About Us
About Us
Summit is an innovative program model created and led by people who have personal experience with the devastating effects of substance use disorder. But we’ve also experienced the incredible gratification and fulfillment that comes from living a healthy, self-directed life in recovery.
Tom's Story
Tom's Story
I was born in Baltimore to a loving family and was raised in Towson and Bel Air, MD. After college, where my destructive lifestyle really took root, I spent the next 12 years working in corporate America. If judged on outward appearances I seemed to have a good life; I became very good at hiding behind masks and conveying the “all is well” image to others. But inwardly, I struggled with anxiety and feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. I felt uncomfortable in my own skin and sought escape from my inner turmoil through drugs and alcohol.
As a chronic & progressive disease, substance use disorder took an increasing toll on my life over the course of 20 years, culminating in homelessness and incarceration. I became so consumed by shame and self-loathing that I could no longer face my family or friends. In 2002, I reached the depth of my despair, living in abandoned buildings in the worst part of the city, surviving each day just to feed a raging addiction. I reached bottom behind bars in the Maryland Penitentiary. But the gravity of that adversity became the catalyst for my surrender. After my release, I finally admitted my powerlessness and asked for help. I spent a year in a spiritual recovery program, rebuilding my life and discovering my purpose. I found a deep and profound sense of healing by using my own journey to help others like me, and I have been doing that ever since.
Over the past 17 years I’ve learned volumes about addictive behavior and recovery. Unlike common perception, the path to wellness is not linear; it’s an ongoing process filled with successes and setbacks. I’ve found that the most effective way to build a foundation in recovery is by living in a restorative community that combines clinical interventions with a strong focus on spirituality and social determinants of health – the things that determine the quality of a person’s life as a human being. That’s our model at Summit


Summit's Organizational Structure
Summit's Organizational Structure
Summit is comprised of two separate and distinct organizations with different staffs, budgets, and operating leadership.
Summit Community Foundation (SCF) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization providing community-based services that address the underlying spiritual and social determinants of health (housing, food, employment, education, life enrichment, etc.). SCF is funded by those who support our mission through philanthropic support and grantmaking. To learn more and to contribute to the foundation, please click here.
Summit Community Health, Inc. (SCH), is a behavioral health management company providing integrated primary and behavioral health care for people in the communities we serve.