Baltimore is kicking off a new campaign to address stigma around substance use disorder as part of its effort to reduce drug overdoses and provide resources that get to the systemic issues around drug addiction.
The Hope Lives Here campaign will use ads, outreach, educational materials and other resources to help people talk more openly about addiction and recognize it as an illness.
“Substance use disorder is not a personal failing; it is a disease,” said Mayor Brandon Scott, speaking outside the Enoch Pratt Free Library Pennsylvania Avenue Branch Monday. “With that knowledge, it is our responsibility. It is our responsibility that we lead with compassion and care, and to meet folks with resources where they are, instead of judgment and instead of shaming them.”
Read more (and listen) at WYPR.
