His Daughter Died Of An Opioid Overdose. So He Built A Treatment Facility In Her Name

March 5, 2020

Tyrone Turner, NPR

Jenn McLucas (facing camera) embraces resident Nichole Schuster after the first graduation ceremony at Brooke's House. McLucas serves as the clinical director for the long-term treatment facility in Hagerstown, Md. Tyrone Turner/WAMU

Kevin Simmers tried desperately to get his daughter the help she needed to break her addiction to drugs, but he ran out of time.

Nineteen-year-old Brooke Simmers overdosed and died in 2015. After her death, Kevin Simmers — a veteran narcotics cop in Hagerstown, Maryland — was determined to create the kind of residential rehab facility for women that he couldn't find for his daughter.

Brooke's House opened last summer. It's tucked behind a wind-swept cornfield on the outskirts of Hagerstown. The women residents go through months of intense counseling and have access to medical assisted treatment. The first group completed the six-month program of sobriety, counseling and treatment in January.