Safe Station to provide a 24/7 way to fight addiction in Salisbury

SALISBURY, Md. –  A 24/7 way to help get those battling addiction help will soon be coming to Wicomico County. Monday the Wicomico County Health Department announced that through close collaboration with Mid-Shore Behavioral Health, state opioid response (S.O.R) grant funding has been awarded to implement and operate a Safe Station location within the county.

A  safe station is a place where someone battling addiction can come any time of day and meet and with a peer, someone in recovery, to get help with getting treatment. Unlike other safe stations that are normally at police stations or fire departments, Wicomico County’s will be at the Recovery Resource Center or RRC in Salisbury, MD.

47 ABC spoke with RRC executive director Curtis Paul who said the choice to make the RRC a safe station makes perfect sense, instead of taking a traditional route of putting inside of a police station, because those battling addiction will feel more comfortable coming there to seek help.

He also said having a place that will be 24/7 is key because you never know when someone will make the choice to get sober.

“If you can’t get help right away, a lot of times you lost momentum. You think that it’s never going to end and that there are not options for you, but the moment that somebody’s ready to get clean if they can access treatment or someone to help them through the process it’s going to change a lot of lives,” Paul said.

While our crew was there we also ran into someone who currently gets help at the RRC for his addiction problems. Once we told him about the safe station, he agreed it would be huge for the community.

“It’ll definitely make a difference, I know a lot of people who need help they just don’t know what to do, you know. So having a place they can come to where they can get help, will help a lot,” said Robert Tucker.

Right now Paul says there is not a set date for when the Safe Station will open.