Baltimore SHARP Program Is One Solution To Opioid Epidemic
BALTIMORE (WJZ)-- As quickly as the opioid epidemic claims lives in Baltimore, treatment programs are fighting back. That was the topic of WJZ's Town Hall Tuesday: Searching for Solutions to the Opioid Epidemic.
City and religious leaders, law enforcement and families touched by tragedy, came together Tuesday inside the University of Baltimore to talk about how to stop the drug crisis.
"Here in Baltimore City, we focus first and foremost on saving lives. If someone is dying right now, we have to save their life in order for there to be a better tomorrow," Baltimore Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen said.
A chance for recovery that Carole Bailey found more than two years ago.
"I was using heroin. I was out there kind of lost," Bailey said. "I was using, and not caring, and it was a lot of self hate. And, today, I like myself."
Now, she says, she's clean. She's a success story of Sinai Hospital's SHARP Program. The program is designed to pull people out of the grip of substance use disorders.
SHARP counselor Janet Caputo has spent 17 years with the program, treating patients and saving lives.
"We want to help educate them about opioid use disorders, about addiction, and how many areas of their lives are affected by the addiction. We can help them get all of that back," Caputo said.
Follow @WJZ on Twitter and like WJZ-TV | CBS Baltimore on Facebook