In the aftermath of a mass overdose that hospitalized 27 people in the Penn North neighborhood, one victim spoke out, and drug recovery advocates are adjusting their strategy to reach people in crisis before it's too late.
Over the weekend, Sapna Bansil, a journalist with our media partner, The Baltimore Banner, spoke with a woman in her 60s who survived an overdose after unknowingly ingesting a dangerous batch of drugs.
The woman described buying heroin on North Avenue Thursday morning, July 10, and receiving a free "tester," a small sample of what turned out to be a potent and potentially lethal substance.
According to The Banner, the woman snorted a fragment of a pill "smaller than the head of a match" before beginning to feel dizzy and disoriented. Fearing she might collapse in the street, she made her way to a nearby playground, where she eventually passed out.
She was discovered nearly five hours later and transported to Johns Hopkins Hospital after reportedly going into cardiac arrest and receiving multiple doses of Narcan. Now, for the first time in 15 years, she is seeking treatment.
Recovery and harm reduction organizations say the mass overdose incident highlights both the urgent need and ongoing efforts to meet individuals where they are.
"It's a double-edged sword," said Krystal Drayton, a community resource specialist with King Health Systems. "That same exact day, we had harm reduction on site, handing out test kits and clean syringes. But clearly, for some, it wasn't enough, or it was too late."
Drayton, who was in the neighborhood that day, says that while crisis response was swift, ongoing visibility and presence in areas of high drug activity are key.
"I would say this is restrengthening what we do," Drayton said. "Maybe we can have meetings or activities near places like the subway station. You're not going to have drug activity and a therapeutic event happening at the same time."
Authorities are still investigating the source of the batch, and community advocates are urging anyone using drugs to seek help and utilize harm reduction tools, including fentanyl test strips and Narcan kits.
As the Penn North neighborhood continues to recover from the incident, Drayton hopes the response is not a one-time effort.
"They responded to the crisis, which was great," Drayton said. "But I would love to see that more often, not just because an incident happened."
The overdose victim, now in recovery, is one of many in Baltimore's ongoing battle with substance abuse.
Advocates hope her story will serve as a turning point, not just for her, but for an entire community still searching for healing.