Dayhoff Westminster Soundtrack: Junction will be closing its doors on June 17, 2011

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Junction will be closing its doors on June 17, 2011

May 23, 2011 by Kevin Dayhoff Labels: MD State Budget, Non-profits-Junction http://www.scribd.com/doc/57892074/Junction-will-be-closing-its-doors-on-June-17-2011

http://kevindayhoff.blogspot.com/2011/05/junction-will-be-closing-its-doors-on.html http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2011/05/junction-will-be-closing-its-doors-on.html

On May 18, 2011 Junction released a statement that it was closing its doors on June 17, 2011. “Due to changes in the funding of our private non-profit addiction program, the Junction Board of Directors has elected to close its doors on June 17, 2011.

“It has been a privilege to serve the clients and community of the greater Carroll County area for the past 40 years. Junction is in contact with the Carroll County Health Department, Carroll County Youth Service Bureau and other local agencies to minimize the impact on those we serve.

“Substance Abuse Prevention Services will continue and are in the process of being relocated.

“For more information, please contact Acting Director, John Bosley at 410-848-6100, ext. 34”

It has been the perfect storm for funding a non-profit; the economic downturn has taken its toll on all our funding sources - not unlike all community-based non-profits for the past five years; but especially for community outreach programs in the field of mental health and drug addiction.

It has also become increasingly difficult to be reimbursed for care by insurance companies - and many of our clients have also been hit hard by the economy and have a limited ability to help with the expense of the complicated care and treatment of drug addiction.

Junction has always been a bare-bones, no frills organization down-to-basics organization totally focused on client care, so the economy has hit us hard... I mean, for forty-years, there has been certainly nothing fancy with a program being run out of an old county jail...

State and federal government cutbacks in funding and the increasing bureaucratic and administrative demands have hit all community-based non-profit mental and drug addiction programs hard.

Junction was able to get by and continue its work based on hope and fear for years. Hope that we could keep the program going and, of course, the fear that we could not weather the continuing national - and state and local economic downturn.

In the last several years, we have not gotten as many grants as we have received in years past... Losing the ADAA grant is the straw that broke the camel's back.

I'm worried that losing a program such as Junction, with over 40-years experience in the difficult area of drug treatment, will have a negative impact on our community. Anecdotally, I'm under the impression that marijuana, tobacco and alcohol abuse, heroin use and the misuse of prescription medications statistics are not going down and remain a challenge in our community.

I firmly believe that an organization like Junction is best suited to address the challenges that the various patients and clients have so they can be productive citizens.

Throughout this difficult process, working with Carroll County government has been wonderful. We are working hard with the Health Department to make sure all of our clients are taken care of and placed in good programs to see to it that they get the services they need to be productive members of the community, their workplaces, and their families.

My heart goes out to all the wonderful caring professionals that work for Junction and all our clients that have turned to us for help.

Hopefully we can get all our clients placed in other programs and it is also really important for Carroll County that we find jobs - in the county - for the excellent team that we have assembled at Junction over the last 40 years.

I'm major bummed. It is said that all things happen for a reason. I hope I live long enough to see a good reason to lose a great program like Junction - that has helped so many folks and asked for very little in return, except for some meager funding to keep the lights on...

For more, see: Carroll County Times: “Substance abuse nonprofit Junction Inc. to close June 17” By Alisha George, Times Staff Writer Thursday, May 19, 2011 2:48 pm – and Westminster Patch: “Junction, Inc. the Latest Victim of Budget Cuts,” By Kym Byrnes May 23, 2011 Monday 2:09pm

[20110523 KED Junction statement] [20110518 Junction PRESS RELEAS2.pdf]

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Junction disclosure and information – November 20, 2008

The web site for Junction can be found here: http://www.junctioninc.org/

I’ve been a member of the board of Junction since October 2000.

Junction is a local Westminster Carroll County Maryland private nonprofit agency for substance abuse prevention and outpatient drug treatment. It provides prevention, intervention, and treatment of substance abuse for individuals, their families, and the community through education, counseling, community collaboration, and leadership in Carroll County.

It was incorporated on September 27, 1971. A month after incorporation, on December 6, 1971, it opened its doors in the historic Carroll County Jail on Court Street in Westminster.

Junction Inc., http://www.junctioninc.org/, (410) 848-6100, 98 North Court Street, P. O. Box 206, Westminster, MD 21158

Junction is a local Westminster Carroll County Maryland private nonprofit agency for substance abuse prevention and outpatient drug treatment. Junction Inc., http://www.junctioninc.org/, (410) 848-6100, 98 North Court Street, P. O. Box 206, Westminster, MD 21158

[20081120 Junction disclosure and information]

http://kevindayhoffwestgov-net.blogspot.com/2008/11/junction-disclosure-and-information.html

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Junction, Westminster, Carroll County, drugs, drug treatment, drug prevention, history, budget cuts

http://www.scribd.com/doc/57892074/Junction-will-be-closing-its-doors-on-June-17-2011

Junction will be closing its doors on June 17, 2011

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