Helping the Hills

About once a week.

That’s how often emergency personnel in Vestavia Hills administer Narcan, a medication to try to reverse a heroin overdose.

In 2016, 206 people in Jefferson County died from a heroin or fentanyl — a synthesized heroin surrogate — overdose.

“It’s a very real problem,” said fire Chief Jim St. John to a crowd of parents and community members in late March.

The crowd was gathered at City Hall for a town hall, hosted by Mayor Ashley Curry in lieu of a council work session.

The town hall was set up to introduce a newly robust effort on the part of Help the Hills to combat drug and alcohol abuse in the city, especially with regard to teenagers.

“We realized there had to be more to this,” said Julie Ellis, one of the original Leadership Vestavia Hills members who helped found Help the Hills.

In 2012, Ellis and three others were tasked with evaluating drug and alcohol abuse in Vestavia, a vague assignment she said she had no idea would turn into a full-blown community coalition just a few years down the road.

Findings by the 2012 group were used in 2014 when Help the Hills was officially formed, operating primarily as an effort to host speakers and forums to discuss substance abuse in the city.

At the same time, the school system was forming the Drug Awareness Team (DAT) to help educate students about the dangers of drug and alcohol abuse. All the while, the Vestavia Hills Police Department was working with the FBI and the city’s recently formed narcotics unit to address the growing problem of drug dealers and suppliers in the area. And despite efforts by all parties, St. John told the crowd that drug overdose deaths and hospitalizations have skyrocketed over the last few years.

Ellis said they realized that all groups were trying to address the problem, but doing so without communicating among themselves.

It was then, she said, that they decided to take Help the Hills to the next level and form the Help the Hills Coalition.

The coalition, which was first introduced in the summer of 2016 and has been working in the months since to solidify bylaws and committees, is a combination of Help the Hills and DAT, with the addition of parent and community components.

“It’s bringing these different community pieces together and making them all more aware of what they have to offer,” Ellis said.

The coalition now has four committees: Peer, Parent/Family, School and Community, each with a dedicated team and specific goal.

The school committee, working with the board of education and school officials, will focus on drug and alcohol education, as well as life skills classes that promote healthy behaviors. Schools will also continue to offer voluntary drug testing, which allows parents to sign their child up for random drug tests and “provides an out” for them if they are offered drugs by other students, Ellis said.

Superintendent Sheila Phillips said the schools will focus on supporting students and offering resources.

“We look forward to serving alongside the other community stakeholders in the coalition as a more active partner,” Phillips said.

The parent and family committee is designed to not only provide opportunities for families to connect and share in being proactive against substance abuse, but will also serve as a go-to for parents seeking help with issues as they arise.

Ellis said that having those resources and educating parents that it can happen to them — no matter how well-behaved their children are -— is one of the key steps to prevention.

“No one is immune,” she said. “No one.”

The peer committee will also work on promoting healthy life skills. The student portion of the committee will be made of 34 Vestavia Hills High School students who will go through a rigorous application and interview process. Those students will be responsible for the “TEAM” program, standing for train, educate, advocate and mentor. Students will work within their own peer groups as well as mentor younger students about the social implications of using drugs.

The largest committee, which many presenters at the town hall meeting argued is the most important, is the community committee.

“We’re going to win this back house by house and block by block,” said State Rep. Jack Williams at the town hall.

Much of the initial push in the community committee will be to get faith organizations across the city involved.

Wade Griffith, pastor at Liberty Crossings United Methodist Church, said it astounds him that churches aren’t on the “front lines” of the fight against drugs.

“Faith communities mobilize people,” he said. 

“The churches who are so vocal on many issues, in a positive manner, have been almost entirely silent on this issue. It’s not preached on, it’s not taught on, nor do churches lead community-wide efforts to bring awareness to the problem,” Griffith added.

Griffith urged those at the town hall to confront their faith leaders about making drug and alcohol abuse a “Sunday morning issue.”

“It can’t just be more of the same,” he said.

In the coming months, Ellis said the coalition hopes to help community groups host awareness events and educational talks.

On April 6, the schools will be hosting a prescription drug take-back night from 4 to 7 p.m. at VHHS during the boys soccer and baseball games.

The effort is designed to help households eliminate the temptation of prescription pain medicines, which St. John said cause the majority of transitions into heroin and other narcotic addictions.

Those who bring drugs to be disposed of by the police will receive free admission to the Rebels’ baseball game against Tuscaloosa County and the Rebels’ soccer match against Albertville.

Community members can also get involved as volunteers, by signing up for the newsletter or by simply talking about the coalition with friends and neighbors.

For more information, as well as links to past Help the Hills events, a recording of the town hall and outside resources, visit helpthehills.org.