By Erica Wright
The Birmingham Times
The Birmingham City Council on Tuesday approved a $400,000 federal grant to enhance treatment services for individuals enrolled in the municipal drug court.
The grant from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Association (SAMHSA) will serve about 150 people per year and focus on low-income or uninsured adults with a substance use disorder or co-occurring substance use and mental disorder.
The goal is for participants to decrease their use of drugs and alcohol and participants with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders to experience a decrease in behavioral health problems.
Alethia House, a community-based nonprofit organization will provide the treatment services. Practices for the program will include cognitive behavioral therapy; integrated services for individuals with co-occurring substance use and mental disorders; medication-assisted treatment; recovery support services; tobacco cessation services and services that meet the needs of returning veterans and their family members.
In other business, the council approved a resolution authorizing the Mayor to enter an agreement with WF Southtown Family, LP to allocate more than $900,000 of the city’s federal HOME Funds for redevelopment.
The funds will be used for the development of affordable housing in the Southtown Court public housing redevelopment project area.
Once the company submits the appropriate documents to the community development department, the city will enter an agreement with WF Southtown Family providing $960,000 of HOME funding that will be used as construction financing for the construction of affordable housing units, site work and infrastructure improvements. The loan will be secured by a construction mortgage company.
