Diakonia representatives are pictured before the Berlin Town Council on Monday night.

By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(Nov. 12, 2026) Representatives of Diakonia this week asked the Town of Berlin to consider contributing $100,000 to help expand the non-profit organization expand its services.

At Monday night’s Berlin Town Council meeting, representatives from Diakonia, the West Ocean City organization serving homeless individuals and their families, came before the mayor and council seeking funding for its new supportive living campus.

Diakonia asked the municipality for $25,000 a year for four years, beginning in fiscal year 2027.

The request comes as the organization looks to build a new facility on Route 611. The campus would expand Diakonia’s emergency housing options, food pantry, and administrative and case management offices.

The project will cost about $15 million. However, the non-profit is first looking to get phase one off the ground. The initial stage has a price tag of $7.9 million. It will include an expanded shopping-style food pantry, a larger thrift store, and new veteran support and outreach offices allowing staff to coordinate case management, housing, and programs in a centralized location.

Diakonia Campaign Director Amanda Schick said the organization currently has $6.6 million of the nearly $8 million it needs to proceed with the project’s first phase.

If approved, the $25,000 a year from Berlin would help Diakonia secure a 50% match required to collect $2 million from the Maryland Department of Housing and Community Development’s Shelter and Transitional Housing Facilities Grant Program.

Once phase one is complete, the organization will continue with the final stage of developing the new supportive living campus.

Phase two will include construction of 42 housing units in three buildings, with a mix of studios and one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartments. 19 will be reserved for veterans.

Schick maintained that even with the new facility, Diakonia’s current Old Bridge Road location would remain.

Organization representatives emphasized the need for expansion during their presentation Monday night.

Schick said Diakonia provided housing stabilization and case management services to 1,175 individuals in in 2025. Also during that year, it identified 381 newly homeless individuals, prevented 309 evictions, and supported more than 125 veterans with a 95% successful rehousing rate.

Diakonia Board Member and Capital Campaign Fundraising Committee Chair Jack Burbage noted the work the team does for Berliners specifically.

Burbage said that in the last year, 33 of the 274 residents sheltered at Diakonia were from Berlin. Of the 156 homeless veterans Diakonia aided, 40 were from Berlin, and of the 270 people experiencing homelessness encountered during outreach efforts, 32 were from Berlin.

“Diakonia has been there 54 years, and it does a tremendous amount of good that they don’t crow about,” Burbage said. “They just do it and take care of the people…the demand is really great…We don’t want to see people out on the streets, we don’t want to see people out begging because they have to …”

Burbage added that Berlin’s contribution would provide relief to the community’s economically disadvantaged.

“This [money] would help us go a long way in solving that problem,” he said. “…Diakonia is already providing essential services to Berlin residents. This would help reduce demand, hopefully, on some of the local services.”

Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall noted that the municipality begins considering non-profit requests at the start of the budget cycle in January and thanked the organization for submitting its request early.

“Thank you for the work that each one of you does,” the mayor said. “It definitely goes a long way…we typically consider these requests during the budget cycle, which begins in January, so you’re getting it in early.”

Additionally, Diakonia Executive Director Ken Argot said its 5th annual Thanksgiving Turkey Trot is coming up. The 5K is scheduled for the holiday morning, Thursday, Nov. 26, beginning at 9 a.m. with registration and festivities starting at 8 a.m.

The run/ walk will take place on the Boardwalk from the old tram station to about 14th Street and back. Registration is $35 if signed up before Nov. 20.

“It’s a casual run or walk,” Argot said. “It’s just a fun time on Thanksgiving morning.”