Photo courtesy of the Vestavia Hills Police Department.
Members of the community and Vestavia Hills Police Department have stepped up to help Officer David Johnson after his family lost their home in a Jan. 23 fire.
Residents of Vestavia Hills and members of the Vestavia Hills Police Department have stepped up in the past few months to help an officer who lost his home and all of his belongings in a fire earlier this year.
On Jan. 23, Officer David Johnson lost his home in a fire. Thankfully, no one was injured in the blaze. Since that time, the Vestavia Hills Police Foundation, which was set up to help officers in times of need like this, said police Capt. Shane Ware.
“I’m just glad, thankful we have that support,” Ware said.
It’s “very reassuring” for officers to know that help is there, Ware said.
Tom Hale, president of the foundation, said money raised by the foundation goes toward non-budgeted police items and is readily available in times of crisis like the one Johnson and his family have encountered.
Hale said police Lt. Joel Gaston called him after the department heard about the fire to let him know what had happened. The foundation stepped in to raise money and give it to the Johnson family, Hale said.
As of Feb. 28, the foundation had raised a little more than $48,000 for the Johnson family.
“You could not detect a single person doing it for the publicity,” Hale said.
The money comes as the family tries to regroup, Ware said. It took them until March 1 to get into a temporary home while they work to rebuild the one that burned down.
“This has been an unbelievable process for him and his family,” Ware said.
The money will help with both immediate and longer-term needs, Ware said. Those needs have been everything from toiletries to clothing and more. Until they got into temporary housing, the family might not have had a home cooked meal, Ware said. Johnson told Ware that for his wife to be able to cook breakfast again was a “reminder of normal” during a difficult time.
Johnson was able to use his accrued time off to deal with the challenges of losing a home, but has since returned to work, Ware said. Work also provides a sense of normalcy, Ware said. The next steps for him and his family are to get into long-term housing while they rebuild.
Johnson has been with the Vestavia Hills Police Department for about 20 years and serves as an officer in the patrol division, Ware said.
Hale said there are controls in place at the foundation to give the family the money as they need it and help them get what they need to get through this time. Seeing people give money to an officer in need is a positive sign, Hale said.
“It’s a reaffirmation that there is still a whole host of good people,” Hale said. “It’s incredibly humbling to know they’re out there.”
Hale said seeing the outpouring of support for Johnson makes him “proud to be in a place like Vestavia.”
For those looking to help the Johnson family, there are two ways to get involved. To give to the Vestavia Hills Police Foundation, visit vestaviahillspolicefoundation.com and click the “donate” button. To give directly to the Police Department, stop by department headquarters at City Hall or mail a check to Gaston with a note to give the money to Johnson.
