Laurel Advocacy & Referral Services, Inc.
LARS has a passion to empower individuals in need of food, housing, and financial assistance to achieve well-being, stability, and self-sufficiency.
More About Us
Founded in 1987, Laurel Advocacy & Referral Services, Inc. (LARS) was established to provide emergency food and financial assistance to Laurel residents in crisis. Local congregation leaders and community members created LARS to serve as a central point of contact and source of support for the growing numbers of people who were coming to their doors for help. Today, LARS is staffed by trained case managers and continues to receive financial and volunteer support from its founding faith-based organizations. LARS serves homeless and low-income families and individuals. LARS has a passion to empower individuals in need of food, housing, and financial assistance to achieve well-being, stability, and self-sufficiency.
Over the past three decades, LARS has grown significantly in terms of physical presence, team and programming.
Every day, community members in need seek support from LARS. Most of LARS' clients are Asset Limited, Income constrained and employed (ALICE). More commonly referred as the working poor, individuals and families seek out help from LARS in some of the most stressful times of their lives. LARS seeks to restore hope and well-being for those who seek support.
To learn more, please connect with us on social media.
Need assistance? Please call 301-776-0442 and press option 2. One of LARS' caring case managers will be able to assist you.
Interested in getting involved? Please email us at fundraiser@laureladvocacy.org.
LARS is here for individuals and families in their most stressful times. Summer is no exception.
As school winds down, food insecurity will increase for families served by LARS. Children will no longer have the free breakfast and lunch that comes with school.
Supporters like you ensure that these families' food budgets are not further strained. The increasing pantry needs, at this time of year, depends on you. Through Do More 24 donations, kid-friendly food and snacks are incorporated into families' emergency food.
Just imagine…a single mother's SNAP benefits going from over $300 to a mere $23 PER MONTH. No matter how you slice it, the cupboard runs bare a lot quicker-and even more so in the summer.
Instead of a sigh of relief for another school year for your children, you are then worrying about those added two meals a day for each of your children.
OR
Consider the family that had to stretch their food budget to make up for this difference. They fall behind with bills. LARS is there to help individuals and families who don't have a safety-net when the rent check is more than they can afford this month. LARS emergency assistance keeps individuals and families housed.
LARS' three main programs form a cohesive wrap-around approach to meeting basic needs and supporting long-term success for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, facing food insecurity, or struggling with repeated financial instability.
Through LARS' Emergency Services Program, LARS currently serves over 800 households just like this one. LARS' Emergency Services Program serves over 800 households each year, providing "critical care" to households who are in the midst of a financial crisis and ensuring that immediate needs are met and there is a plan for short-term sustainability.
Beyond these emergency needs amplified in the summer months, LARS' team of case managers work with LARS' clients to maintain stability and prevent future crises.
LARS' Permanent Supportive Housing Program (providing housing to 31 chronically homeless and disabled individuals and families) and Self-Sufficiency Program (providing individualized mentorship and case management to households) serve as longer-term approaches.
And we are just getting started.
How Can You Help Today?
Testimonials
"My case manager was patient with me but held me accountable for my own growth and progress. I would recommend this program to anyone who needs help figuring out their lives or feels stuck in a situation."- LARS' first Self-Sufficiency Program graduate