This morning, Del. Brooke Lierman from the 46th district in Baltimore’s City, Del. Shelly Hettleman from the 11th district in Baltimore County, and Shamoyia Gardiner, the Education Policy Director of Advocates for Children and Youth, joined OSI-Baltimore’s Leadership Council to discuss key issues in advance of the 2020 legislative session.
Gardiner and Del. Lierman laid out the work of the Kirwan Commission and advocates up to this point, along with the benefits of fully funding the commission’s recommendations. Del. Lierman pointed to a recent Sage Policy Group study, commissioned by Strong Schools Maryland, that said the economic benefits of fully funding the recommendations would exceed the costs by 2034 and continue to increase thereafter.
Scott Nolen, director of OSI’s Addiction and Health Equity Program, and Del. Hettleman discussed the background of advocacy around Overdose Prevention Services and the prospects for a bill to create six Overdose Prevention Sites around the state. Del. Hettleman, who will sponsor the bill in the House of Delegates, talked about the need for broad public education so the public understands the life-saving benefits of these sites.
