1 month ago
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Homelessness has been a growing concern in the city of Birmingham for quite some time. A partnership was announced back in September with Urban Alchemy to address the need.The California-based organization has hired members for its HEART (homelessness emergency assistance response team) group that is currently training to hit the streets of Birmingham.The team consists of 20 people."Training all of our teammates on trauma-informed process, de-escalation, sexual harassment, and basically what our policies are about and how we operate as an organization," said Artie Gilbert, director of operations.Gilbert's personal life journey is one that Urban Alchemy's guests can relate to. He spent 26 years in prison. "It's most definitely a way of paying back and giving back to the community and society in which I once took from," he said.Stephanie Hicks is a new trainee of the HEART team who has previous experience in a closely related field. She believes those who are homeless shouldn't be invisible to the community because of their circumstance. She loves this kind of work, mainly because she, too, has a personal journey that involved prison. However, the things she's had to endure have not held her back. "My compassion is not tied to my paycheck, my compassion is tied to my experience," Hicks said.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. —
Homelessness has been a growing concern in the city of Birmingham for quite some time. A partnership was announced back in September with Urban Alchemy to address the need.
The California-based organization has hired members for its HEART (homelessness emergency assistance response team) group that is currently training to hit the streets of Birmingham.
The team consists of 20 people.
"Training all of our teammates on trauma-informed process, de-escalation, sexual harassment, and basically what our policies are about and how we operate as an organization," said Artie Gilbert, director of operations.
Gilbert's personal life journey is one that Urban Alchemy's guests can relate to. He spent 26 years in prison.
"It's most definitely a way of paying back and giving back to the community and society in which I once took from," he said.
Stephanie Hicks is a new trainee of the HEART team who has previous experience in a closely related field. She believes those who are homeless shouldn't be invisible to the community because of their circumstance.
She loves this kind of work, mainly because she, too, has a personal journey that involved prison. However, the things she's had to endure have not held her back.
"My compassion is not tied to my paycheck, my compassion is tied to my experience," Hicks said.
English (US)