For people living on Baltimore’s streets, addiction treatment often feels out of reach. A local nonprofit is changing that one bowl of soup at a time.
Helping Up Mission, a faith-based organization founded in Baltimore in the 1880s, now runs a mobile street outreach program three days a week across the city.
The group is receiving millions from Baltimore City’s recently established opioid restitution fund, which is being used to bring addiction services directly to some of Maryland’s most vulnerable residents.
Baltimore City approved $5 million from its opioid restitution fund for Helping Up Mission over nearly four years to support the outreach bus and related services.
The bus carries homemade soup, Narcan overdose reversal medication, hygiene supplies, and most importantly, case managers ready to talk. You can explore other rehab programs in Baltimore to begin your recovery today.
Fentanyl Addiction in Baltimore
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid estimated to be roughly 50 times more potent than heroin. It has driven a devastating overdose crisis across Maryland and the United States.
Signs of fentanyl addiction include extreme drowsiness, confusion, pinpoint pupils, slowed breathing, and withdrawal from daily responsibilities.
People living without stable housing face especially high risks, as access to treatment, medical care and naloxone is often limited.
Within Maryland, homelessness is most pronounced in Baltimore and many residents live with addiction and other mental health problems or disabilities that make their path to stable housing complicated.
How Baltimore Is Funding Addiction Treatment
Helping Up Mission was one of 22 programs designated to receive a share of $87 million from opioid settlement agreements.
So far, Baltimore City has won nearly $580 million, which officials plan to spend on harm reduction, addiction treatment, education, and prevention efforts over 15 years.
Mayor Brandon Scott recently announced that 11 community groups will receive a total of $2 million from the first round of community grants, funding street-based medical care, rapid drug-checking services, and support for senior residents.
The outreach model used by Helping Up Mission centers on trust and consistency. Workers return to the same neighborhoods week after week, building relationships with people who may not be ready for treatment right away.
Why Voluntary Treatment Works
Experts and local advocates argue that choice-based approaches to outpatient treatment lead to better long-term outcomes.
Adrienne Breidenstine, vice president for policy and communications at Behavioral Health System Baltimore, said that any approach that is recovery-oriented and promotes community-based care is a more compassionate approach.
Outreach workers like Evelyn “Nikki” Jones know this firsthand. A person in long-term recovery herself, Jones spent years on the street before getting sober in 1998.
Today, she leads outreach for Helping Up Mission, listening, connecting and sometimes just offering a hug to someone who isn’t ready yet.
“We come here to offer hope, not to judge,” said Peter Griffin, Helping Up Mission’s outreach director.
That approach sometimes means going home without a new client. But as team member Michael Cropsey put it, even when no one enrolls, the team has planted the seed, and sometimes, that seed grows
Finding Addiction Treatment Centers in Baltimore
If you or someone you love is struggling with fentanyl addiction or substance use in Baltimore or across Maryland, help is available. Addiction treatment centers in Baltimore offer a range of services including medical detox, residential programs, and outreach-based care.
Addictions.com lists verified rehab treatment centers near you in Maryland. Call
800-681-1058
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to speak with someone about local options today.