Words by Anna Lee Vaughn | Image by Al Blanton
The Walker County Commission has awarded Aletheia House a $250,000 grant to establish a new substance abuse treatment facility for women in the area.
Aletheia House, a United Way agency based in Birmingham, has been providing substance abuse treatment for over 50 years.
In 2022, the Alabama Department of Mental Health selected Aletheia House for an operational grant to fund a 16-bed treatment facility in their chosen location. However, Aletheia House’s Board of Directors was tasked with raising funds for its construction.
Alethia House Executive Director Chris Retan and his team identified Walker County as one of the regions most impacted by substance abuse, noting it as a high-need area for intervention.
“We truly felt that Walker County was the area in which we could do the most good, and we want to make sure that folks in Walker County and the surrounding areas are served,” says Retan.
As a government-funded organization, Aletheia House does not require patients to provide insurance or payment for treatment.
The funding for Walker County’s facility comes from opioid settlement funds acquired by the Alabama Attorney General, who sued companies involved in distributing OxyContin and fentanyl throughout the state. These funds have since been allocated to local governments to combat rising drug issues.
Aletheia House is preparing to begin construction soon on the residential treatment facility for women, located on a 23-acre site along Highway 69.
While the commission’s generous grant moves the project closer to fruition, additional funding is still needed. Once secured, the organization plans to select a contractor, initiate construction, and put the funds to work.
Retan shares, “I’ve been with this organization for forty-five years. The worst part of my job has always been when someone calls seeking treatment for themselves or a loved one, wanting to begin treatment right away, and they can’t because there is a waiting list. Then those people go back to using drugs, get arrested, or pass away. So, the most exciting thing to us is providing a facility and reducing that waiting list. We want to be able to help people right when they need it.”
Steve Miller, the Walker County Commission Chairman, expressed his enthusiasm for the facility. “The other commissioners and I went out and looked at the property, and we’ve met and discussed it several times amongst ourselves and with Paul Kennedy of the Walker Area Community Foundation. We truly believe this is a project that would benefit the county tremendously. We’re thankful we have the funds available to give to Aletheia House for this project.” WL