I Can't We Can, a Northwest Baltimore-based drug treatment program founded 13 years ago by a former heroin addict, has lost its major source of funding because of "grave concerns" about the way it is being run, according to the agency that distributes the money.
Israel Cason, a popular community leader and vocal advocate of substance abuse treatment, estimates he has helped about 10,000 addicts over the years with housing, counseling and work training. A decade ago, city leaders were so enamored of the program that they declared Aug. 29 "I Can't We Can Day."
But Cason's program has struggled financially for years, and its only steady source of income - about $350,000 per year in public funds - will be cut off July 1.
Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems recently notified the program that it had failed to meet at least three major criteria for continued public funding. Its state license has lapsed, its financial books are in disarray and conditions at some of its properties are unsafe, said Greg Warren, president and chief executive officer of BSAS.
"It's with great pain that we had to make this decision," Warren said "Halfway houses are a scarce resource in Baltimore City, and to lose any of them is incredibly sad."
BSAS distributes about $54 million per year, mostly in state taxpayer money, and monitors the more than 70 local substance abuse programs it funds, Warren said. It has given money to I Can't We Can for at least four years, he said.
Cason said he depends upon the BSAS money, which pays for 30 of its 120 filled treatment beds and other programs. "We need that money to offset the people who come in without any money," he said.
Recovering addicts in the 30 publicly funded beds will be moved to other programs, Warren said.
Cason, who hosts a weekly radio program on 1010 WOLB AM and ran unsuccessfully for City Council in 2007, vowed to continue helping addicts, perhaps through less costly outpatient services. "We are in the business of saving lives," he said. "We'll make a way."
The biggest problem - the lapse in licensing from the state Department of Health and Mental Hygiene's Office of Health Care Quality - has been addressed, Cason said. He submitted the forms for renewal in mid-May, about a month late, and they are being processed.
Cason acknowledged continuing financial troubles, such as not filing I Can't We Can's 2008 tax forms. The program ran a network of businesses, including bakeries, a caterer and thrift stores, but recently has had to shutter most of them because of the economic downturn, he said.
