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June 06, 2023

News From the District: Congressman Trone Celebrates Women in Recovery from Substance Use Disorder, Preserving National Parks, and Young Maryland Leaders

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 6, 2023

Contact: Sasha Galbreath, Sasha.Galbreath@mail.house.gov 

News From the District: Congressman Trone Celebrates Women in Recovery from Substance Use Disorder, Preserving National Parks, and Young Maryland Leaders

Rep. Trone stands with Kevin and Dana Simmers and Senator Ben Cardin during the Brooke’s House Graduation Ceremony

HAGERSTOWN, MD — On Friday, Congressman David Trone and Senator Ben Cardin attended a graduation ceremony celebrating women in recovery from substance use disorder at Brooke’s House, a residential treatment facility for women in Hagerstown. Afterward, Trone visited the C&O Canal National Historic Park and on Saturday, spoke at the 2023 Maryland Statewide Congressional Award Ceremony to honor Marylanders’ accomplishments.

Kevin and Dana Simmers founded Brooke’s House after their daughter passed away from an opioid overdose. Since opening in 2019, Brooke’s House has changed the lives of dozens of women recovering from substance use disorder. During the graduation ceremony, Trone spoke about the hardships that come with recovering from addiction and his own personal experience with his nephew Ian, who passed away from an opioid overdose in 2016.

Trone also joined Senator Cardin at the C&O Canal National Historic Park in Williamsport to learn more about the park’s improvements. The park received the 2023 Maryland Preservation Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation and Sustainable Design for the service’s work reconstructing and stabilizing the historic stone wall and towpath from McMahon’s Mill to Lock 42.

Finally, Trone – alongside Congressman Glenn Ivey (D-MD-04) – headed to College Park, Maryland on Saturday to deliver a keynote speech at the 2023 Maryland Statewide Congressional Award Ceremony to recognize the initiative, service, and achievement in young people between the ages of 14 and 23. This year, 105 Congressional Award Earners were recognized across all award levels after contributing over 44,358 hours of voluntary public service, over 28,916 hours of personal development, and over 25,917 hours of physical fitness.

“I will always work to honor Marylanders who’ve fought to improve their lives and make our state better. Whether we are talking about folks in recovery from substance use disorder or efforts to preserve our wonderful historic national parks, Marylanders everywhere are working to make a positive difference in our community,” said Congressman David Trone. “The Congressional Award Ceremony gives me hope that we are creating a new generation of leaders and changemakers that will take on every challenge that comes their way and continue to help Maryland thrive.” 

Congressman David Trone was elected to the House of Representatives in November 2018 to serve the 6th District of Maryland, which includes all or part of Montgomery, Frederick, Washington, Allegany, and Garrett Counties. Trone serves on the Appropriations, Budget, and Joint Economic Committees in the 118th Congress. In Congress, Trone is fighting to make progress on issues that matter to Marylanders, including the mental health and addiction crises, criminal justice reform, and funding for medical research.

Follow Congressman Trone at @RepDavidTrone for updates on TwitterFacebook, and Instagram.

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