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Sunday, September 22, 2019

Wicomico County Opens Safe Station with 24/7 Recovery Services

(September 16, 2019, Salisbury, MD) On August 1, 2019, the Wicomico County Health Department in partnership with the City of Salisbury Fire Department, Hudson Health Services, and the Recovery Resource Center launched the county’s first Safe Station in an attempt to link individuals battling addiction to appropriate treatment and recovery services. The project received funding from Mid-Shore Behavioral Health, Inc. and their unwavering support has allowed this innovative program to assist 19 individuals in linkages to treatment services here in Wicomico County. 

Open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, the Safe Station ensures that individuals have access to services when they determine that they are ready to do so. Slightly different than other Safe Station programs throughout the state, Wicomico County’s Safe Station is housed within the Recovery Resource Center in Salisbury, MD.
“Having the Safe Station housed within a building that supports those who struggle with addiction will hopefully breakdown any barriers that may keep individuals from utilizing this beneficial resource,” says Christina Bowie-Simpson Wicomico County Opioid Coordinator. “In the first quarter of 2019, Wicomico County saw a reduction of two lives lost to overdose when compared to the first quarter of 2018, and we are optimistic that by implementing this additional resource in our community that we will continue to see a reduction in lives being lost here in our community,” says, Lori Brewster, Wicomico County Health Officer. 



This program ensures that individuals seeking treatment and recovery services at the Safe Station are met with caring and empathetic individuals who have knowledge of the disease of addiction, and understand what the individual may be experiencing upon entry. Each person who enters the Safe Station will be met by a peer in recovery from Wicomico County’s Community Outreach Addiction Team (COAT). They will then be evaluated for any medical concerns by the EMTs and Paramedics on duty at the Salisbury Fire Department, before being linked to treatment services. 


For more information on the Safe Station project or recovery and treatment resources please contact the Wicomico County Opioid Coordinator at (410) 219-3956, or the Wicomico County Community Outreach Addictions Team (COAT) at (443) 783-6875.

17 comments:

  1. This will require constant monitoring.I've been involved in such endeavors before and they never end well.

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  2. The dealers will park on the next block over.

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  3. Wicomico has the highest overdose death rate as well as non fatal overdose rate of the 9 counties comprising the Entire Eastern Shore. Sorry kids, I call BS on addiction being a disease. I will not wake up tomorrow as an addict...but I could wake up tomorrow with cancer, heart disease etc. THOSE are diseases. I will not wake up tomorrow and snort heroin, or stick a needle in my arm, or take any other medication that is not prescribed to me...I could always CHOOSE to shoot up, or snort, or chew fentanyl patches, but I CHOOSE not to. I don't get to CHOOSE if I get cancer. Yes, there are at risk behaviors that can make one more susceptible to developing a disease, like smoking, overeating, but that again is a CHOICE if you engage in risky behavior.

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    1. Took the words right out of my mouth! But this addiction thing has proven to make alot of money, like climate change.

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    2. I agree 7:21 & 7:58

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  4. The only disease here is Lori Boobster

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  5. So, is it just a place where someone can go if they decide at 3am that they need to go to rehab, or is it a place where they can go to use their drugs and be "safe" from being caught? "Safe Station" makes it sound like a government funded hiding spot.

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    1. Please call the number listed on the Press Release if you would like more information. It is in no way a government hiding spot and I’m sure that the Opioid Coordinator would be happy to clarify any of your concerns

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  6. 7:21pm summarizes everything wrong in this country. It's all about ME ME ME ME ME... never about our fellow man. I will pray for you and your kind.

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    1. No, you are so wrong 8:14. The me me me me me people are the selfish addicts shooting up, not caring about anything or anybody. The only thing they care about is their next high. They care nothing about their own families and the destruction being done, they care nothing about being a productive part of society either. Some have even been brought back from near death twice in one day, and you have the nerve to say 8:14 is all about me me me me me. You are praying for the wrong people 8:14

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    2. Let me tell ya somethin' son. There is no more self centered individual than an addict or the helpful codependent. They both need to straighten their asses up and fly right. It's not a disease it's a choice. You poor thing, you ate some pills for pain, now your shooting heroin. Now you've destroyed yourself and your family. Nice choices asshole.

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  7. How long before each person is subject to the sheriffs dept investigation>

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  8. In response to 8:03 this is not a "safe" place to use substances, but is a place for individuals to come who are ready for treatment. Utilizing substances within the Safe Station is not permitted and it is not a government funded hiding spot. If you have any additional questions about this program please contact the numbers located on the Press Release.

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  9. The only advantage I see to this is it will relieve law enforcement not to be tied up with these idiots on the street, unless they are still called to handle another issue,pertaining to them. I got a great idea, just park a bus by the center, when it fills up drive them over to the Hudson center and kick em' out!

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  10. @10:11. Don't lecture about "me, me, me"...I have dealt with addiction for nearly 3 decades working in the judicial system.. have family that tried to help their kids stop, yet all that happened was enabling them...it's time the USER stops thinking about just themselves and who they can use... it's nothing to do with ME..it's all them.

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  11. I guess my comment went over your head 1:24

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  12. I would be leery of this because MD Democrats are working very hard to establish drug use centers. Ex-Senator James Mathias co-sponsored the bill with a proposal to allow addicts to bring their illegal drugs with no questions, while taxpayers pay for their needles, medical staff, and the safe space for them to get high with ZERO risk of being arrested. This shoot-up facility could be established in a community in 45 days; leaving locals almost no time to oppose it.

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