COVID19 may have put the world on pause in 2020 but generosity still kept pouring in. It is true that without community and nationwide contributions, followers, and help, we could not continue our mission of “providing awareness and support to anyone affected by drug and alcohol abuse…” When the pandemic first hit our area in mid-March, many things were closed, cancelled, or postponed, and we had to quickly scrap many of our original plans as we wondered about the future. We could not gather together this past April for our annual Memory Walk / Recovery Run so we had to turn our biggest fundraiser into a virtual event; we still wanted to honor those in recovery, support those who needed help, and remember our loved ones lost to addiction so we encouraged people to walk or run in their own neighborhoods or exercise in their houses while taking photographs and videos to share. We had countless participants; some already registered for this event prior to the cancellation and kindly donated their entrance fee to us once we officially went virtual, and others collected donations online. We could truly see the passion and desire from everyone as we all came together – even if over computers or cell phones – to help end the stigma surrounding addiction and to assist those with substance abuse who are right here in our own communities.

By mid-May, it was obvious COVID19 was here to stay, and that schools would still be closed and businesses would be operating differently. Fortunately, we still opened our second women's sober living house, called Sister House, on May 4th; it was launched under the successful Daughter's House program which assists women in the transition from substance abuse to treatment and recovery. We were unable to hold any summer meetings for Rage Club (our program created specifically for children who have been directly touched by addiction). However, things began to look up for Rage in the fall as Mt. Zion Church in Bel Air, MD graciously allowed us to hold our first car wash in its parking lot. The Rage team as well as many area volunteers were hard at work as numerous people from the community came out to support us. We also held an online Tastefully Simple fundraiser around this time. In October, we created a scavenger hunt at the Bear Legacy Trail in Bel Air, MD for Rage Club children to attend and we hosted a resource table at the Harford County Sheriff’s Office National Faith and Blue Day at Patterson Mill High School in Bel Air, MD. Two local businesses offered fundraisers in our name during November: Rita’s Ice in Churchville, MD donated 20% of all earnings made on November 20th and Log Cabin Chocolates of Fallston, MD donated 35% of sales through the month. Our first virtual auction ran through November and was a relative success thanks in part to those who bid on items kindly donated from local businesses. In December as the weather turned cold and businesses had to operate at lower capacity again, we were unable to hold our winter Rage Club event at a nearby restaurant, but we mailed out care packages to and purchased gifts for Rage Club children as part of our Project Family program. 

COVID19 has disrupted the livelihoods of many people in our region and in the world. Everyone has been impacted in some way. Many lives were not only lost to the virus itself, but also to the secondary effects of shutdowns and isolation. Mental illness challenges and substance abuse were on the rise in 2020, and while official numbers have not been collected yet for drug-related deaths in 2020, it’s safe to assume the national and local numbers have climbed because of COVID19.
This is why we do what we do: we know that addiction does not discriminate. It does not take a back seat to other ongoing crises and pandemics. We hope that we can prolong our mission by successfully running our programs to help those struggling within our communities and within yours, and we look forward to having more in-person events. We sincerely appreciate our supporters, followers, and donors. We could not do any of this without you. Please stay tuned for what is to come!