Baltimore has made meaningful progress in reducing overdose deaths, yet the opioid epidemic remains one of our city's most pressing public health challenges. Every overdose represents more than the loss of a life—it reflects the cumulative effects of trauma, grief, untreated behavioral health conditions, social isolation, housing instability, structural inequities, and fragmented systems of care.…

The United States is confronting a public health crisis that receives far less attention than many chronic diseases, yet its consequences are equally profound: the epidemic of social isolation and loneliness. The evidence is compelling. Nearly half of American adults report experiencing loneliness. Civic engagement, volunteerism, and participation in community organizations have declined steadily over…

From June 22–25, I had the privilege of representing Roberta's House at the 2026 Points of Light Conference in Washington, D.C.—the nation's largest gathering dedicated to volunteerism, civic engagement, and community service. Surrounded by nonprofit leaders, volunteer professionals, educators, and community organizers from across the country, I was reminded that while every organization serves a…

Ensuring every infant has a safe start remains one of our most urgent, yet preventable, public health priorities. While safe sleep guidelines have been widely established for decades, sleep-related infant deaths persist. In Maryland, sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID)—including Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and accidental suffocation—remain a leading cause of post-neonatal mortality.

Every June, LGBTQ+ Pride Month arrives wrapped in celebration. There are rainbow flags on buildings, corporate logos change colors, music spills into the streets, and people celebrate visibility in ways my generation could barely imagine when we were young. I celebrate those moments too. I understand what they represent. But Pride has always felt more…

As the Director of the Behavioral Health Program at Roberta’s House, I have the privilege of walking alongside individuals and families during some of the most difficult moments of their lives. Grief changes people. It can affect emotional health, relationships, physical wellness, work, school performance, and a person’s sense of safety or hopefulness about the…

As behavioral health continues to evolve, more individuals are accessing care through teletherapy. The question is no longer whether virtual care is effective—it is how it compares to in-person services, and how both fit within a broader continuum of care that continues to expand with new technologies.

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. It is an opportunity not only to raise awareness, but to advance understanding—and to correct long-standing gaps in how we approach men’s mental health. From a clinical perspective, one truth is increasingly clear: men are not experiencing fewer mental health challenges. They are simply less likely to be diagnosed, less likely…

There are forms of exhaustion that sleep does not touch. Burnout is often described in the language of work—too many demands, too little time, a steady erosion of energy and focus. But when grief enters the picture, the feeling shifts. It becomes quieter, heavier, less visible from the outside. It is not only about what…

In my family, secrets are the gatekeepers of trauma, and silence is the border patrol that keeps us segregated. For twenty-five years, I lived behind that border, wearing a mask of “fine” while carrying a heart that had been shattered since I was nineteen.

When my father died, he was only thirty-three years old.  I was seven.  On the well-loved futon we proudly called our couch, my mother sat my brother and me down and told us—clearly, calmly—that our father had died. She had always been good at saying hard things plainly

My aunt, Cecelia, was my everything. Our lives were cosmically linked from the start: I was born exactly 54 minutes after her 18th birthday. In a family that demanded we walk in the footsteps of those before us, she was the one who taught me to carve my own path.