About
We are Maryland’s center for language and communication services.
Gateway was founded in 1926 as a community gathering place for the hard of hearing. Today, we have taken the wisdom garnered from that community to help us become an essential resource for everyone who wants to communicate more effectively. Over our history, our programs have evolved to serve our community and to fulfill our vision of a world where everyone can understand and be understood.
Today, we serve more than 4,000 children and adults every year with programming on our Baltimore campus and in communities across the state. We make high-quality, expert care accessible and available to anyone and everyone who needs it. Our nonprofit mission allows us to provide the highest level of service to everyone who can benefit from our programs. Everything we do is centered on our clients, our students, and our community.
We meet each individual where they are and tailor our services to their needs. We serve a diverse community of clients and provide services for every stage of life in our priority areas of focus: education, hearing health, inclusion, speech and language, and language access.
Our Mission
Our Vision
Our Core Values
Our History
The Speech Readers’ League of Baltimore was founded at The Baltimore League for the Hard of Hearing.
The League began offering social services free of charge and changed its name to The League for the Hard of Hearing.
The League became a member of the Community Fund. For the first time, there was a budget to relocate, expand programs, and add staff.
Gateway School was formed in 1957 and was officially recognized in 1960 by the State of Maryland.
The name was changed to The Hearing and Speech Agency of Metropolitan Baltimore, Inc., and began offering speech therapy services.
HASA moved from Charles Street to Old Goucher Hall on St. Paul Street after completing its first capital campaign.
HASA, in partnership with Maryland Scottish Rite Foundation, established the RiteCare Childhood Speech & Language Clinic. In 1986, The Centralized Interpreter Referral Service (CIRS) was launched. Both still thrive today.
HASA joined forces with several other organizations to lobby for the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening of 1999.
In 2003, HASA moved to its current location at 5900 Metro Drive, Baltimore, MD 21215. The Listening and Spoken Language Program and The Center for Fluency Enhancement were launched on the new campus.
Our very first documentary film was released in 2010 and chronicled four children who were deaf/hard of hearing. In 2016, HASA celebrated its 90th anniversary.
As the first organization nears the end of its first century, we continue to evolve. We responded to the COVID-19 pandemic by safely opening Gateway School for in-person instruction in Summer 2020; starting a successful curbside hearing aid repair center; launching a HIPAA compliant teletherapy platform for speech, audiology, and occupational therapy; hosting 1,000+ COVID-related live-Zoom teletherapy sessions by school-based therapists; and so much more.