Former Alabama football player speaks at Drug-Free Coalition meeting

The Shelby County Drug-Free Coalition welcomed former Alabama football player and current director of Bryant Bank Bobby Humphrey to speak at its July 16 meeting.

After finishing his football career, Humphrey pursued a degree in social work and worked an internship in family court. At the time, he said his name still resonated with the kids he worked with, allowing him to make a difference.

“That was one of the highlights – it wasn’t football, it wasn’t coaching, it wasn’t one of the other things I did,” he said. “It was the opportunity of being an influence.”

Helping out kids is an important job, Humphrey said, because there are so many other influences in their lives. Even though he knew he could reach out to the families he worked with, they were also listening to their peers.

“We only have a short period of time with them, so we have to work extremely hard because there’s another influencer when they walk out the door,” Humphrey said. “I want you to encourage you – there’s a fight and there’s a serious fight, and I agree it’s getting worse, but the worse it gets, the more we have to fight.”

The influence made possible by the coalition, Humphrey said, helps lay the foundation in the lives of students. Many members probably do not realize how much of a change they make, he said.

“I encourage you – reflect back and think about all the young men, women, families you’ve helped,” he said. “And you start adding them up, I guarantee you, you will say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know that. I did not know I actually achieved that much.’”

Following Humphrey’s speech, Shelby County District Judge Jim Kramer said early conversations make a difference, even if children do not immediately take your advice.

“When you speak with kids, when you deal with kids, they do listen. They may not do what you tell them to at the time, but they do listen. And it may be something that clicks somewhere down the road.”

The coalition also welcomed Angela Camp and Bethany Roden Earnest from Bradford Health Services, who discussed their options for in-patient and outpatient services for adolescents with addiction problems.

Justin Foster, a 27-year old Auburn graduate, also finished up the meeting with a song he wrote that shows the influence drugs and alcohol can have.

“I wrote this when I was living in Auburn, and it’s a story about a girl that goes to school and becomes a stranger to her family, to the people that love her, and I think that’s one thing no one really touched on,” Foster said, “the drugs in colleges are a problem, they’re almost endorsed.”