The death this month of a patient at RAP, Inc., a highly regarded addiction treatment center in Northeast, has shaken its local leadership and intensified friction with the out-of-state nonprofit that assumed its management nearly a decade ago.
The death of Karlton Sparrow on Aug. 5 marked the first time anyone has died in RAP’s care since founder Ronald C. Clark opened the center’s doors in D.C. 56 years ago, according to several RAP board members, including Clark’s son. They said RAP never lost anyone while building a reputation over the decades as a grassroots, hands-on drug addiction center that welcomed anyone and offered a holistic approach to treatment.
“The death itself for me, personally — as a board member and my father’s son — was terrible,” Paul Clark told The Informer. “It was deeply emotional, and I didn’t even know the guy.”…