Area mayors collaborate to establish safe spaces for those struggling with addiction

Once a month, the mayors of four over-the-mountain communities — Mountain Brook, Homewood, Vestavia Hills and Hoover — gather for a lunch to get to know one another and the surrounding cities.

“We wanted to create a safe space,” said Mountain Brook mayor Stewart Welch. And by the end of the second lunch, the mayors were working on creating a second safe space: one for those who are affected by addiction.

The idea came about after Vestavia Mayor Ashley Curry, who is a former FBI agent, spoke passionately about the opioid crisis, Welch said. Curry has publicly discussed his desire to fight the opioid crisis in metro Birmingham communities.

“That started the concept of the Freedom from Addiction Coalition. Ashley kind of ran with it; he took point with that,” Welch said.

The Freedom from Addiction Coalition, in Welch’s words, “is a coalition between the four over-the-mountain cities where we are trying to come up with [a way] … to make our community aware of the drug issue.”

And that’s the goal: to make people aware that addiction is a problem and to provide access to resources so those affected can seek help, Welch said. It isn’t meant to specifically deal with the opioid crisis, although Welch said there is attention on it. While aimed more at adults, the information is applicable to people of any age.

Welch said he doesn’t believe that Mountain Brook has any particularly pressing concerns about addiction or drug abuse within city limits, but he knows that doesn’t mean the conversation is irrelevant.

Chief of Police Ted Cook said that during the past eight to 10 years, law enforcement in general has seen an increased problem with opioids, though he doesn’t believe Mountain Brook has problems to the same extent that other communities may. 

“We’re always concerned about alcohol usage in our city,” he said, adding one of the reasons Mountain Brook is involved in the Freedom from Addiction Coalition is to combat prescription drug abuse, too.

“So many youth are active in every sport imaginable and [extracurricular] activities,” he said, and when they become injured, they are prescribed pain medication. “There are stories out and about, and while we don’t have one specifically here, I know of one of … a young man who wound up with a heroin addiction. But it all began with some type of sports injury, and it all started with prescription medication,” Cook said.

Both Cook and Welch called for better control of any prescribed medications, stating they should be locked and unavailable to those who aren’t supposed to be taking them. And even so, the ongoing national opioid epidemic isstill on their minds.

“It can lead to a one-time trying a drug which becomes an addiction that is laced with something and that becomes an overdose and a potentially fatal episode,” Cook said. “That’s just a major concern all the time.”

“I don’t think there’s a community throughout the country that would be untouched by this. But then again, you want to be ahead of this,” Welch said. And that’s what the mayors and cities involved in the Freedom from Addiction Coalition are aiming to do.

Welch spoke of a young woman he knows who, about a year ago, got “knee-deep into drugs” and was later arrested for selling them. Welch said her parents had her stay the night in jail and later a judge presented her with two options: go to jail or spend one year in a treatment program.

“I think having had a taste of spending time in jail, that gave her the sense of that is not where she wanted to end up,” Welch said. She is now on the tail end of her treatment program, and Welch said she is doing well. But due to new technology and the evolving drug climate, communities have started needing find new ways to combat addiction and overdoses.

“You have to have new approaches, and obviously the best answer is to stop it before it starts,” Welch said. 

Under the coalition, the mayors want to find “a pathway” for those who realize they or someone they love needs help. Eventually, Welch wants that pathway to be easily visible on the city’s website and commonly known.

The mayors also agreed that each city would host a breakfast every quarter aimed at educating community members and providing resources to those who may be suffering from addiction or know someone who is.

The breakfasts — which Welch said he made a point of making free to encourage attendance — cover a range of topics that pertain to addiction and drug abuse within communities. The coalition wants to help those affected by addiction find the resources they need quickly and easily but in a relatable atmosphere. 

“The idea is to have a little bit of a Q&A [at the end of the meeting], but they could also have a private conversation with someone too,” Welch said.

The first meeting was held March 13 by Vestavia, and Welch deemed it a success. Local parents spoke about their experiences when their daughter became involved in drugs and later overdosed, and Welch said they talked through what they think they did right and wrong.

The next breakfast — which is open to anyone from any community — is going to be hosted by Mountain Brook on June 12 at Canterbury United Methodist Center from 8-9 a.m. 

Welch said those who want breakfast should come in a little early to allow for enough time for discussion if needed, as the meeting will begin promptly at 8 a.m. He’s scheduled Richard Simmons and Jay Lloyd, executive director and counselor at The Center of Executive Leadership, respectively, to speak at the breakfast meeting. The Center is a ministry of professionals that helps individuals deal with difficult situations in life through guidance.

Local resources, such as Bradford Health Services, The Foundry and Teen Challenge are also invited, and attendees can choose to sit with representatives from the different organizations to provide a place to meet and talk.

All the cities are working together to promote the event, too, to try to attract and educate as many people as possible.

“This, I think, was one of the first instances where you had four cities come together and say ‘Hey, listen, we can be competitive on some things but there are other things where we can work together and have more impact than if we did it alone,” Welch said. “Let’s find an intersection where we can work together for positive impact.”

To learn more about the event, visitmtnbrookchamber.org/events.

Upcoming breakfast

Mountain Brook will host the second Freedom from Addiction Coalition community awareness breakfast from 8-9 a.m. June 12 at Canterbury UMC. 

The Center for Executive Leadership Executive Director Richard Simmons and counselor Jay Lloyd will be presenting. The Jefferson County Department of Health will be providing free Opioid Overdose Kits (with Narcan) for anyone who knows someone at risk of opioid overdose, along with a brief required training, in Room M227 Aldersgate, immediately following the breakfast. 

The event is free, and those interested in attending can learn more at mtnbrookchamber.org/events.

Editor's note: This article was updated on Jun 8 at 8:23 a.m. to include the information regarding Opioid Overdose Kits.