Open Society Institute – Baltimore
Open Society Institute (OSI) – Baltimore : Audacious Thinking For Lasting Change
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 […]
Imagine visiting your doctor’s office because you are ill, but not being able to receive a diagnosis. Going to court, but your lawyer on this day will not defend you. Why are they silent, you ask? It’s an act of protest. The Day of Silence (this year on Friday, April 15th) is a day of […]
National health care reform is far from perfect. But, for better or worse, life affords all of us the opportunity to turn life’s lemons into lemonade. If Maryland officials keep patient’s health and well-being at the forefront, federal health care reform implementation could provide decent coverage to a large group of previously uninsured residents. Yes, […]
The Maryland State Department of Education recently released its data on suspensions, expulsions, and health-related exclusions for the 2009-2010 school year. As I was preparing an OSI-Baltimore factsheet using the numbers, an alarming data point arose: 75 pre-K students in Maryland received an out-of-school suspension or were expelled during the school year. The punished incidents […]
If you have big goals for significant and lasting change in Baltimore, you need to be audacious. But in addition, you have to partner with patience and persistence—and with the many others in our city who share the vision of opportunity for all. So our goals for 2011 are the same as they have been […]
What makes a crisp fall day even better? The announcement of the newest class of Baltimore Community Fellows! Each year, I get a double-espresso shot of inspiration as we interview the 20 top candidates—from a pool of over 225 people who begin the process every year, attending orientation sessions as early as February. Once again […]
Maryland budget analysts had the right idea when they recently told legislators that the state could save money and adequately staff all correctional facilities by reducing the prison population and closing at least one prison. (Analysts recommend reducing Maryland’s prison population, Associated Press, Feb. 26, 2010.) The reality is that Maryland already is reducing its […]
Editor’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 […]
With spring here, my audacious idea is to ride your bike to work. I know this sounds crazy when you think of the narrow streets of Baltimore but, this city has the potential to become a great bike city. For its size, 630,000 residents, it is very compact, making many of its neighborhoods easy to […]
Over the last 11 years, the Open Society Institute-Baltimore has worked hand-in-hand with the city to build a comprehensive public drug addiction treatment system. Since opening our doors in 1998, we knew that addiction treatment had to be one of our chief concerns if we were to help revitalize Baltimore and improve the health and […]
OSI-Baltimore has permanently closed. It has been our honor and privilege to partner with and serve the Baltimore community for the past 25 years.
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