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Providers and residents sound alarm on behavioral-health funding, methadone clinic distribution and overdose prevention
Summary
Multiple providers, recovery-home operators and neighborhood residents testified at a Baltimore City Council committee orientation that funding disruptions, clinic distribution and disagreements over safe injection sites require immediate oversight and coordinated policy responses.
At an orientation meeting of the Baltimore City Council Public Health and Environment Committee, treatment providers, recovery-home operators and residents urged the committee to prioritize legislative oversight of behavioral-health funding, the distribution of medication-assisted-treatment services and neighborhood impacts from treatment centers.
Damon Marshall, co-owner and CEO of New Wave Health Services, and Angel Brown, the company’s co-owner and chief operating officer, said providers are sounding the alarm about a “freeze” in payments and looming Medicaid cuts that could force beds and services offline. Brown testified, “Right now, our city is in crisis with the opioid addiction crisis,” and warned that interruptions in payment could increase homelessness, overdoses and strain on emergency rooms and shelters.
A former city health employee who testified under the name Kyle said the city and health department failed to sustain focus on overdoses after 2015 and accused past leaders of neglect. “If they truly didn't know, it's because they chose not to know,” Kyle said, citing what he described as a long-term failure to prioritize the fentanyl crisis.
Residents described neighborhood impacts and diverging views on harm-reduction measures. Britney Banks, speaking for Pig Town, said she strongly opposed supervised injection sites, arguing they “fail to address the bridal damage inflicted upon communities” and warned of open-air drug markets and used needles. Banks cited retention rates for methadone programs discussed in research she referenced: “about 57 percent of patients remain in treatment for 12 months,” dropping to “38.4 percent by 4 years.”
Other testimony and committee exchanges focused on mapping and oversight. Council members asked whether a public map exists for medication-assisted-treatment (MAT) sites; committee staff said a behavioral-health authority map is available and that the committee will hold a legislative oversight hearing that will address site distribution and accreditation distinctions between MAT and other behavioral-health providers.
Committee response and next steps: Chair Felicia Porter said a legislative oversight hearing on behavioral health is planned. Members signaled interest in examining geographic clustering of MAT centers, accreditation differences between clinics, language and cultural access barriers, and the distribution of resources for men and other under-served groups. No formal policy was adopted at the meeting.
Ending: Committee members promised follow-up oversight, working groups and hearings to examine funding continuity, service distribution, and neighborhood impacts raised in public testimony.
