In 1982, Betty Ford founded the nation’s first licensed addiction hospital, the Betty Ford Center, saying publicly about her own addiction at the time, “This is not a lack of willpower; this is a disease.” Nearly 30 years later, the medical world finally seems to be putting that revolutionary view into practice. In July, 10 […]
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Help for recovering individuals just a click away
Monday, October 11, 2010What if we combine supportive housing with low priced but high tech video counseling using computers connected to the internet for individuals leaving formal treatment to remain in close contact with their counselors and recovery support services? Why does treatment fail? The answer is a complex one but the top three reasons on anybody’s list […]
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Have you seen these signs?
Friday, September 10, 2010For the first time in many years, drug addiction treatment slots are available to city residents. For years individuals who needed treatment had to wait for long periods of time until a treatment slot became available. OSI-Baltimore grantee and partner, Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems (BSAS) has launched an outreach campaign to fill the free slots, […]
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Affordable health care for everyone
Monday, November 30, 2009Few things would be more audacious than for everyone in Baltimore City to have quality, affordable health care, including full access to prevention and treatment for addictions. This would surely help the tens of thousands of Baltimore residents who have no health care coverage and suffer physically, emotionally, and financially as a result. It would […]
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Obstacles even with health insurance
Monday, November 23, 2009When talking about insurance coverage for substance abuse and mental illnesses, people often assume that the problem is limited to the poor. That assumption is way off the mark. Even for those families with “good” health insurance, coverage is far from easy to obtain. In my own experience, when trying to obtain coverage for residential […]
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When talking of health care, don’t forget that we are talking about people, not just about money
Monday, October 26, 2009Editor’s note: Following National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, we’ve asked several individuals to share their ideas about addiction issues and the war on drugs. This week, Kimá Joy Taylor, Director of OSI-Baltimore’s Tackling Drug Addiction Initiative, closes the Recovery Month series with her thoughts. *** The recession and other health care changes have […]
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The failed war on drugs
Tuesday, October 13, 2009Editor’s note: Following National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month, we’ve asked several individuals to share their ideas about addiction issues and the war on drugs. *** “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” — Albert Einstein I have worked for over 30 years in […]
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Addiction recovery is not just for the addict
Monday, October 05, 2009Editor’s note: Audacious Ideas is featuring a special month-long series in conjunction with National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. We’ve asked several individuals to share their ideas about addiction issues and the failed war on drugs. *** When we sent our son to an in-patient addiction treatment program, we were spinning with doubt about the […]
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What recovery means for a teenager
Monday, September 28, 2009Editor’s note: This September, Audacious Ideas features a special month-long series in conjunction with National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. We’ve asked several individuals to share their ideas about addiction issues and the failed war on drugs. *** Being addicted when you are a teenager does not seem believable. You think people who tell […]
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The war on drugs
Monday, September 21, 2009Editor’s note: This September, Audacious Ideas features a special month-long series in conjunction with National Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery Month. We’ve asked several individuals to share their ideas about addiction issues and the failed war on drugs. Franklin Dyson is the second in our series. *** “The crisis that’s killing our city” is how […]
