Allen is picked to lead opioid council
New head of Howard County Opioid Crisis Community Council works to turn personal tragedy into hope for others
Barbara Allen’s son died of a heroin and alcohol overdose 15 years ago, and her brother and a niece also lost their lives in drug-related incidents.
Such a crushing string of personal tragedies would have broken many people, but not Allen, who will head Howard County’s newly announced Opioid Crisis Community Council.
“I deal in death and drugs — that’s really the truth,” said the Ellicott City resident, whose appointment was announced Feb. 22 by Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman during his State of the County address, in which he said the panel “will give the community a voice.”
“People ask me why — since I’m retired and I turned 70 last year — I don’t just sit around eating bonbons,” said Allen, executive director of James’ Place Inc., a nonprofit she co-founded in 2012 in her son’s name to provide scholarships for recovery services and sponsor educational programs.
“The reason is, I love talking to people who are in recovery and I love being a mom to them,” she said.
The new council is working to enlist25 to 30 county residents who have lost loved ones or have loved ones in recovery due to opioid addiction. The panel will collaborate with county personnel to develop measures to prevent opioid misuse, Allen said.
“The council will consist of people who care, show up and do,” Allen said. She said she hopes to announce members’ names this week after the vetting process is completed.
Kittleman said Allen is uniquely qualified to take on this new role.
“Barbara has seen firsthand the suffering this epidemic brings and has worked to combat it,” he said in an email. “Her motto of ‘No shame or blame, just love’ gets the effort she will lead off to a great start.”
The tracking of drug overdoses has become much more precise over the last couple of years, according to Sherry Llewellyn, director of public affairs for the Howard County Police Department.
Since 2016, overdoses in Howard County have involved males and females, a wide range of ages, and varying demographics and geographic locations, Llewellyn said.
Both fatal and nonfatal incidents increased by approximately 30 percent in 2017 over the previous year, according to police records. The number of fatal overdoses rose from 43 to 57, and non-fatal overdoses grew from 133 to 171.
Through March 4 of this year there have been nine fatal overdoses and 33 nonfatal overdoses, Llewellyn said. She noted that the number of fatal overdoses recorded thus far in 2018 could change due to pending autopsy results.
Allen has used social media in her advocacy work to post thousands of photos of people who have died from opioid misuse disorder not only to honor their lives, but to motivate people to help in the fight against the brain disease.
See ALLEN , page 6
Such a crushing string of personal tragedies would have broken many people, but not Allen, who will head Howard County’s newly announced Opioid Crisis Community Council.
“I deal in death and drugs — that’s really the truth,” said the Ellicott City resident, whose appointment was announced Feb. 22 by Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman during his State of the County address, in which he said the panel “will give the community a voice.”
“People ask me why — since I’m retired and I turned 70 last year — I don’t just sit around eating bonbons,” said Allen, executive director of James’ Place Inc., a nonprofit she co-founded in 2012 in her son’s name to provide scholarships for recovery services and sponsor educational programs.
“The reason is, I love talking to people who are in recovery and I love being a mom to them,” she said.
The new council is working to enlist25 to 30 county residents who have lost loved ones or have loved ones in recovery due to opioid addiction. The panel will collaborate with county personnel to develop measures to prevent opioid misuse, Allen said.
“The council will consist of people who care, show up and do,” Allen said. She said she hopes to announce members’ names this week after the vetting process is completed.
Kittleman said Allen is uniquely qualified to take on this new role.
“Barbara has seen firsthand the suffering this epidemic brings and has worked to combat it,” he said in an email. “Her motto of ‘No shame or blame, just love’ gets the effort she will lead off to a great start.”
The tracking of drug overdoses has become much more precise over the last couple of years, according to Sherry Llewellyn, director of public affairs for the Howard County Police Department.
Since 2016, overdoses in Howard County have involved males and females, a wide range of ages, and varying demographics and geographic locations, Llewellyn said.
Both fatal and nonfatal incidents increased by approximately 30 percent in 2017 over the previous year, according to police records. The number of fatal overdoses rose from 43 to 57, and non-fatal overdoses grew from 133 to 171.
Through March 4 of this year there have been nine fatal overdoses and 33 nonfatal overdoses, Llewellyn said. She noted that the number of fatal overdoses recorded thus far in 2018 could change due to pending autopsy results.
Allen has used social media in her advocacy work to post thousands of photos of people who have died from opioid misuse disorder not only to honor their lives, but to motivate people to help in the fight against the brain disease.
See ALLEN , page 6
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