The Jeffersonian, Baltimore’s business newspaper, reports on a Jewish recovering drug addict and the community’s efforts to draw attention to the issue:
Samantha Schroeder’s life revolved around heroin for nearly a decade. The Pikesville native stole money from the bank where she worked and became a prostitute, watching her life deteriorate as she struggled to keep up with a $250-a-day addiction.
Her story echoes countless other stories of drug abuse. But because she is Jewish, many may see her as an anomaly.
“My grandmother would always say, ‘I bet you are the only Jewish person in Narcotics Anonymous.’ If she only knew!” said Schroeder, now 37 and free of heroin for almost 10 years.
The perception that Jews are more immune to the perils of substance abuse is one that Jewish leaders have been trying to change. Schroeder, who has spoken around town in connection with Baltimore-based Jewish Addiction Services, recently told her story at a March 2 sisterhood brunch at Reisterstown’s Temple Emanuel.
