George Soros Pledges to Give $10 Million to Cities to Build Comprehensive Public Drug-Addiction Treatment Systems

BALTIMORE—Philanthropist George Soros plans to give $10 million to U.S. cities to help them build comprehensive public drug treatment systems. The money will be targeted to cities with more than 250,000 people.

“I want to help eliminate the enormous drug addiction treatment gap in the United States,” said Soros, founder of the Open Society Institute. “That gap has devastating consequences for families throughout the country. I hope this money will help cities and states to advocate effectively for sufficient public funds for drug treatment.”

Soros plans to make his announcement Wednesday evening at the opening plenary session of a two-day national conference in Baltimore about successful drug treatment strategies. That opening session begins at 7 p.m., Wednesday, June 7, in the Corinthian Room of the Tremont Grand Hotel in Baltimore. The Open Society Institute will work directly with health officials and drug treatment advocates to develop the initiative’s details.

More than 22.5 million Americans suffer from substance abuse or dependence, according to the most recent national survey on drug use published by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSA).

“Despite the large number of people who suffer from drug addiction, treatment is far from accessible in the United States at present,” Soros said. “The sad fact is that the majority of Americans who need treatment do not receive it, even though drug treatment is as effective as treatment for other chronic health disorders.”

Mayors and health officials from across the country will attend the conference, called “Cities on the Right Track: Building Public Drug Treatment Systems.” The mayors are Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley, Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown, and Providence Mayor David Cicilline. Health officials from Baltimore, San Francisco, Philadelphia, New York, Detroit, and Seattle also will present effective practices. The conference is being sponsored by OSI -Baltimore, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and the City of Baltimore.

“I am committing these new funds at the start of this important national conference, which will showcase what we have been able to accomplish by deliberately helping Baltimore build a comprehensive, accessible drug addiction treatment system,” Soros said. “I would like other cities to have the opportunity to build on Baltimore’s example.”

The Open Society Institute–Baltimore has provided substantial funding to strengthen and expand Baltimore’s public drug treatment system, managed by the quasi-public Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems (BSAS). Since 1997, Baltimore has made it a priority to build an expanded drug treatment system. Through broad public support among city, state and private funders, the city has substantially increased the capacity of its public drug treatment system. Key points include:

• In 1997, there were 5,673 publicly funded treatment slots. In 2005, there were 8,295 slots.
• Funding for the treatment system increased from $20.3 million in 1997 to $52.9 million in 2005.
• The number of people receiving drug treatment in publicly funded programs increased from 18,449 in 1997 to 28,672 in 2005.

“The evidence in Baltimore suggests that when a city offers more access to high quality treatment, there are significant declines in drug overdose deaths, new HIV diagnoses, and property crimes,” Soros said.

A new statewide poll, commissioned by the Open Society Institute–Baltimore, found that Maryland voters strongly believe alcohol and drug addiction treatment is effective and support providing greater access to such programs. Maryland voters also would support an increase in the alcohol tax to pay for expanded treatment—support that crosses political party lines.

The poll found that 69 percent of Maryland voters believe alcohol and drug treatment is effective in helping people overcome addiction—a number that rises to 72 percent of those who have known someone with an addiction. Overall, 67 percent believe that drug treatment is a better option than prison to stop someone from using illegal drugs.

The poll also reveals the depth of the addiction problem as two-thirds of Maryland voters say they personally have known someone with an alcohol or drug addiction. This experience with addiction crosses all lines, regardless of gender, race, income, region or political party.

The survey findings also reveal a treatment gap in Maryland as many people appear not to have access to treatment when they need it. Among voters who have known someone with an addiction problem, 26 percent report that the person was unable to obtain treatment.

“The good news is that more and more people recognize that treatment does work and believe that more public dollars should support it,” said Diana Morris , director of the Open Society Institute–Baltimore. “As a private funder, the Open Society Institute can play a key role in helping to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the treatment system. And we are happy to play that role. But only policymakers can take the next step and direct adequate public resources to treatment. Through this kind of public-private partnership, we can ensure that the thousands of Baltimore and other Maryland residents who need treatment can, in fact, get it.”

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Founded by philanthropist George Soros, OSI-Baltimore is a private operating foundation that supports a grantmaking, educational, and capacity-building program to expand justice and opportunity for Baltimore residents. With support from a range of investors, its current work focuses on helping Baltimore's youth succeed, reducing the social and economic costs of incarceration, tackling drug addiction, and building a corps of Community Fellows to bring innovative ideas to Baltimore's underserved communities.