PGDF was honored to host the DC Department of Behavioral Health and the City of Baltimore Mayor’s Office of Behavioral Health to discuss person-centered, community-first strategies to tackle the opioid epidemic in our cities, especially the successes and challenges seen by the team behind Live Long DC. The two groups met for a luncheon at Johnny’s of Roland Park in Baltimore, with the Live Long DC team sharing a presentation on their experiences and the Baltimore team sharing their plans, experiences, and challenges. Each person was seated with their closest counterpart on the other city’s team, with the idea that they could become resources for one another.
PGDF executive director Liz Cairns had the idea to convene this group after attending Mobilize Recovery events in DC and Baltimore the previous fall, where she met Dr. Barbara Bazron and learned about the Live Long DC initiative, and subsequently met J.D. Merrill from the Baltimore Mayor’s office. “As a longtime resident of Baltimore, I know our two cities face a lot of the same challenges,” states Cairns. “It was inspiring to learn about Live Long DC, and it seemed like a very natural fit for the efforts that were already underway in Baltimore. Also, knowing these two teams would be unlikely to meet another way, I saw that PGDF could play a convening role.”
Attendees at the luncheon echoed this sentiment, stating their gratitude that a time had been designated for this meeting, and looking forward to future collaboration.
