Staff photo.
Superintendent Sheila Phillips, Vestavia Hills Police Lt. Johnny Evans and Judge Shanta Owens at a Help the Hills forum in 2015. Phillips and Owens will be returning to a similar event this month.
Substance abuse is something that can plague any community, regardless of identifying factors. Several Vestavia groups know this and have been making a point to reach out to the community and encourage open communications between peers, relatives and friends.
This summer, the Vestavia Hills City Schools Drug Awareness Team merged with the Leadership Vestavia Hills initiative Help the Hills to form a stronger coalition against substance abuse in the community under the Help the Hills name. A “community drug prevention coalition,” the organization works to combine public resources and empower kids to make health decisions in choosing a drug-free lifestyle.
To encourage involvement and increase awareness about how to prevent substance abuse, Help the Hills will be hosting the forum “A Conversation on Youth Substance Abuse,” on Oct. 25 at City Hall at 6 p.m.
The forum, which encourages an open dialogue, will have a panel of local community leaders including: Dr. Sheila Phillips, superintendent of Vestavia Hills City Schools; Lieutenant Brian Gilham of the Vestavia Police Department; and Judge Shanta Owens, district judge of the 10th Judicial Circuit of Alabama.
With these public figures, Help the Hills is hoping to address the truth and any questions about drug and alcohol use in Vestavia.
“Vestavia Hills is a wonderful community. It has absolutely wonderful attributes that you can go on and on about, but nevertheless, every community has drug abuse going on,” said Gilham. “Anything that gives parents info, anything that spreads information or educates folks to current dangers, it’s critical.”
Children and teenagers can be influenced by their surroundings and as they mature through school, they are often given greater responsibilities and independence.
“Our students by a wide margin make excellent decisions within their health and priorities,” said Whit McGhee of Vestavia City Schools. “We want to support our youth in their decision-making as they try to navigate through a culture that places lots of pressures and temptations on young people.”
This three-paneled forum aims to inform the community about different substance abuse policies, procedures and the risks that accompany substance abuse and addiction.
“Love is blind — you don’t want to believe your child is involved,” said Gilham. “[Drug abuse] can absolutely destroy a family and it can absolutely have a negative impact on the community.”
With a drug-free school policy in the district, Help the Hills wants to bring about more understanding of addictive substances, the policies that accompany them, and how the community can work together against substance abuse.
“We want to ensure that we are doing all we can as a community to create awareness of addictive substances and work together to grow a healthy culture among our youth,” said McGhee. “We think this [merged coalition] will have a positive effect on communications throughout the community.”
