The Town of Rock Hall is a small community with big city issues. In the past three weeks, the Eastern Shore community of 1,500 has seen three people killed due to heroin overdoses, two of which occurred in a matter of days.
The town's mayor said no part of the community is immune.
"It's devastating and it's hurting our families in town," said Mayor Brian Jones. "Heroin is a big problem. We see the the use of prescription drugs being a big problem as well."
It's not just the town, alone, where it's a problem. Experts say after touching most of the state already, the affliction has now reached the entire Eastern Shore.
"We work hard to try to keep people engaged in the system," said Tim Dove, the Kent County local addition authority.
Dove has worked in the addition field for decades, and now helps run the AF Whitsitt Center, the only completely publicly funded facility capable of treating those with heroin and chemical dependency issues. He said the need is "overwhelming."
"Our inpatient treatment center, the Whitsitt Center, services five, six, sometimes seven counties, and we have a 40 bed capacity," Dove said.
Elizabeth Glenn is one of the people in Rock Hall affected. She worked to help her daughter stay clear of the drug, and come Saturday, her daughter will be clean for two months.
It's something she knows can be done, which is why she worked with Rock Hall's leaders to start an anti-drug program specifically to help others.
"I want to help the users," Glenn said. "Something needs to be done. We're not going to arrest ourselves out of the situation."
Follow Dakarai Turner on Twitter @Dakarai_Turner and on Facebook.
