Anne Arundel County’s multi-year effort to transform the former Crownsville Hospital into a space that promotes healing, wellness, and generational
change is advancing through a new educational partnership.
Gaudenzia, a nonprofit that serves those in need of treatment for substance use and co-occurring disorders, and Bowie State University are collaborating on the Gaudenzia Crownsville Campus Internship Program following a signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This initiative is filled on a rolling basis with spring, summer, and fall cohorts and has already celebrated and welcomed its first group of students.
From the county press release:
“Crownsville holds a complex and painful history, marked by the medical mistreatment and discrimination faced by Black patients,” said County Executive Steuart Pittman. “This partnership with Gaudenzia and Bowie State University is a way for the county to address that history — not by rewriting it, but by striving to create an equitable future. I want to thank our partners for working with the next generation to ensure that our residents can access the mental health and medical care they need.”
This new program integrates higher education directly into critical community service, offering Bowie State students purpose-driven, real-world experience at the intersection of behavioral health, community reintegration, and equity.
Designed for counseling, psychology, nursing, social work, and criminal justice majors, the internship is a rare, multidisciplinary experience in which interns are immersed in trauma-informed care. The program heavily emphasizes mission-based learning and multidisciplinary collaboration, backed by high-touch mentorship and crucial hands-on experience with justice-involved populations across the full continuum of care. For counties across Maryland, the Gaudenzia Crownsville Campus Internship Program highlights how local governments can align workforce development, behavioral health services, and higher education to address complex community needs.
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