History

ORGANIZATION HISTORY

League community picnic, circa 1926

1920s
The Speech Readers’ League of Baltimore was founded at The Baltimore League for the Hard of Hearing.

1930s
The League began offering social services free of charge and changed its name to The League for the Hard of Hearing.

1940s
The League became a member of the Community Fund. For the first time, there was a budget to relocate, expand programs, and add staff.

1950s
Gateway School was formed in 1957 and was officially recognized in 1960 by the State of Maryland.

1960s
The name was changed to The Hearing and Speech Agency of Metropolitan Baltimore, Inc., and began offering speech therapy services.

1970s
HASA moved from Charles Street to Old Goucher Hall on St. Paul Street after completing its first capital campaign.

1980s
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.

1990s
HASA joined forces with several other organizations to lobby for the Universal Newborn Hearing Screening of 1999.

2000s
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.

2010s
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.

2020s
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.