COVER PROFILE Jennifer Tuerke

Executive

Director

Voices of Hope

Story by Matt Hooke

Jennifer Tuerke is a woman fighting to change how Cecil County views addiction and recovery. As a person in recovery herself, she uses her experience to help others make a similar journey towards sobriety as the executive director of Voices of Hope.

“Connection is the opposite of addiction,” Tuerke said. “The recovery community gets people through those hard times and teaches you how to live life without turning to drugs or alcohol.”

Voices of Hope now provides that same connection that helped Tuerke for addicts across Cecil and Harford County. The organization continues to grow, with a 527% increase in engagements between 2020 and 2021, and the recent opening of two recovery houses in Elkton. Tuerke believes getting people in the door of Voices of Hope, with programs like the syringe services, is key to success.

“If they have interest in preventing disease by getting new syringes, we can work within that crack, with empathy and resources, so they know there’s another way,” Tuerke said.

Before working in recovery, Tuerke did administrative work for the City of Newark and the University of Delaware, along with side work as a tattoo artist. She was still connected with the recovery community and, in 2012, she accepted a job as a peer recovery specialist at the Cecil County Health Department, because a friend told her that it would be good for the department to have recovery specialists who understand first hand what addiction is like.

“The suffering and the struggling is unreal. People see the numbers, but when you see the faces it’s hard to walk away,” Tuerke said. “I had this feeling that I had to do something.”

In 2013, Tuerke, along with other people in recovery and family members of those who lost people to addiction, founded Voices of Hope with four goals: create legal syringe services, a 24hour community center, recovery support for youth and a county detox center.

Out of those four goals, Tuerke said Voices of Hope has so far accomplished one and a half of them, with the establishment of county syringe services, along with an addiction hotline and the creation of a recovery community center, that is open from 8 a.m. to 1 a.m., on West Pulaski Highway.

Tuerke is constantly involved with fundraisers for Voices of Hope, from bake sales and raffles, but wishes the group could get more support from institutional funders like the state government.

“It’s pretty depressing to think that even with the opioid epidemic that’s been going on for all these years, we’re still trying to find funding,” Tuerke said.

Since the non-profit is run by people in recovery or those who have lost people to addiction, the organization has to deal with a lot of stigma, Tuerke said. Tuerke said she is a “woman to watch set things on fire,” as she fights for reform of the healthcare system to better help those suffering from addiction.

“I’m so pissed that we have to compete with a broken system, and health care is so politicized,” Tuerke said.

W2W

Connection is the opposite of addiction

Amanda KnopfShrew sbur y, Teacher,Cecil County Public Schools

Amanda Mc Avoy Brow nhill, Co -owner,DomainSpa &Salon

AmberKackley, Vice President, EliteHome Entert ainment,Elite

Home Security,and Maryland Sanit ize

AmberDurand, EMTChief,RealEst ateBroker, Agent, and Owner,Pat terson Schwar tz Real Est ate

AmyL ong, RN,ChristianaCare

AmyMenzer, Execut iveDirector, Dundalk Renaissance Corporat ion

AmyShor t, Manager,A AA Club Alliance

AngelaHeckman, Events Coordinator, TheHistoricWellwood

AngieVanderhoef, Owner,RiseN’Grind

AnnL amar tine, Salesand Jewelry Designer,Millstone Jewelers

AnnetteGoodyear, Police Of ficer,Nor th East Town Police

Ashley Mack,“A- Mack”, Bar Manager,T he Historic Wellwood

Autumn Marquess, Owner,ACM Insurance Agenc yand Crouse

Autobody

BeccaTozer, Tattoo Ar tist,Instant History Tattoo &A rt Gallery

Beck yMar tin,O wner,RLM Proper ty Management

BethCreek, Director,Youth EmpowermentSer vices

BrendaL emke, Production,W.L .Gore&A ssoc., Inc.

Brenda Ross, President, CecilCounty Depart mentofElect ions

Brit tanyLynerd, Nurse, Port Deposit

Brit tneyWeise, ClinicalDirectorO fDentalSer vices, Linkd

Healthcare

CaseyWarrington, Owner,Green Market at SweetSpice

Chelsea Sadler, Owner andL aw yer, TheL aw Of ficeofChelsea

M. Sadler

Cher yl Lacovara, Owner,PlumptonParkZoo

ChristieMcDevit t, Owner,Nor th East Chocolates

Christie Stephens, Co -Owner,BeFreeBoutique

Christina Harris-Schlecker, Criminal DefenseL aw yerand Owner,Brown HarrisL aw

ChristinaYounker, Automotive Production Manager and Consult ant, Roger sCustoms Collision Center

Christine Givens, President,Cecil Solidarity

ClaraCampbell, AssociateJudge,Distric tCour tofMar yland, Dist rict 3

CricketBrowne, Owner andL aw yer, LawO fficesofCricket

Browne,LLC

Danielle Contreras, Owner,Sabor Latino

Danielle Hornberger, County Execut ive, CecilCounty

DianaRussell, Operat ions Manager,Foard Funeral Home

DianeF itzgerald, Execut iveDirectorofOncology, Upper Chesapeake Healt h

Djunda Brow n, 3rdGrade Teacher, CecilCounty Public Schools

Dr.Mar yWaybolt, President,Cecil College

Elizabeth Felt y, Owner,WestStreetVillage

Elizabeth Robinson, Clinical TrialResearchCoordinator, Univer sity of Pennsylvania

Erin Reardon, MD, CEOand Founder,Emergenc yHealt hFix

Eunice Gill-Grant, COO, At hari Learning

Frazier Walker, Communicat ions andDevelopment Manager, CecilCount yPublicL ibrary

GiuliaHodge, Execut iveDirector, CA SA of CecilCounty

Heather Szarka, Owner,Moon38

Jackie Gregor y, CouncilVicePresident Fift hDistric t, Cecil County Government

Jamie Sipala, Owner,Simply theBestNut rition

Jena Hurd, Owner,House of Je’Lon

JenniferMcGrath, Owner,Galvinell Meat s

JenniferTuerke, Execut iveDirector,VoicesofHope