Anti-stigma Promotion
We fight in the battle against stigma for people with behavioral health challenges. Providing a place to educate all participants within or connected to the mental health and substance abuse communities, including family members and providers.
Empowerment
One of our goals is to promote recovery within our center and to engage in wellness activities to empower the individual. We encourage our participates through one-on-one engagement, groups, workshops, and building self-confidence to advocate for themselves and others.
Training
Wellness and recovery is rooted in the principle of self-determination and persistence. To help build from that opportunity and continue investing in themselves, we assist in finding resources & training based on that foundation.
Change Attitudes
Promote
Recovery
Achieve
Wellness
Board of Directors
Open Position:
Meet Our Staff
Bryan Johnson
Executive Director
Bryan has been the Executive Director for the past 9+ years and is a trained WRAP Facilitator and recognized by the Maryland Addiction and Behavioral-Health Professionals Certification Board (MABCPCB) as a Registered Peer Supervisor (RPS). Often volunteering his time to several non-profits, foundations, and committees including the Behavioral Health Administration's Office of Consumer Affairs Advisory Committee and Consumer Advisory Committee for Optum Maryland Behavioral Health. Bryan Johnson currently serves on the Board of Directors for several non-profits and is a former Board Member of Baltimore Mental Health Systems Inc. – which is now Behavioral Health System of Baltimore (BHSB) – the local Core Service Agency for Baltimore City and the On Our Own of Maryland, Inc., a statewide peer operated behavioral health advocacy and education organization. Bryan has lived in Maryland his entire life and is an alumnus of Coppin State University. Bryan is a firm believer of Toni Morrison’s words, “the Function of Freedom is to Free Someone Else” and he is dedicated to helping others in their behavioral health recovery and providing support for those on their wellness journey.
Email: bjohnson@ooohci.org
Debbie Weinstein
Office Manager
Ms. Weinstein started attending On Our Own of Howard County, Inc. in 2010 after becoming a client and resident of Humanim, Inc. Prior to 2010 she was homeless and living at the Grassroots shelter.
In the fall of 2010, Ms. Weinstein was asked to volunteer for the organization’s open house, and she continued as a volunteer until July 2011 when she was hired as the assistant program coordinator. She remained in this role while training to increase her knowledge of behavioral health and the peer movement. It was during this time that Ms. Weinstein decided to continue these training courses in pursuit of qualifying for her certification as a Certified Peer Recovery Specialist (CPRS). As a result of the encouragement and support she received from staff and members, she achieved this goal in October of 2022.
In 2017, Ms. Weinstein took on the role of Office Manager, a job she enjoys to this day. In 2024 she requalified as a CPRS as well as qualifying as a Registered Peer Supervisor (RPS).
Anthony Rivera
Peer Recovery Specialist, Program Coordinator
Hi, Everyone. I started my journey into the Behavioral Health field by volunteering at Grassroots Crisis located in Columbia, MD. It is there where I first heard about On Our Own of Howard County, Inc. I interviewed and was hired by the executive director, Bryan Johnson. I worked as a Peer Recovery Specialist for three years and was recently promoted to Program Coordinator. As Program Coordinator my duties include reaching the community through Outreach efforts, promoting and creating programming for the center, facilitating our Support Groups, organizing Center events, and affiliating myself with other wellness centers and local agencies to develop more resources for members. I’m also co-creator and host of the On Our Own of Howard County, Inc. Podcast, “Alter the Minds of Stigma.”
Email: arivera@ooohci.org
Podcast Email:
Stephan Foster
Peer Recovery Specialist
My name is Stephen Foster, I am a peer recovery specialist for On Our Own of Howard County Wellness, Recovery Center. I have been in recovery from schizoaffective disorder since I was 19 years old. Through out my time in the behavioral health system. I have learned that I am not slave to mental illness. I volunteered at On Our Own of Howard County for 8 years before obtaining employment in 2018. It is an honor and privilege to be a constant of this center. There are three I have learned from being a member of on our own. Recovery is what you make of it, recovery is a journey not a destination, and recovery is a reality.
Email: smfoster@ooohci.org
Em Kohanski
Peer Recovery Specialist,
Transportation Driver
President
Andy Goldenson
Treasurer
Timothy Santoni
Secretary
Katie Kirk
Board Members
Dr. Faye Royale-Larkins
Firoozeh Taherpoor
Geralyn Boone
Michele Taliaferro
William Rusinko
Geoff Ott
Our Story
On Our Own of Howard County, Inc. (OOOHCI) was originally founded in 1985 by Patricia Fogarty, commonly known as "Pat", as a self-help advocacy organization. The brain child of Pat Fogarty was able to grow from her visiting one participant at the comfort of their home in the mid and late 1980's to a breakroom in a quasi-government agency suite in the 1990's, and onto a small cramped office in the early 2000's. Throughout the 80's and 90's, OOOHCI faced some very difficult times and challenging years, even having to dissolve the organization at one point. However, the Peer Movement of the 1990's helped push Maryland's statewide mental health agenda forward and OOOHCI was able to re-establish the organization in the early 2000's, aided by dedicated individuals and organizations, including our affiliate organization, On Our Own of Maryland, Inc., and the Maryland Dept of Mental Hygiene Administration. State funding was secured during this time and administration by the quasi-government agency, Howard County Mental Health Authority, OOOHCI was able to obtain a less than ideal office space in Columbia for individuals with mental health challenges to support one another. In 2013, through the collaborative efforts of the Howard Health Department and OOOHCI, the statewide initiative of combining mental health and substance abuse services in Howard County were made successful in us becoming an organization that offer behavioral health services.
Having served over 1000's of individuals over the decades, we will continue to provide peer support and advocacy efforts in a sage place for socializing, supporting one another, and discussing relevant topics of today's behavioral health landscape. By furthering the vision of "Pat", OOOHCI will continue to help individuals with supporting wellness and recovery in the comfort of the community and not in the setting of a psychiatric hospital, psychiatric day hospital, or in isolation of their respective home, alone. Today, OOOHCI provides aide by advocating and aiding individuals with behavioral health challenges throughout Howard County, MD, serving the individuals with mental health and sobriety challenges for years to come.