Annapolis hires longtime community activist to connect substance users, trauma victims to resources

The City of Annapolis has hired a well-known community activist to help chronic substance users and trauma victims.

Toni Strong Pratt, former co-chair of the faith and community-based organization Anne Arundel Connecting Together, will work about 30 hours a week putting residents in touch with service providers and resources such as housing, treatment, health care and other human service needs.

Strong Pratt will be responsible for contacting residents in areas that are high-risk for overdoses and prone to violence and connecting them to services. She will also arrange transportation.

“It means a great deal that the city is investing in somebody to actually do the work that so desperately needs to be done and to build relationships and to actually create effective change that hasn’t been done in our city and under many administrations,” Strong Pratt said.

“My goal is to bring more resources. A lot of our communities don’t know about the totality of resources that are allotted to them. So, my goal is to first continue to build relationships and connect persons to the resources that they don’t know about so that they can get the change that they so desperately need.”

With a rise in substance abuse and gun violence in Annapolis, the city is committed to putting residents in touch with the help they need, said Mayor Gavin Buckley in a statement.

“Annapolis is seeing the continuing effects of substance use and trauma, and we need to find a way to stop the cycle of addiction and violence. We need a concerted effort, a focused effort,” he said.

Strong Pratt will submit a written progress report to Buckley at the end of each week to make sure the goals of the program are being met.

Strong Pratt was a candidate for the Ward 4 City Council seat in 2017. She also is a public housing advocate.

In addition to co-founding the D.E.S.I.R.E. Addiction Ministry support group, Strong Pratt founded People Builders Consulting and served as president of the Bay Ridge Gardens community board of directors, and President of the Parent Board of Head Start, a federal preschool program.

She is a member of the First Christian Community Church of Annapolis and has also worked with Chrysalis House, assisted local fire and police departments and the Anne Arundel Medical Center.