Addiction & Recovery 9.14.25 - Flipbook - Page 7
A Special Advertising Section of Baltimore Sun Media Group | Sunday, September 14, 2025 7
Overdose numbers are down
continued from page 3
fy what their needs are, where they
want to live and make a plan for
them. We connect them to housing
resources through different community partners, provide job readiness training and introduce them to
different companies that are hiring
to help get them back on their feet,”
Callari says.
Veterans also engage in pro-social activities, such as visiting Wellspring of Life Farm in Monkton,
which provides equine, goat and
canine therapy, and spending the
day on a ship through Living Classrooms. “We want to expose our
veterans to new activities where
they don’t have to have a drink or a
drug to enjoy it. We just announced
a collaboration with the American
Legion. Through this collaboration,
when a man graduates from our
program, we’ll cover the cost of his
membership. Many of our men have
strained or broken family relationships due to addiction, so this gives
them the chance to rebuild connections within a supportive community of fellow veterans. Being surrounded by peers who understand
their experiences – and who look
out for one another – is an important step in their recovery,” Callari
explains.
The Baltimore Station, though
primarily serving veterans from
Maryland, welcomes veterans from
across the nation. They accept referrals not only from the VA but also
from physicians, non-profits, community organizations, and individuals. To refer a veteran or to learn
more about The Baltimore Station,
visit www.baltimorestation.org.
team where they travel to neighborhoods that have been identified by
HUM or partner organizations to
have a high density of homelessness
and/or those abusing drugs and alcohol.
Stoltzfus notes that HUM’s men’s
campus is almost full, while the Center for Women and Children has
about 100 women and 20 children
residing there. Recently, HUM started a new initiative – “Gateway,” a
residential program for women who
are experiencing homelessness or being referred by a hospital who are
contemplating recovery but maybe
aren’t ready to make a commitment;
however, they need a place to get out
of an unsafe situation and get off the
street. If HUM’s year-long residential
recovery program is not a good fit,
it works with individuals to create
a warm handoff to other recovery
organizations, whether it’s a 28-day
inpatient program or an outpatient
treatment program.
HUM also partners with churches
in underserved communities in Baltimore to help identify individuals who
need help. “Churches understand the
community needs, and they have a
trusted presence in the community. A
church that operates a food pantry,
for example, has a very open-handed
approach to serve the community, so
people trust them,” Stoltzfus says.
According to Stoltzfus, fentanyl remains a persistent problem in
Baltimore, as it’s a powerful synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and more than 80
times stronger than morphine. Additionally, there have been reports
of “bad batches” in Baltimore that
may include tranquillizers such as
xylazine, which are not responsive to
naloxone or test strips.
“It’s even more important to seek
recovery and get sober because there
are so many unknown substances on
the streets these days. The most potent drug is the one we don’t know
about yet,” cautions Stoltzfus.
While fentanyl and other opioids
are a primary focus for health officials, the dangers of alcohol abuse
remain a concern, especially with the
rise in abuse among older adults.
According to the National Institute
on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism,
“The size of the older adult population is increasing rapidly. Alcohol
misuse and alcohol-related harms
are also increasing among this population, and at a faster rate for women than men. Although some older
adults may have enjoyed a certain
amount of alcohol on a regular basis for years without any apparent
problems, they might notice that
they now feel the effects of alcohol
are more pronounced and come on
more quickly. As people age, changes in their bodies, as well as in their
physical and mental health, may
cause alcohol to affect them differently than when they were younger
and put them at greater risk for negative consequences. Many older adults
take medications that could interact with alcohol. These interactions
could cause the medications to not
work properly or make them dangerous or even deadly.”
Stoltzfus states that alcohol remains the drug of choice for HUM’s
patients. “Alcohol withdrawals are
no joke. For those who are homeless
or outside a lot, especially during the
summer, they are at risk because they
are exposed to the heat and risk dehydration,” he says.
On a positive note, HUM did have
its largest class of graduates celebrating one year of sobriety last year,
which Stoltzfus credits to its retention
efforts to encourage people to stay in
the program. “Once people finish recovery programs, it’s so important to
provide them with ongoing support
and services such as housing and employment to help prevent relapse and
to get them back successfully into the
community.”
