Author: Human Resources

Torch Technologies and Freedom Real Estate have made their philanthropic marks in North Alabama. WellStone is grateful to be among the organizations supported by these generous companies. 

In 2022, Starfish Holdings first donated to WellStone’s Be the Rock capital campaign on behalf of its subsidiaries, Freedom and Torch. The company’s first round of funding supported construction of WellStone Emergency Services (WES), North Alabama’s first 24/7 crisis care center for adults.  

“WellStone’s mission deeply resonated with us, and being involved in its early stages was both humbling and inspiring,” said company founder Bill Roark. “We recognized the critical need for accessible mental health services and the potential impact WellStone could have in filling that need in our area. Our role in helping WellStone get off the ground affirmed our commitment to improving access to care and reducing stigma surrounding mental illness and addiction.”  

WellStone was honored to recognize the initial gift with naming opportunities at WES. The Consult Room for Torch, and the Medical Room, for Freedom.  

Roark and other corporate representatives recently visited WES. They toured the facility, learned more about the center’s important services, and saw the rooms that bear their names. 

“Torch and Freedom are incredible neighbors,” said WellStone CEO Jeremy Blair, referencing the companies’ proximity to our main campus. “Mr. Roark and his team contribute so much to North Alabama and are making a huge difference for adults and children experiencing mental health and substance use crises.” 

Parent company Starfish made another substantial gift to the second phase of the Be the Rock campaign in 2023. This gift supports our critically needed children’s addition. When the pediatric crisis center is completed later this year, a Torch sign will hang over the Multipurpose Room.  

“Our commitment to WellStone’s adult center and the subsequent addition of a pediatric wing reflects our belief in comprehensive mental health care for individuals of all ages,” added Roark. “Seeing WellStone flourish validates the importance of our continued support and motivates us to continue advocating for these resources in our community.” 

If you’d like to join Roark and others in supporting WellStone, please click here.

WellStone’s work in mental health, substance abuse, and crisis care takes purpose, passion, and partnerships. It also takes the support of generous donors like the Torch and Freedom families. We are grateful for their role in strengthening WellStone, and helping us create a strong foundation of compassion, connection, and community for adults—and soon, children—in mental health crisis. 

WellStone is grateful for your support, regardless of donation size or type. Here are four ways to make a gift to WellStone. Each contribution makes a difference. Give a gift to support life-changing and lifesaving mental healthcare and substance abuse treatment services. Mental illness and substance use disorders affect all of us, either directly or indirectly.

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Lane Wilson’s compassion for individuals suffering from mental illness and substance use disorders runs deep. After all, he watched his late wife, Julie, battle addiction and depression for years, crushing her once joyful and effervescent spirit, and breaking his heart. 

“We saw this beautiful, energetic, caretaking mother become a person that lived in desperation,” Lane said. 

On January 31, 2020, his wife of 23 years and the mother of their four precious daughters, died of an accidental overdose. She became addicted to pain pills after several back surgeries. Her substance misuse later co-occurred with severe depression and anxiety. 

It took Lane time to reconcile the reality of his wife’s death, but in the fall of 2021, he came forth with his family’s truth. He wanted people to know that these conditions don’t care who you are or where you live. They don’t care about gender, race, ethnicity, or resources. They can strike anyone, forever extinguishing even the brightest lights, like Julie’s. 

“I thought that talking about our loss could help other families know that they aren’t alone,” Lane added. “And if we talk about these diseases, maybe we can get rid of the stigma that keeps so many people from getting the help they need.” 

Helping others didn’t stop with real and raw conversations. Lane was among the first to pledge a major gift to WellStone’s Be the Rock capital campaign, naming a Quiet Room in Julie’s memory. His gift, along with the tremendous support of others, supported the new WellStone Emergency Services, or WES, crisis care center.  

“We are proud and grateful that we’re able to support this project, and an organization that is so committed to helping people get better,” said Lane.  

If you’d like to join Lane and others in supporting WellStone, please click here.

Lane has since remarried. He and his wife, Cheri Butler Wilson, along with Lane’s daughters, all celebrate the room and Julie’s legacy, recognizing the lifesaving impact WES has on adults in our community. Lane has already pledged his commitment for WellStone’s expanded Be the Rock capital campaign, which will support the children’s crisis care addition currently under construction.  

Thank you, Lane Wilson and family, for turning your extraordinary pain into lifesaving purpose through WellStone.    

WellStone is grateful for your support, regardless of donation size or type. Here are four ways to make a gift to WellStone. Each contribution makes a difference. Give a gift to support life-changing and lifesaving mental healthcare and substance abuse treatment services. Mental illness and substance use disorders affect all of us, either directly or indirectly.

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Mark your calendars! WellStone’s quarterly book club meets again in January.

WellRead The Book Club uses highly rated books to launch real conversations about mental illness and addiction, exploring the powerful topics that shift, and sometimes shake, our lives. 

Join us for an evening of warmth, connection, and learning at the Southeast Huntsville YMCA on Tues., Jan. 23 from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. WellRead is a free event open to the community. However, registration is required, and capacity is limited.

Order your book now! In light of the recent passing of Friends actor and addiction recovery advocate Matthew Perry, we’ll be reading and discussing his memoir “Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing,” which has made multiple appearances on the Amazon bestsellers list. You can purchase it at The Snail on the Wall’s Holiday Bookstore at Constitution Hall Park, or order online here for local delivery. Beat the holiday shopping rush, and grab your copy today! Note: Reading the selected work beforehand is encouraged, but not required.

Our first WellRead event in September was a huge success, shaped by guided questions, honest reflections, and sincere connections between readers. View photos here.

WellRead The Book Club provides space for stigma-ending conversation around the topics that affect all of us, in one way or another. Together, we can turn a new page on mental illness and addiction in our community.

Register today—and start reading!

WellStone is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization and North Alabama’s mental healthcare leader, serving children, adolescents, and adults in Madison County, Cullman County, and surrounding communities.

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WellStone thanks Dr. Annie Saylor, SimTech CEO and WellStone Board Member, for contributing this piece. Saylor writes about her sister, her sister’s illness, and their special relationship. Nannie Saylor Adams was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 22. Despite several rough years early on, Nannie eventually got on the right treatment regimen. Saylor lost her sister just over two years ago. Nannie left behind two children, and five beautiful grandchildren. In memory of Nannie and with Saylor’s permission, we include her story here.

“When I was in fifth grade and my sister Nannie in third, my teacher decided to do a school play. In our two-room school of eight grades with roughly five students per grade, assembling a cast meant involving the entire school. We were excited because nothing like this had ever been done at our school.

The chosen play was from Lewis Carroll’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” and “Through the Looking-Glass”. With her blonde hair and small, thin body, Nannie was ideal to play the role ofAlice. My teacher chose her, and designated me to play the part of a flower — maybe a rose, I don’t remember. What I do remember is the jealousy I felt of Nannie’s starring role. I had a crush on my teacher; my hair was dark and my body chunky; and I was just entering puberty.

The play was a musical with a song about Alice; one that Tweedledee and Tweedledum sang; etc. The day of the event, the room was packed with parents and other relatives. The sliding partition between the two school rooms was raised in order to accommodate everyone. The scenery included a mock rabbit hole made of chairs lying on their sides and covered by cloth. Nannie was a star.

To this day, I remember snatches of the songs from this play. It was a significant event in our lives. On a recent trip to visit my parents and Nannie, we began reminiscing about it. I reminded Nannie of how jealous I had been; of how pretty she was and of her moment in the limelight. Together, we sang:

‘Alice in Wonderland
Dear Little Alice so True
Curious little girl all dressed in blue
With your tale of woe
And your adventures too
Alice in Wonderland,
We love you.’

We sang the other songs we remembered from the play. It was a special moment between sisters; with someone who shares my memories of childhood. We hugged and expressed our love for each other. Nannie’s eyes were bright and a smile was on her face as we remembered.

In her early twenties, my sister fell into a rabbit hole of sorts. Into an anti-Wonderland filled with paranoia, depression, obsession and compulsion. She has journeyed many years in this land and felt pain that I cannot begin to fathom. Long months in the state hospital, numerous appearances in court for re-hospitalizations, stabilization followed by relapse followed by stabilization. An endless cycle. The land she has traveled has been filled with caring people; rigid, inflexible people; and well-meaning people who did her harm because they didn’t comprehend. The illogic of the system has been at times as strange as the world Lewis Carroll created for Alice to explore. Sometimes it has seemed that Tweedledee and Tweedledum are in charge:

‘We’re Tweedledee
And Tweedledum
Bumpty-Boppity-Boo
We love each other
We love the world
And We know we’re
Going to like you.
All through the day
We laugh, we play
We’re happy, we never feel blue
We’re Tweedledee
And Tweedledu
Bumpty-Boppity-Boo!’

Now Nannie has reached a stability that seems less tenuous than those before. Finally, the right medication combination seems to have been found and the symptoms have lessened. She has been home for well over a year and is attending a community day program. Looking at her now, I see her beginning to recover. In my mind’s eye, she is the frail, pale Alice beginning to emerge from the rabbit hole. She blinks at the bright sunlight because her eyes grew accustomed to the dim light inside the hole. I want to protect her, yet at the same time, I realize that this is a crucial period in determining her future. Our parents are aging rapidly, and establishing a means for Nannie to stay out of the hospital with the community supports she needs is a priority.

Last week I sought out a copy of Lewis Carroll’s works at the big, new bookstore in my city. I have begun re-reading them to see what simple truths might be encapsulated within. Whether what I find provides guidance, merely another perspective on the ironies of life, or simply tweaks my memory on other portions of the play doesn’t really matter.

My sister and I will always share the memories of our childhood moments on stage. I can imagine us as elderly women someday sitting in our rockers on the front porch singing the silly songs from so long ago. Mental illness has not taken away this part of my sister. We have much to share and much to offer each other. I am glad that she is here.”

As we prepare for our third and final year of WellStone’s Be the Rock capital campaign, we continue recognizing major donors who have helped us approach $1.1 million in donations and pledges.  

We are grateful for everyone who has helped us build better mental healthcare for adults (and soon children), in crisis, including Dr. Annie Saylor.  The SimTech CEO made her generous gift in memory of her sister, Nannie Saylor Adams, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia at 22.  

“Due to my personal experience with my sister’s mental illness and my advocacy for people with mental illness, I view this as a very important part of our community’s responsibility to take care of those who are ill,” explained Saylor. 

We named one of two quiet rooms at WellStone Emergency Services (WES) in memory of Nannie. Clients can use the room to meet one-on-one with a therapist, read a book, or simply decompress. 

Saylor said she was happy to participate in the Be the Rock campaign, and fill gaps in crisis care.  But she also supports other WellStone programs. Saylor has provided holiday parties, décor, and toiletries for our group home clients, and her company is hosting a toy drive for WellStone’s Sensory Inclusive Santa event on December 16. Saylor realizes nonprofit mental health centers like WellStone need philanthropic support now more than ever. 

“We have a mental health crisis in this country because we continually fail to adequately fund providers and reward good programs,” said Saylor. “Mental illness affects one in four families; health insurance still does not cover adequately; and many with mental health issues do not have adequate incomes to pay for insurance or (mental health) care.” 

If you’d like to join Saylor and others in supporting WellStone, please click here.

Saylor lost her sister just over two years ago. Despite several rough years early on, Nannie eventually got on the right treatment regimen. She had two children, and five beautiful grandchildren.  

Some years ago, Saylor wrote a beautiful essay about her sister, her sister’s illness, and their special relationship. With Saylor’s permission, we include it here. 

WellStone is grateful for your support, regardless of donation size or type. Here are four ways to make a gift to WellStone. Each contribution makes a difference. Give a gift on Giving Tuesday to support life-changing and lifesaving mental healthcare and substance abuse treatment services. Mental illness and substance use disorders affect all of us, either directly or indirectly.

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Join Madison Behavior Therapy at WellStone and KultureCity at Sensory Inclusive Santa, an annual event for children with sensory sensitivities, on Saturday, Dec. 16 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Church of the Nativity. Enjoy this special day by appointment only. Registration is open here. Please note that this event is free, and slots fill up quickly.

Sensory Inclusive Santa provides a calm environment for children—and their families—to have that cherished one-on-one time with Santa. The children and their siblings receive gifts and enjoy treats in a warm, yet controlled holiday setting. This is an incredible opportunity for kids with sensory sensitivities that make experiencing Santa at crowded malls and other public venues extremely stressful. Big crowds, long lines, and even fluorescent lights can overwhelm these children.  

Not only will these kids have special moments with Santa, a professional photographer will be on-site to capture those memories forever. Participants receive rights to fully edited images, including family portraits.

Thanks to our incredible local sponsors and toy drives, WellStone staff and volunteers, location host Church of the Nativity, and KultureCity for making this one-of-a-kind experience possible for children in our community.

This event is open exclusively to children with sensory sensitivities and their families. There is no charge, but registration is required. Space is limited to the first 200 families.

Madison Behavior Therapy, formerly an independent clinic in Madison, has joined WellStone’s umbrella of services to expand its impact throughout North Alabama. Same great therapists, same quality care. Now part of North Alabama’s mental healthcare leader. MBT at WellStone provides specialized care to children with autism, ADHD and related mental health conditions.

In Madison County, Veterans make up nearly 12% of the population, and we are grateful for their service and sacrifice. As we celebrate #VeteransDay, we wanted to share three ways that North Alabama’s mental healthcare leader is serving this special community.

1. WellStone offers the Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) shot, a pilot program treatment designed to alleviate symptoms of PTSD, at no cost to North Alabama veterans.

Research shows that 30% of veterans experience symptoms of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, or PTSD, a mental health condition that can develop when a person has experienced or witnessed a scary, shocking, terrifying, or dangerous event (SAMHSA). WellStone now offers the SGB shot and other forms of treatment to Veterans experiencing symptoms of this condition. Learn more about available treatment options here.

2. WellStone is now a member of the VA Community Care Network, allowing Veterans to access care through WellStone using VA benefits.

Veterans can now receive referrals to WellStone for mental healthcare services not offered by their local VA. This means that individuals can receive the quality care that they need with the compassion and respect that they deserve – close to home.

3. WellStone employs a Veterans Care Coordinator to assist veterans in navigating treatment options and scheduling appointments.

Navigating the healthcare system can be overwhelming, and that can become a barrier to accessing timely and appropriate mental health care. WellStone’s Veterans Care Coordinator Kelli Glass serves to remove barriers for our community’s Veteran population. For Veterans looking to discuss treatment options, call WellStone’s Access-to-Care Line and ask to speak with Kelli Glass.

WellStone is grateful for all Veterans. We thank you for your service, and remain committed to your overall health and well-being.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, dial 988 and then press 1 to speak with a compassionate, caring individual from the Veterans Crisis Line.

At WellStone, we continue to be overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for our mission and those we serve.  We expanded our “Be the Rock” capital campaign late last year to include our 24/7 pediatric crisis care center, the first of its kind in Madison County. 

The Propst family was among the first to donate to the children’s addition. Emily Propst Reiney, along with brothers, Trey, Mike, and Bill, made a major gift through their family’s foundation.  

“Mental health is so important,” said Emily. “It affects every family, in one way or another. As a community, we need to be more compassionate, and raise awareness and eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health.  

The pediatric addition is under construction, adjacent to WellStone Emergency Services (WES) in southwest Huntsville. WES started serving adults in our community last fall and served 1,400 men and women in the first year. The new 24-bed, 12,000 sq. foot children’s facility is expected to be equally impactful. 

WellStone named the pediatric lobby, which is at the entrance of the main building, in the Propst family’s honor. 

“We are really grateful to the Propst family,” said Jeremy Blair, WellStone CEO. “They continue to make a positive impact in many areas across our community, just as their father had done. We’re thankful that they chose to support the new children’s center.” 

Every year, HEMSI transports more than 800 children and teens out of county, and out of state, for inpatient psychiatric care. Our country remains in a State of Emergency for Children’s Mental Health, and a center like this is long overdue in Huntsville. The pediatric wing is expected to open its doors next October. 

Thanks to the Propst Family Foundation and other donors, our kids in crisis will be able to receive the critical mental health care they need in Madison County, staying close to home—and their families—when it matters most.   

Visit us Friday, Nov. 10, for our Fall Hiring Event. We are hiring for LPNs, RNs, nurse practitioners, case managers, therapists, technicians, drivers, maintenance and more. Full-time, part-time and various shifts available. Entry-level and mid-level opportunities available.

We are North Alabama’s leading provider for mental healthcare and substance use treatment services.

Hiring managers will hold on-site interviews from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at 4040 Memorial Pkwy SW, Huntsville, AL 35802 in Suite E (Community Room). Potential candidates should bring a resume. Managers may extend immediate job offers, pending positive background check results.

Applicants can apply for desired positions online, beforehand or at the event. View opportunities here.  

Questions? Email Christi Smith, HR Representative, at christi.smith@wellstone.com.

WellStone is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Because of the commitment of our employees, donors and community leaders, WellStone served more than 11,000 individuals in the last fiscal year and delivered more than $3.15 million in uncompensated care.

Feeling stressed? Try implementing one or more of the strategies below, based on recommendations from the CDC for coping with stress.

1. Choose a 1-hour block today to unplug completely from watching, reading, or listening to news stories or viewing any kind of social media platform. Avoid all screens, including phones, tablets, computers and television. Shorten or lengthen the duration to fit your needs and repeat as often as needed.
2. Choose a 1-hour block this week to participate in any moderate intensity activity (e.g. brisk walking). And, when possible, aim for the weekly recommended physical activity level for your age group.
3. Choose a 1-hour block this month to talk with someone you trust about your concerns and how you are feeling. This could be a family member, friend, counselor, doctor, spiritual leader, or anyone else you trust. Shorten or lengthen the duration as you need, and, when possible, connect with others more often (as needed).

Do you feel like your stress has become too much to manage? If you or someone you know is in crisis now, call 988 to speak with a trained crisis counselor about what you are feeling. The 988 Lifeline is available 24/7 for mental health emergencies.

Are you experiencing constant stress? Chronic (i.e. ongoing) stress can lead to other mental and physical health issues. It’s important to incorporate daily, weekly, and monthly habits into your life to manage stress, for greater health and well-being. If you need help managing chronic stress, connect to a mental healthcare professional at WellStone.

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