A Memoriam by Jane Plapinger
The MCF family is deeply saddened at the tragic passing on May 23 of Ginger Rosela, our beloved and much-admired colleague. Ginger was a Family Peer Support Specialist, and one of five substance use family advocates who helped establish MCF’s Substance Use Family Navigation Program four years ago.
Everyone who knew Ginger was touched by her energy, enthusiasm, honesty and humor. After the loss of her son, Jake, to an overdose in 2013, helping other families became Ginger’s calling and her life’s work. Ginger worked tirelessly and fiercely to ensure that every family she supported had opportunities for the “help they needed and deserved,” a phrase she used frequently. She fervently believed that recovery was possible. Being part of MCF enabled her to broaden her work with families, and teach and inspire others to do this work.
Ginger advocated for Maryland to enact the Good Samaritan Law and became one of the faces of the Naloxone Saves Lives Campaign. She played a powerful part in reducing stigma and educating her community on substance use. She was known throughout Southern Maryland for her presentations to law enforcement, medical doctors, and emergency response professionals. She was a Master Trainer for ACES (Adverse Childhood Experiences) and MAT (Medical Assisted Treatment). She was also a founding panelist for Anne Arundel County’s “Not My Child” and an advocate for Safe Stations.
Information about Ginger’s family’s preferences for honoring her memory can be found here.
As we grieve the loss of this beloved colleague and leader, we honor Ginger by continuing our efforts throughout the state to support families with a loved one with a substance use disorder. Her legacy lives on through the many families who got the “help they needed and deserved” from Ginger, and the colleagues she mentored and inspired who will carry this work forward.