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“You can’t skip the struggle.” Eric’s story

“When I was in the midst of everything, there were no options. You wake up every day, and your intent has to be get money or be prepared to die. I have choices nowadays.” Read more at helpingupmission.org/stories/ericw

Featuring Eric’s segment from the new podcast Drug Stories – check them out at drugstories.org. (Audio by Miriam Zimmerman and photo by Michelle Frankfurter)

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This episode was produced by Evan Jones and Vic King. Music by DMB (Eric’s request).

More than 100 men celebrate graduation from Helping Up Mission addiction treatment program

Colin Campbell Contact Reporter The Baltimore Sun As more than 100 men who had completed a Baltimore drug addiction recovery program stood onstage in suits after receiving their certificates, a packed Baltimore County ballroom broke into a sustained standing ovation. Gov. Larry Hogan shook each man’s hand as they crossed the stage at the Helping Up Mission’s 2018 Graduation Banquet on Sunday at Martin’s West, and congratulated each of them. To read the rest of the article CLICK HERE

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Gov. Hogan speaks at Helping up Mission Graduation; state provides $500k for expansion

by Danielle Jackson BALTIMORE — WBFF — Governor Hogan attended and spoke at Helping Up Mission’s annual graduation ceremony, held at Martin’s West in Baltimore, on Sunday. Helping Up Mission provides faith based recovery services for men experiencing homelessness, poverty and addiction. The governor congratulated the more than 120 men who finished the year long spiritual recovery program. Governor Hogan said, “The spiritual recovery program graduates here today are proof that, even in the midst of our darkest days, there …

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Dr. Mary Lashley Honored

Dr. Mary Lashley Honored

Recently, HUM Board Member Dr. Mary Lashley was honored for her work partnering Towson University with HUM at an April 16 BTU Awards Dinner, featuring Towson University President Dr. Kim Schatzel. HUM Director of Programs, Tom Bond, shared about the value of the partnership. HUM staff Sarah Kerr joined Dr. Lashley at the BTU Partner Showcase on June 24 to share about the work connecting nursing students with other university staff and community members. Check out the Towson University story …

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An online course on poverty and your relationships

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So you want to get involved, to give back, to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. Perhaps you’ve donated to Helping Up Mission and other organizations, and maybe you’ve volunteered with us. These are all wonderful things – but you want to go deeper. You want to move beyond transactional interactions to real, mutual relationships with people who are materially poor. But where do you start? You might consider working through the course Are You A Good …

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“The loneliness is receding, day by day…”

Bishop Madden brings Easter message of hope to those recovering from addiction

Helping Up Mission was delighted to have Bishop Madden celebrate Easter Mass with our men. KEVIN J. PARKS  APRIL 2, 2018 Archdiocese of Baltimore Randy Z‘s decline began about five years ago with the deaths of loved ones. Consumed by addiction and homelessness, he found himself outside on a bitterly cold February night in 2017 lying on a bench waiting for a bed in the detox unit at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore. Read Kevin J. Park’s full story HERE

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“I don’t always have an answer, but I do have an ear to listen.”

"I started using heroin when I was 15. No one knows what it's like to need to put $50 in your body before you can brush your teeth – no one knows what it's like unless you've been through it. It's like waking up with the flu-times-one-thousand. Every night I'm not going to sleep, I'm laying down and resting my eyes for 3 hours, getting right back up at 4'o'clock in the morning. I'm getting picked up from a small town in Carroll County, Maryland, by older white men that would otherwise not talk to me at all, so we can go down and I can get them their fix, their money can get me mine, and I can get dropped back off to get on a school bus and go to school and perform, pass tests, give speeches, and act like nothing was wrong. One teacher my senior year spoke to me. She said 'You know, Eric, I know you've had some problems, and if there's something I could do to stop you, I would… Only you have the answer. Please let me know what I can do to help.' I looked her dead in her face and said 'There is nothing wrong with me.' What can you tell a teenager – especially a teenager who feels like he or she is in charge? When you're not done, you're not done. And I was out to do harm to myself. I couldn't do enough drugs. …I didn't have enough to live for to worry about dying. I believe that's what's different about this time around. I'm never gonna say 'I've got this, I'm okay,' but I'm definitely alright. I now work for a prominent local hospital, linking people with the help and the hope that they need to possibly seek treatment. I don't always have an answer, but I do have an ear to listen." —– Eric, 11 months #clean and #sober, shares some of his story on @drugstoriesproject – listen at the link in our bio!

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Listen at https://www.drugstories.org/stories/eric-whitaker

“I was getting high for 52 years” – Blue’s recovery story

“I am a firm believer that the small things in life make the difference. The big [things] are going to happen to everyone. The little ones are gifts. When someone talks to you and they actually care, it’s something you remember. It can make a huge difference in the rest of your day. It might make a difference in the rest of your life. Care might be the difference between life and death.” Read more at helpingupmission.org/stories/blue

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