- Main office: 205-605-1824
- Parent talk line: 205-605-1827
- Teen talk line: 205-605-1830
Drug abuse and addiction are increasingly serious problems among students and young adults in the United States today. This includes the misuse of both legal and illegal substances.
Beginning in 2016, leaders in Shelby County came together to find a unique, proactive approach to this problem and its often-deadly consequences. They created a program called Compact, which is managed by the Shelby County District Attorney, the Shelby County Manager and the Shelby County Sheriff.
Compact is designed to address the full spectrum of substance abuse through prevention, intervention and education, while also promoting mental wellness for young people.
The Compact program seeks to connect Shelby County families with the community resources and up-to-date information they need to help their teens adopt a happy, healthy, substance-free lifestyle without entering the juvenile justice system.
In addition to its efforts to educate parents and students, one of the most important things the Compact team does is to directly assist families who have children involved in substance misuse, experiencing a mental health challenge, or who are exhibiting high-risk behavior. With no cost to the families, they can utilize Compact as a resource and attend a family intervention meeting at the Compact office.
As parents talk to the Compact investigator, their child will meet in a separate room with a mental health counselor from Central Alabama Wellness and receive a mental wellness screening. After the child has met with the counselor, all parties meet together to discuss ways to navigate their situation.
Every Compact investigator is a parent or has worked with children in the capacity of being a School Resource Officer. The information and support received in these meetings has helped numerous families gain a better understanding of what their child is going through and provided them with community substance abuse and mental wellness resources that assist them in developing a plan of action.
Compact also partners with Vineyard Family Services to provide teens an opportunity to join Vineyard’s mentor program, which has been very helpful to many single-parent or grandparent caregiver households.
To view the aforementioned community resources, parents can visit compact2020.com. The website also provides families with information and tips regarding the prevention and treatment of substance misuse.
Some of the topics parents can explore at the website are signs and symptoms of substance misuse, drug slang code words, vaping facts, underage drinking, dangers of fentanyl, digital safety, and suicide prevention.
If parents need to talk to a Compact investigator, they can call the main office line at 205-605-1824 or the Parent Talk Line at 205-605-1827.
Teens can also talk to a Compact team member by calling the Teen Talk Line at 205-605-1830.
