SHORT STORIES
SafeHouse executive director Kathy Wells to retire
THS students celebrate Josh Carden’s new home A little more than two years ago, Thompson High School students set a goal to raise $1,000 for fellow student Josh Carden, whose grandfather had died recently. Instead, they raised almost $13,000 in four days, and sparked a community-wide effort to assist Carden, who has cerebral palsy and uses a motorized wheelchair, and his grandmother by building them a new home. On April 25, the Alabaster community celebrated the completion of Carden’s home and honored the efforts made by the students and other community members during a presentation at THS. THS Principal Dr. Danny Steele told the students their actions served as a catalyst for the community. “Something took off that was known as the Josh Carden Project, that not just brought our entire student body together but the entire community of Alabaster,” he said. “It is a testament of what we can do
to make a difference, and that’s what it’s all about.” The Josh Carden Project organizer Jeff Brooks praised the students’ efforts. “Thompson, you decided to take a dark tragedy and turn it into something … brighter,” he said. The Josh Carden Project got its start when Carden’s grandfather, Tommy Pickett, was struck and killed by a car while helping him exit a school bus in December 2010. Following the tragedy, THS students set a fundraising goal to assist Carden and his grandmother, Louise Pickett. The effort soon spread to the Alabaster community. Volunteers originally planned to renovate Louise Pickett’s home, but instead they decided to build a new home better suited to Carden’s needs. Carden and Louise Pickett moved into their new home in the winter of 2012. — Katie McDowell
Kathy Wells is retiring as executive director of SafeHouse, a Shelby County organization that supports battered and abused women and children. “This work is my passion, my ministry, my mission,” said Wells, who has spent Wells 35 years working with and advocating for domestic violence victims. “I am only retiring, I am not walking away from the work. I will always keep my hand in and stay involved. I am simply walking away from a full-time job, seven days a week, 24 hours a day job.” Wells, herself a survivor of domestic violence, speaks passionately about the difficult, dangerous and emotional road that led her to her commitment to help battered women and children. “I experienced domestic violence when no one spoke about it, when there were no shelters,” she said. As to who will fill her position at SafeHouse, Wells said, “Nobody is irreplaceable. We have a great transition team, including both board and staff. The board is actively looking for a new director and I am very confident they will find someone.” — Linda Long
Locals awarded in annual Parade of Homes Several homes in Shelby County recently took home top honors in the Greater Birmingham Association of Home Builders’ 2013 Parade of Homes, which ran through April 28. For the past 57 years, the Association 8 | ShelbyLiving.com
of Home Builders has featured dozens of homes from across the Birmingham metropolitan area in the parade. After this year’s tour kicked off on April 20, a panel of Alabama home building professionals judged the homes
and named the top houses by city and square-footage. For more information, including a complete list of homes, visit Birminghambuilder.com. — Neal Wagner