Follow a “Day in the life” of Director of Public Policy Joanna Diamond, during the 2025 Maryland General Assembly session.

8:00 AM

It’s Overdose Prevention Advocacy Day in Annapolis! Director of Public Policy Joanna Diamond meets volunteers and advocates outside the red-bricked Miller Senate Building. They’ve traveled from across the state to ask lawmakers to prevent overdose deaths and save lives.

Health Care for the Homeless is co-hosting the day in partnership with the Baltimore Harm Reduction Coalition (BHRC), the BRIDGES Coalition, the Baltimore City Health Department, the Baltimore City Mayor’s Office and Behavioral Health System Baltimore (BHSB).

8:30 AM

A group of about 45 advocates and volunteers go through security and head to a small room on the second floor. The plan is to divide and conquer. Small groups will visit with lawmakers who sit on the House Health & Government Operations Committee, which is voting this afternoon on a bill to legalize overdose prevention sites (OPS).

Dan Rabbitt, policy director at BHSB, passes folders to the group. The handouts outline our priorities:

• Decriminalize drug paraphernalia as an important harm reduction measure
• Establish OPS to save lives and connect people to care
• Reject laws that punish addiction instead of treating it as a public health issue

9:00 AM

Samantha Kerr, of BHRC and the BRIDGES Coalition, asks people to split into groups.

Joanna’s group includes Sean Major, a peer recovery specialist with the Maryland Area Health Education Center West; Dana Johnson, a substance use counselor for MATClinics  Dundalk; Biafra Okoronkwo, a health policy analyst for the Baltimore City Health Department; and Maureen Harvie, from Health Care for the Homeless.

9:15 AM

“Are stairs okay?” asks Joanna. She leads her group from the Senate to the House of Delegates, via an underground tunnel.

“This is your opportunity to talk with the decision-makers of the state,” Joanna explains. “The most important thing is to share personal and professional experiences. You're the experts.”

First stop: the office of Delegate Joseline Peña-Melnyk (D-District 21), lead sponsor of the OPS bill—House Bill 845— and chair of the House & Government Operations Committee. The group passes along their gratitude to her staff.

9:30 AM

Up next, the group meets with Delegate Sandy Rosenberg (D-District 41), sharing their policy-asks and thanking the delegate for his support. Moving along, they drop off materials and a “thank you” to the staff of Delegate Harry Bhandari (D-District 8).

10:00 AM

As the group traverses the thickly carpeted halls, loud chimes ring, alerting House staff and lawmakers to votes taking place.

At Delegate Brian Chisholm’s (R-District 31) office, his chief of staff asks for more information about OPS. What happens there? Dana explains that an OPS is a place where people who use substances have immediate access to life-saving intervention.

“They are being monitored by health professionals who are trained in CPR and first aid,” Dana says. “And they have access to clean syringes, cookers, alcohol pads. Pads are really effective at cleaning wounds or sterilizing injection sites.”

Sean explains that people who use substances often have passing thoughts about seeking help. By building trusting relationships with OPS staff, people may eventually feel comfortable reaching out for other services.

10:30 AM

The group takes a short break in the hall. Joanna sheds light on the history and nuances of the decriminalization bill. One aspect of the bill will address a challenge faced by syringe services programs. Clients of authorized syringe services programs receive an ID card with supplies, like syringes and tourniquets. It may be hard for people experiencing housing instability to keep track of their ID card, which puts them at risk of arrest if police find syringes in their possession. This year is a new chance to push the issue forward.

11:00 AM

The group stops by the offices of Delegate Tiffany Alston (D-District 24) and Delegate Heather Bagnall (D-District 33C), thanking staff for their support and reiterating the urgency around saving lives.

Back at the Senate meeting room, Sean reflects on advocating for OPS. “I was given many chances, and I finally got over the hump. But it didn't take the first time or even the first handful of times. We're everyday people and our lives matter as well.”

Coming to Annapolis feels like a chance to give back for Dana. “As an advocate of recovery with lived experience, I think it's important for people to know that the opposite of addiction is connection. When we come and support these bills, we are advocating for that.”

12:00 PM

Joanna checks her email and looks over tomorrow’s testimony on House Bill 1006, which proposes guidelines on immigration enforcement. Chief Medical Officer Laura Garcia will testify about how fear of deportation discourages clients from seeking medical care, even when it is urgent.

With just enough time before the afternoon’s hearing, Joanna dashes to the canteen and nibbles on some Old Bay chips and a sandwich.

12:30 PM

“You’re gonna do great!” Joanna meets up with our Coordinator of Community Health Lilian Amaya. She is testifying on House Bill 871—a bill that creates a more sustainable source of funding for Community Health Workers (CHWs) by inviting hospitals to partner with community-based organizations. The current short-term funding model makes it hard to recruit and retain these critical positions.

“I’m a little nervous, but excited,” says Lilian. “We’ve had to freeze CHW positions due to grants ending. I see how these changes impact clients.”

Testifying is a team effort. “I provide information about the bill, including the political and historical context,” Joanna says. “Staff are the experts of their work and provide the legislature with the knowledge they need to make a decision.”

1:00 PM

Joanna and Lilian grab seats in the hearing room. While waiting for the committee to hear the OPS bill, Joanna replies to emails and texts. Health Care for the Homeless has a dozen priorities this session but is tracking nearly 200 bills overall.

1:30 PM

Harm Reduction Manager Molly Greenberg, RN arrives and quietly grabs a chair near Joanna. When they announce the OPS bill, she heads up to testify.

In her testimony, Molly calls on lawmakers to act. “Every day I see how stigma and criminalization pushes people to use in isolation, making them more prone to overdose. In this system, what we do falls short of what people need and deserve. These deaths are preventable, and every single one is a policy failure.”

Next, Samantha describes the heartbreaking toll of overdose deaths. Several advocates have died in the years since Maryland lawmakers have considered legalizing OPS.

Testifying remotely is Toni Smith, the New York State Director at the Drug Policy Alliance. She works closely with OnPoint NYC, which runs two overdose prevention sites. Since 2021, OnPoint staff have reversed nearly 1,700 overdoses without a single client death.

Delegate Terri Hill (D-District 12A) asks Chair Peña-Melnyk, “The fiscal note is zero. What have we lost by not having done this two, three, four years ago? And what do we lose if we don't do this this year?”

“We're losing lives,” responds Chair Peña-Melnyk.

2:15 PM

The first panel’s testimony concludes. A second panel of witnesses takes their seats.

Cola Anderson, of BHRC and the BRIDGES Coalition, speaks first. “Overdose prevention sites give people who use drugs, especially those who are homeless, access to places where they can use drugs safely without judgment and with newfound community. These sites save lives immediately, period. We know this because we see them doing so all over the world.”

Jessie Dunleavy's son, Paul, died from an overdose in 2017. She points out that the current approach to preventing overdose deaths is not working. “We need all the proven strategies working in concert and crucial among them are overdose prevention sites.”

Next is Toni Torch, who started a grief support program after losing her son, Dan, to a fatal overdose in 2010. She sees how the overdose crisis brings trauma to families. “Many of their loved ones were found dead on the street, in parks and in abandoned houses. And they died alone. Can you imagine how compounded their pain is visualizing their children's last moments?”

2:30 PM

With the bill hearing over, Chair Peña-Melnyk steps outside to thank and encourage the group. Her message is clear: every time you testify, it’s worth it, because you change “one more mind” on the issue of harm reduction.

Molly and Joanna share a hug. “I always feel like a bit of a fish out of water in Annapolis,” laughs Molly. But it is necessary. “Our patients bear the daily burden of having to explain to the world why they deserve compassion and livelihood. This is an opportunity to let people in positions of power know that policy change affects real thinking, feeling, breathing people—and that they have the chance to use their power for good.”

3:00 PM

Back in the hearing room, it’s time for Lilian to testify. “CHWs build trust with communities and create meaningful relationships with patients that go beyond clinical encounters,” she says. “These relationships are so critical for long-term health improvement as patients are more likely to engage in care when they feel understood and supported.”

Also testifying on this bill is Ashley Woolard, co-chair of the CHWs’ Empowerment Coalition of Maryland and lead attorney for the Public Justice Center’s Health and Benefits Equity Project, important allies to Health Care for the Homeless. “Maryland is home to the fourth largest CHW workforce in the country,” Ashley testifies. “But they often report the same pain point to staying in the workforce—the lack of sustainable long-term funding to support long-running careers.”

3:30 PM

With the bill hearing over, Joanna, Lilian, Molly and Ashley step outside to debrief.

“I’m glad I did it!” says Lilian. “Having Joanna’s guidance and support made this process something I looked forward to. I’m proud to represent my team and Health Care for the Homeless.”

For Molly, the experience was both invigorating and maddening. “It’s an honor to share why I believe in creating safe spaces for people who use drugs. It is also a reminder that this fight has been going on for years, and in that time, people we love, care for, and had the privilege of advocating with have died due to preventable overdoses.”

4:00 PM

The sun is low and warm as Joanna heads to the parking garage. If she leaves now, she can make it home to Baltimore and work on more testimony before it’s due at 6 pm.

“We have had some extraordinary coalition work this session and it has honestly been beautiful to see,” says Joanna. “We must show up for each other. We all bring different perspectives and strengths.”

Once the session is over, Joanna will turn her attention to advocating on the local level and making sure government agencies implement policies correctly. What keeps her going? “Our staff, our clients and a deep understanding that this work benefits all of us and our communities.”

See where our priority bills landed