continued success.

Thank you—for your trust, your collaboration, your encouragement, and your unwavering belief in the power of rebuilding lives. Marian House will always hold a place in my heart, and I will remain an advocate for its mission no matter where my path leads.

With gratitude,

Katie Allston, LCSW-C
President & CEO

Resident Spotlight: Quay

“You are not your mistakes. If you mess up, ask for help…”

What was life like before coming to Marian House? Quay entered in September 2022.

In my case, it depends on where the story begins. There’s a bizarre and confusing mix of awesomeness and tragedy. My journey to Marian House started around the same time COVID plagued the world. I’d recently moved to Baltimore. I lived by the harbor; thought Thad the career of my dreams, and literally 3 bad decisions later, I was in rehab by the end of that year, facing eviction, addiction, and I was quickly spiraling into deep despair.

What led you to Marian House?

Three years after COVID, after my struggles with substance abuse started, I experienced being homeless in Iowa, trapped in a relationship with an ex-convict and life-long criminal. I recently lost the baby I had with that guy. I hated my job at a local grocery. My grandfather had died 2 days before my 34th birthday. And yeah, I was still struggling with my addiction. I was using in the bathroom of my job and dropping weight like water. I ended up having a moment where I decided I was going to give up, that my addiction was unbeatable. I spent an entire week running the streets of Baltimore. During that week I experienced where my addiction was going to lead me to (in the worst ways), and on that 5th day, a couple I was using with walked me to treatment, and that’s where this journey began.

How would you describe Marian House to someone else?

Marian House is a safe haven for women and families, where you will be loved and encourages until you learn to love and encourage yourself. Marian House is a place where you can shed your traumas, your pain and recover from whatever circumstance led you here. At Marian House, anyone can grow, become educated, and learn healthy life skills that will directly help you become the best version of yourself. Marian House is the only place they anyone should go if they really want a better life, as it is unlike any other rehabilitation center in the city. Marian House will teach you how to manage your money, everyday work/life balance skills, relationships, emotions, and your schedule. You cannot leave this place without learning to be a productive human, PERIOD.

What has been the most helpful to you at Marian House?

It would hands down have to be the fact that most of the staff are female and each and every one of them love and respect the women that come through the doors. They don’t see you as your mistakes and every staff member pulls out the very best in you. I really take a lot from my therapy sessions with Ms. Beth who is the most phenomenal woman. She has this crazy ability to pull things out of me I try to hide. I really couldn’t imagine my growth without my counselor, Ms. Beth.

What’s something you learned here that you will take with you?

I learned that it’s okay to ask for help and needing others doesn’t make me weak. I learned that trauma isn’t always physical and emotional scars do in fact shape you in ways that may not be so easily detectable but are still equally as important to address.

When people support Marian House, what are they supporting?

They are helping women have a safe place to go each night. They are supporting educational dreams and aspirations. They are helping women find and keep careers. They are helping clothe, feed, educate, and mold women to become better citizens and better parents. They are helping women realize their potential by taking away, just for a while, the stress of dealing with a life full of the challenges that hold them back.

 

If you could talk to your younger self (5 or 10 years ago), what would you tell them?

You are not your mistakes. If you mess up, ask for help, dust yourself off, and start over. You can trust people and you can accomplish anything you want with a plan and action.

 

Volunteer Spotlight: Meet Katie O’Brien & Nazish Weaver, 5K Co-Chairs

Marian House is excited to have Katie O’Brien and Nazish Weaver as our Co-Chairs for the 15th Annual Race to Embrace

Independence 5K Run and Walk. Nazish previously volunteered with our race and eagerly stepped up to co-chair our 2023 5K. Katie ran our race in 2022 and was encouraged to help lead as a co-chair in 2023. She has extensive experience racing different events, but this is her first time planning one.

 

Katie was connected to us by Tony Moag, COO at Whiting-Turner and is childhood friends with

Megan Ferris. Although born in New York, Katie grew up in Maryland and attended the University of Maryland to study civil engineering. She has worked at Whiting-Turner since she graduated 13 years ago, and does quality management for major healthcare construction projects. She has been married to her high school sweetheart for 11 years. She lives in Catonsville with her 6-year-old son, 4-year-old -daughter and 11-year-old German Shepherd, Shaefer. She loves traveling and also competing in multiple races a year as a triathlete. Katie started volunteering at Marian House by serving on the WIE committee as a construction related resource. She joined the Board in the Fall of 2020 and sits on the Facilities Committee.

 

Nazish met Katie Allston & Karen Albert at a CareFirst Board Connect event that helped introduce nonprofit organizations to CareFirst employees interested in serving the community. She started volunteering at Marian House in Fall 2019 by joining the Advancement Committee and is now a member of our Board. Nazish has always valued a life of service and loves being an ambassador for Marian House and our mission! Her background includes a Bachelors in International Business and a Masters in Healthcare Administration. She works at CareFirst as an Account Consultant, managing retention with market employer groups from 2-199 people. She has been at CareFirst for 7 years and loves the relationship building focus that they have. She also happens to work with Mary Penczek, former 5K committee & Board Member. Nazish and her husband live in Owings Mills and have three adult children ages 21-26. In her spare time, she loves making jewelry, furniture flipping, and loves to walk and cook. She wholeheartedly believes that love is best shared through food!

 

While both Katie and Nazish have been busy planning our annual 5K, Nazish also finished a 20-mile Mammoth March walk in Newark, Delaware and enjoyed several weekend trips, while Katie has an upcoming family trip to Northern Italy & Switzerland for her parents’ 70th birthdays. As we’re wrapping up a fun-filled summer, we are all eager to see you at the race on September 30, 2023 – here at Marian House. Please REGISTER TODAY at marianhouse.org/5k

Ravens Raffle Winner has been chosen

And the Winner Is . . .

Mark Davis is the winner of our Annual Ravens Season Ticket Raffle. Sold by our very own Scott. Mark was intrigued with the possibility of winning and brought tickets.

When he was called on July 27, 2023, and notified that he was the winner, he was thrilled. He had the option of taking the 4 Ravens season tickets or the $1,500 in cash and he chose the tickets without hesitation.

Thanks to Mark and to all who purchased tickets, for their support of our mission. We will offer the raffle again in the spring of 2024.

See you next year and may the odds be in your favor!

 

 

 

 

Help support the Marian House programs and make a donation today >

You Can Leave a Legacy

You truly can leave a legacy! It is not just for the rich, wealthy or famous. Leaving a planned gift is a way to leave a legacy and support the work you championed in your lifetime.

Planned gifts can be as simple as making an outright bequest or as complex as creating a charitable trust in your will. Naming Marian House as a beneficiary in your property, estate or on your insurance policy is a simple, special gift that leaves a legacy. You can even leave a percentage of a policy. Please call or have your personal financial representative call our Advancement Office at 410.467.4246 to talk about how you can leave a legacy of love. We are happy to help you devise a legacy plan.

Volunteer SPOTLIGHT – Rev. Joyce and CMAT

Rev. Joyce E. Jones has been a Marian House volunteer since spring 2022. With an impressive background, Rev. Joyce graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Virginia State University and a master’s degree at Central Michigan University in Public Administration and Human Resources. Formerly employed by NSA (National Security Administration), she taught at Cryptologic Training School, Prince George’s Community College, and Bowie State University. She is a proud parent to two adult children and one grandson, Caleb.

As the Ministry Leader for the Christian mentoring and Transition Program (CMAT), she began meeting with Marian House staff last spring to explore a pilot partnership. CMAT recruits and trains Christian women to mentor incarcerated and recently released women, pointing them to Jesus Christ and referring them to resources to assist with their transition. Mentors participate from 30 different churches across the District of Columbia, Maryland, Virginia, Delaware and Pennsylvania. Hope Christian Church in Beltsville, where Rev. Joyce is ordained as an elder, is CMAT’s host community.

Over the past 12 years, CMAT has been mentoring women inside the Maryland Correctional Institution for Women, and this year Rev. Joyce will celebrate 25 years of prison ministry. When COVID-19 forced CMAT to pivot to a more virtual presence, the seed of the idea to partner with community-based organizations working with the same population was born. Rev. Joyce was familiar with the work of Marian House because she had prayed for many women at MCIW, over the years, who longed to move on to what she came to understand as the “premier transitional program in the area.” They were blessed to have previous mentees successfully complete the Marian House program and saw first-hand the kind of growth they experienced and the independence they gained.

In the initial pilot with Marian House, Rev. Joyce and her fellow volunteers at CMAT provided 15 women with personally tailored welcome packages with supplies to help them settle into their new home here. Those same women were invited to participate in a monthly pen-pal relationship and receive regular newsletters from the group. In November, the women were invited to Beltsville to help celebrate the 12th Anniversary of CMAT. Zoom and in-person enrichment activities are planned for the spring, with discussion topics voted on by participants. The next topic is, “Taming the Tongue: The Power of Talking Right for a Productive Life.”

We’re grateful to have Rev. Joyce and CMAT as part of the Marian House family and look forward as the partnership continues to grow and serve more women in its second year.

RESIDENT SPOTLIGHT – Nancy A

Nancy is the first to say that she never really had a childhood.

As young as she can remember, she was the main person responsible for her family of seven despite being the middle sibling. When she wasn’t working to provide for them financially, she was acting as the head of household for other families. Even the leisure time and the few toys she had were shared with her siblings. While it was fulfilling to support her family, Nancy had no time to take care of herself.

As an adult, the endless flow of working to support others continued. One day she just couldn’t keep up, and Nancy “took a fall”— she could no longer afford rent. Facing homelessness and realizing her own limitations, she turned to drinking and drugs, quickly becoming “broken in all areas of life.”

Nancy’s first step to stopping her downward spiral was attending recovery meetings, where she first learned of Marian House. She was self-conscious about joining a transitional program in her early fifties, but the lack of an age limit encouraged her. When she was admitted as a resident, she saw immediate improvement, fueled by Marian House’s resources. “Everything I expected to be there, it was more,” she says now.

When she arrived, Nancy learned how to accomplish and enjoy tasks for herself that she had only done for others before. She learned how to properly get a job, manage her own finances, and dress appropriately for the workplace. The support and community Nancy received helped her gain the mental and physical strength to obtain independence. When she had a bout of illness early in her stay, “Marian House was there for me.” Group dinners in the Great Room made Nancy feel like she was, for the first time, in a community where people would do nice things for her and not expect anything back from her in return.

Nancy views Marian House as a place where, even with all the pressure from the outside world to take care of others, she could “get to know myself first.” Through therapy and Marian House’s emphasis on developing strong relationships, she went from a person who “couldn’t speak or hold conversations with others” to a strong self-advocate. She knew Marian House had rejuvenated her when, for the first time since she lost her home, she started baking cookies again. The skills for self-sufficiency Nancy learned in transitional housing made her secure in her finances, confident in her abilities, and proud of herself.

Nancy says, “Sometimes we think we need things at a certain point, but they come when the time is right.” After nearly a whole life spent taking care of others at her own neglect, Nancy can finally take care of herself. Marian House helped Nancy regain her independence. As she ends her time in transitional housing and begins the move to an independent apartment close to her job at Johns Hopkins Hospital, Nancy still feels that her recovery isn’t over—she’s just happy to feel her true self, and her inner child, blossom.

We are at the starting line!

Planning for the 15th Annual Race to Embrace Independence IS UNDERWAY!

The race will beheld in late September and will start and end at Marian House Virtual participation is available for those who can’t join us in-person. We are seeking sponsors from local businesses. By pledging to sponsor us from $1,500 to $10,000 your company can get its logo on the race day shirt. For more details, please call 410-467-4250. Sponsorship benefits and opportunities are below.