The Need for a Recovery Community in Baltimore
Drug addiction is one of the most common diseases in the United States. It is estimated that over nine million Americans need drug treatment, making addiction more prevalent than coronary heart disease and stroke and as prevalent as cancer. The initial choice to use drugs is voluntary; as addiction develops, however, continued drug use becomes largely involuntary.
Baltimore, Maryland is home to one of the nation’s worst drug epidemics. In 2006, there were 276 homicides in Baltimore, the second highest rate per 100,000 of all U.S. cities with a population of 250,000 or more. (Uniform Crime Report) Of that rate, the majority of Baltimore homicides are drug related. As of 2007, there were an estimated 10,000 drug dealers serving 65,000 heroin and cocaine addicts. Even worse, 1 out of 10 Baltimore residents is estimated to be a drug addict (City Paper).
The Drug Enforcement Agency makes a conservative estimate that at least $1.5 million in cash is exchanged every day during street-level drug deals in Baltimore (Baltimore Sun). That makes the underground drug trade one of the city’s most powerful economies.
Drugs in Baltimore have also been defined as being a multi-generational problem. Many of the women in our program grew up having families and friends who used, thus naturalizing drug culture. For these and other reasons, Saving Our Sisters, Inc. believes that it is a necessity to provide a safe space for addicts in recovery.
Saving Our Sisters, Inc. addresses more than immediate issues of sobriety; rather, we also focus on each individual woman’s transition into a new healthy and sustainable life. We offer a program module of life skills workshops with monthly themes which include relapse prevention, money management, wellness, career and education exploration and goal setting to ensure that client goals are met.
The Need for a Women’s Recovery Community
Young women are not showing the same rate of decrease in substance abuse as other segments of the population. In fact, in recent years the use of alcohol and other drugs has been increasing slightly (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Center for Health Statistics). Women who use drugs often suffer from other serious health problems such as depression or sexually transmitted diseases.
Studies have shown that an overwhelming majority of female substance users (as much as 70 percent) have been physically or sexually abused as children, and many are victims of violence as adults (National Institute on Drug Abuse). At the other end of the age spectrum, older women present special concerns with respect to substance abuse. Although alcoholism is lower in this population, the incidence of using medications for other than the intended purpose or ingesting more than the recommended dosages remains high.
In part, the greater social sanctions and stigma that drug-using women face compared with men, including concerns regarding the loss of custody of their children, have made women less willing to seek help and treatment for addictive disorders. As a result, data on the incidence and prevalence of addictive disorders among women—generally on the basis of contacts with treatment facilities or hotlines—are thought by treatment experts to severely under represent the true magnitude of the problem (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment).
An integrative treatment plan must also address gender-specific issues that affect drug-using woman. For example, many female addicts wind up in relationships which are abusive and/or unsupportive of recovery. These relationships, especially with drug-using partners, often cultivate dangerous addictive patterns. Woman who use drugs also have statistically higher rates of STDS – in fact, one studies have shown that up to 58.7% of drug using woman in Baltimore have Herpes Simplex Virus 2 (STI Journal). Female drug-users also face significantly increased probabilities of selling their bodies in order to support their disease. Saving Our Sisters, Inc. addresses these issues and more in our comprehensive approach to rehabilitation.