By: Janae Pinson
Shelby County Schools
The Compact Team
Compact Resources
By: Janae Pinson
· Educational presentations for schools, communities, parents, professional groups, and organizations that include: Drug Trends, Social Media/Technology, Parental Education/Information, Life Skills Training, & Vaping.
· Interventions to address: substance use/abuse, certain behavioral issues, and other youth at-risk concerns.
· Working with School systems and administrators to address concerns impacting our youth.
· Mentoring youth within our schools and organizations.
· Developing and assisting communities with prevention teams to address specific issues and promote awareness in their areas.
· Participate in local community outreach events.
· Compact also conducts nicotine cessations classes for juveniles.
email: jpinson@shelbycompact.org
In addition, Compact has a working relationship with many civic, nonprofit, and religious organizations that serve the citizens of Shelby County. If you have concerns over a juvenile, reach out to us to see if we can find a resource to meet their needs.
Investigator Highlight
By: Lieutenant Shane Plyler
dETECTIVE ADAM SCHNIPER- PELHAM POLICE DEPARTMENT
Detective Schniper has been a law enforcement officer for over 25 years, and has been with Compact since its inception in 2016. He has over 20 years of experience with Pelham Police Department and 5 years of service with Birmingham Police Department. He is assigned to serve Pelham City Schools.
Detective Schniper holds many certifications to help serve the Shelby County community. Those certifications include Crisis / Hostage Negotiator, Certified School Resource Officer, Certified Addiction Recovery Coach and Certified Alabama Law Enforcement Peer Support Specialist. He is also a certified facilitator in Botvin Life Skills and INDEPTH/NOT Nicotine and Vape Dependence Cessation Program. Detective Schniper was recently certified as an instructor in Teen Mental Health First Aid, and is known in the law enforcement community as a specialist in gangs, teaching the content at law enforcement academies for new recruits. He was also recently nominated to serve on the Pelham City Schools Foundation.
Investigator Highlight cont...
By: Lieutenant Shane Plyler
“Detective Schniper works tirelessly with Compact on behalf of students and families within the Pelham community. Detective Schniper is also a critical resource for law enforcement in the State of Alabama as an instructor in APOST academies and continuing education courses for law enforcement. The Pelham Police Department and the Shelby County law enforcement community rely on Adam for his knowledge and experience in locating mental health resources for our citizens. It is also important to note that Detective Schniper brought home the 2023 championship trophy in the chili cookoff between the Pelham Police Department and the Pelham Fire Department!”
- Chief Brent Sugg Pelham Police Department
“Detective Schniper is an irreplaceable asset to the Compact team. His law enforcement and Compact experience make him a veteran officer in both areas. He is a wealth of knowledge in the topics of drug addiction, mental health, negotiations, and gang activity. His calming presence and steadfast demeanor is contagious to others, even in the most stressful situations. I have had the pleasure of working alongside Detective Schniper in the crisis negotiations world as well as currently in Compact. His talents and experience are invaluable to his peers, supervisors, and the educational community. His name is respected and renowned in the law enforcement community, and we are a better team because of his involvement at Compact.”
Lt. Shane Plyler Compact Executive Director
Community Team Meetings
By: Janae Pinson
“Hello Shelby County! In this section you will be made aware of the dates, times and location for future coalition meetings. Below are the current prevention teams and their meeting information. Please check our Facebook page for updates”
For Tomorrow Alabaster
3rd Tuesday @ 11 am @ Alabaster City Hall
Impact Helena email tnathan@specialkindofcaring.org for details
Tri-City
3rd Wednesday @ 11 am @ ZOOM Link
Chelsea 4th Wednesday @ 11:00 am
Chelsea Community Center
By: Investigator Jamelle Allen
Concealed in Plain Sight
"It is crucial for guardians, school administrators, and law enforcement officers to be aware of the various tactics abusive companies use to help youth conceal substances and paraphernalia. Stay vigilant and thoroughly check everything."
Shelby County Stats
By: Investigator Stetson Gray
SUICIDES AND DRUG OVER DOSES IN SHELBY COUNTY
“The data below obtained from the Shelby County Coroner’s Office is a representation of drug over doses and suicides in Shelby County between January 2021 and July of 2024. As you can see, over the course of the last 3 years there has been a marked increase in suicides. In 2021, there were 65 overdoses and 30 suicides. By December 2023, the gap between the two closed dramatically with 47 overdoses and 46 suicides for 2023. This year appears to be on a similar path as last year. Suicide and Addiction are major public health concerns and often times go hand in hand. Compact is here to help address both suicide and substance misuse. ”
Testimonials of Success
Camp Journey Parent Feedback
“Absolutely love camp journey. Wonderful experience and so thankful each of children have been able to be apart of it.”
“Everyone I encountered was kind and there for the kids. I can’t tell you enough how much I appreciate all of you. Programs like these that pour into our youth make a huge impact!”
“This is a great program for our community! Thank you for providing this opportunity for our students and families! It’s well thought out and executed with excellence.”
Testimonials of Success
Camp Journey Parent Feedback
“Having this opportunity to get to know these deputies in a smaller group setting, learning ALL that she did from them, and seeing their willingness to just ‘hang out’, have organic casual conversations with, and actually get in there and have fun WITH the kids really made an impression on her! My daughter struggles with anxiety (particularly with social anxiety and fear of being embarrassed in public), so a figure of authority to any degree stirs up at least some level of vulnerability and anxiety in her, but add a badge and a professional title like “Deputy” or “Officer” to that and she often “redlines.” When she told me she wanted to do Camp Journey I was surprised that she took the initiative to give �������������� that challenge. Because as her mom, I know her struggles with insecurities, and I see the effects they have on her sometimes, and I knew that spending these 5 days at a camp run by Sheriff’s Deputies was in fact nothing short of a personal challenge for my nervous girl.”
Testimonials of Success
Question: Did You Learn Anything New in Today's Intervention Meeting?
Answer: Yes -I was unaware of the resources that as parents we have for our children when dealing with the current epidemic of drugs and tobacco being pushed through the school.
Question: What Aspect of the Intervention Did You Benefit From the Most?
Answer: Finally having a game plan to tackle the issue with my teenager. Finally having someone to turn to is the most important thing. For so long I have hit brick walls and no hope in sight. -Parent
Drug Trends
By: Investigator Adam Schniper
After the pandemic, many experts were concerned there could be an uptick in drug use among teens and young adults due to the psychological effects of those years on our kids. The latest data, though, reflects that teen substance abuse is hovering at pre-pandemic levels.
Since the pandemic, communities and schools began increasing mental health, healthy living, and other harm reduction strategies to address teen mental health concerns. The fact that teen drug use has not increased may be a testament to these efforts. We are not any worse, which is good; but we also are not any better. We are still at a point where more teens are overdosing due to the contamination of fentanyl in the underworld drug supply. 14 to 18-year-olds had 5.2 per 100,000 overdose deaths in 2023. There are no concrete statistics of how many overdoses occurred where they survived.
Another trend, which is good and bad news combined, is that hard narcotic use has dropped in teens while cannabis and psychedelic use has risen upwards.
The messaging teens get from society concerning the use of cannabis products and psychedelics is one of normalcy. That same messaging that promotes the use of these drugs, omits the part about how it affects their mental health.
It fails to inform them that cannabis and psychedelics can exacerbate existing mental wellness challenges such as anxiety and depression. It also fails to inform them that suicidal ideation and suicide attempts can both increase due to the use of these substances. And although cannabis and psychedelics may not be considered “hard” drugs, someone using them repeatedly can still become physically or psychologically addicted to them.
Drug Trends
By: Investigator Adam Schniper
As for current drug trends, that have gotten no worse, but definitely no better, it is up to us parents and grandparents to have real conversations with our kids. We’ve been where they were at this age. We have to have real conversations to plant a seed in their mind and then cross our fingers and hope that what we said meant something.
We’ve got to cover how we all know people in our families and friend groups, where substance abuse destroyed them. We have to tell them about the ones that didn’t make it and yet the stories of those who did and are with us today. We have to cover how substance abuse can affect their lives physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. How it affects the lives of those that love them.
We have to open up about some of our struggles in life and how we handled them in a good way, or even in a bad way. We have to teach and be mindful not to preach. We have to listen without judgement if we truly want to know how they view this life topic and how they plan on dealing with a situation when it arises. I mentioned the efforts of communities and schools earlier in this article. I saved the best resource for our kids for last, which is you.
Legal Highlights
“Compact has frequent communication with the District Attorney’s Office and legislators in an effort to stay up to date with the laws and regulations that can have an effect on our youth.”
2024-2025 School Year
Fentanyl Education in Public Schools
By: Investigator Ash Lightner
“All public schools in Alabama must provide research-based instruction on Fentanyl and drug poisoning awareness to students in grades 6-12.”
Alabama House Bill 280, known as the Price Hornsby Act, amends Section 16-40A-3 of the Code of Alabama 1975, to enhance drug education programs in public schools, K-12, with a specific focus on fentanyl prevention and drug poisoning awareness. Starting with the 2024-2025 school year, all public schools in Alabama must provide researchbased instruction on these topics to students in grades six through twelve. This instruction is to be integrated into the existing drug and alcohol education and prevention programs. The bill specifies that the new instruction must include prevention of fentanyl abuse and addiction, awareness of local resources for help, and health education on substance use and abuse. It also allows for the instruction to be delivered by various entities or individuals selected by the local education agency, including institutions of higher education, libraries, community service organizations, religious organizations, local public health agencies, and organizations employing mental health professionals. The bill went into effective on June 1, 2024.
Compact in the Community
By: Janae Pinson
Student Highlights
By: Investigator Austin Brown
Advanced Placement (AP) exam scores are posted, and we are super proud of our students & teachers! We saw big gains across many subjects and are thrilled to announce that 76% of our students achieved a "passing" score of 3 or higher‼��
Helena Valedictorian (Tucker Bremer), Salutatorian (Andrew Griswold), Senior Class President (Madi Saville), & Senior Class Vice President (Presley Lively) are ready for graduation.
OMHS alum compete in the summer 2024 Toni & Nicole Payne as they compete representing Nigeria’s women’s soccer team
�� UCA Superior Award chosen by UCA Staff and given to the top team at camp! There were High School Varsity, JV and Junior High teams at camp and ChMS Cheer was chosen out of them all!
�� 1st in Camp Routine
�� 1st in Overall Sideline & Cheer
�� 2nd in Sideline
�� 2nd in Cheer
�� Gold Ribbon for Sideline & Cheer Evaluation
�� Gold Ribbon for Camp Routine Evaluation
Spirit Stick each day
Congratulations to all students on your achievements!
If you have a nomination for this
Student Highlights cont...
By: Investigator Austin Brown
Parents Corner
By: Investigator Ali Miller
Comparing Delta 9 THC to Delta 8 and Delta 10
THC infused products are easily accessed and come in countless forms of consumption. I am sure you have noticed their availability while standing at the check out counter in gas stations and have answered questions from your children about their appearance. You will see products labeled THC, Delta-8 and Delta 10 as well as “Shrooms” inside the edibles or vape products in particular. Studies have already shown how toxic and unsafe their contents are. THC is the psychoactive component of marijuana that when consumed, users report a feeling of being “high.” Over the years, chemists have found ways to alter THC into a lesser form that can be sold in local stores across the US. Buyers of these “synthetic cannabinoids” or THC products never know what effects the drugs will have on the body until consumed.
Delta-8 and Delta-10 are the less potent and legal versions of Delta-9, containing no more than .3% THC. Delta-9 has considerably more THC and is illegal to possess in the State of Alabama. What has come from the THC are various types of edibles such as drinks, chips, gummies, brownies and many more. Below is a chart comparing the various forms of THC to CBD.
Source: University of South Carolina: Cannabis-derived products like delta-8 THC and delta-10 THC have flooded the US market
Parents Corner
By: Investigator Ali Miller
Synthetic Cannabinoids- AKA: Spice and
Synthetic cannabinoids/synthetic marijuana first came to the United States in 2008. The drug was known as “Spice” and “K2.” The chemicals used to make synthetic marijuana were created for experimental purposes decades earlier. Synthetic cannabinoids (SC’s) containing products marketed for herbal incense were labeled “not for human consumption.” Later the product was smoked as an alternative to marijuana. Users smoked the SC’s in an attempt to avoid a positive drug screen and to experience a much more intense psychoactive effect than with marijuana. When the drug entered the market in 2008 for sale, it was quickly discovered that the effects on the human body became very real. Seizures, chest pain associated with cardiovascular toxicity, acute kidney injury, agitated delirium as well as a couple of cases of fatal psychosis after SC exposure. It was in 2012 when a law was passed banning the substances found in synthetic marijuana.
After the synthetic cannabinoids, the “synthetic mushrooms” or “shrooms” were introduced. Psychedelic shrooms are known as “magic mushrooms” as they contain a chemical called psilocybin. When ingested, the drug causes hallucinations, changes in mood and perception, euphoria, and altered mental status. Synthetic mushrooms have a compound that takes the place of psilocybin though it is made to produce the same effects as real psilocybin.
As a parent or guardian, please be aware of your child’s surroundings, who they are spending time with, and check their belongings frequently!
Compact Resource Spotlight
By: Detective Tommy Stewart
“The families and members of NAMI Shelby are here to help! They offer understanding to anyone concerned about mental illnesses and the treatment of mental illness. As a current board member for NAMI Shelby County, I can say without hesitation that this organization is committed to serving our communities. ”
NAMI Shelby serves residents across our counties with free mental health support, online groups, resources and education.
Goals:
Advocate at the county, state and national levels for non-discriminatory access to quality healthcare, housing , education and employment for people with mental illness.
Educate the public about mental illness.
Work to eliminate the stigma of mental illness.
Advocate for increased funding for research into the causes and treatment of mental illness.
Mission:
NAMI Shelby's mission is to provide support, education, and advocacy for persons with mental illnesses, their families, and others whose lives are affected by brain disorders.
Teen Talk Line 205-605-1830
Parent Talk Line 205-605-1827
Tip Line 205-670-6TIP
Community Resources
By: Investigator Adam Schniper
24- Hour Suicide and Crisis Lines
National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (English) Call or text 988
National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline (Spanish) Call 988 and press 2.
SafeHouse and SafeShelby: 205.669.7233- SafeHouse and Safe Shelby is Shelby County's domestic and/or sexual violence survivor’s crisis and talk line. Fellow survivors can assist with counseling support, legal guidance, and case management to help survivors create a new and better life. Visit the website for Safehouse and SafeShelby.
Non-Crisis Talk Lines
Birmingham Crisis Center UTALK Teen Text and Talk Line: 205.328.5465-This talk line connects teens to other young adults to discuss life problems. Visit the website for Birmingham Crisis Center.
Compact Teen Talk Line: 205.605.1830- Teens who may have concerns about a family member's, friend's, or their own substance abuse. Visit the website for Compact.
Compact Parent Talk Line: 205.605.1827 - Parents may call this line if they suspect their child is involved in high risk behavior and/or substance misuse.
General Assistance
Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama (HICA): 205.942.5505- HICA is a community development and advocacy organization that promotes economic equality, civic engagement, and social justice for Latino and immigrant families in Alabama. HICA offers crime victim services and advocacy, family services, student services, financial coaching, and legal information. Visit the website for the Hispanic Interest Coalition of Alabama.
Alabama Department of Human Resources Shelby County: 205.669.3000- DHR provides basic needs and food programs for families, care assistance for the elderly and disabled individuals, and job assistance and job training programs. Learn more about DHR services.
Community Resources cont...
By: Investigator Adam Schniper
Support For Families| Substance Abuse
Alanon and Alateen: 205.388.3765- Alanon and Alateen offer support groups for families and children of individuals with an alcohol use disorder. Visit the website for Alanon and Alateen
Addiction Prevention Coalition: (205) 972-8264- Provides resources, awareness, and education for families and individuals. Visit the Addiction Prevention Coalition website to learn more.
UAB Family Support Meetings: 205.975.8402- Offers a support group for families and loved ones of individuals suffering from substance use disorder. Meetings are Thursday evenings from 5:00 p.m.-6:30 p.m. Learn more about the UAB Family Support Meetings.
Bradford Health Services: 1.888.762.3740- Bradford Health Services Family Program is a free online resource to educate families on their loved ones’ substance use disorder. Visit the website to learn more about Bradford Health Services.
ROSS Recovery Organization of Support Specialists and Alabama Department of Mental Health 24-hour Helpline: 1.844.307.1760Call and discuss substance use disorder issues with a peer support specialist who is in recovery. The organization offers various support meetings that reflect all walks of life. Learn more about ROSS here.
Community Resources cont...
By: Investigator Adam Schniper
Mental Wellness Services
Central Alabama Wellness: 205.651.0077-Central Alabama Wellness provides an array of services for adults and children dealing with mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Visit the website for Central Alabama Wellness.
Children’s Psychiatric Intake Response Center: 205.638.7472-Located in Children’s Hospital, the PIRC assists families in finding the appropriate level of mental health care for a child or teen. Visit the website for Children's of Alabama.
National Alliance on Mental Illness Shelby County (NAMI)- NAMI Shelby serves Shelby County residents with free mental health support, resources, and education. Services are for individuals living with a mental illness and the families who love them. Learn more about NAMI here.
Family Connection: 205.663.6301- This organization strengthens families and communities by providing shelter, counseling, and safety for young people in crisis. Programs are available for school truancy, bullying, runaway, or homeless youth. Visit the website for Family Connection.
Vineyard Family Services: 205.317.9897- The mission of Vineyard Family Services of Central Alabama, Inc. (VFS) is to feed kids in need, promote responsible fatherhood, and help families in crisis. All our programs are designed to strengthen families and lower incidents of child abuse and neglect. Our many programs to the community create the resources to provide excellent support to our clients. Learn more about VFS.
It’s kind of a funny story....
By: Detective Jason Davis
A Man and His penguins
A man was driving down the road when a police officer stopped him. The officer looked in the back of the man's truck and said, "Why are these penguins in your truck?" The man replied, "These are my penguins. They belong to me." "You need to take them to the zoo," the policeman said. The next day, the officer saw the same guy driving down the road. He pulled him over again. He saw the penguins were still in the truck, but they were wearing sunglasses this time. "I thought I told you to take these penguins to the zoo!" the officer said. "I did," the man replied. "And today I'm taking them to the beach."
Got any dad jokes?
Officer: “Why did you park here?”
Me: “The sign says, ‘Fine for parking.'”
Referral Date:
Juvenile Substance/Intervention Program
Referral form
Student’s Name (required): Age:
School (required): Grade Level:
*Please see back section for assigned Compact Investigator*
Parent/Guardian Information
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Reason for Referral
□ Substance (i.e. drug, alcohol, etc.):
□ Behavioral (runaway, truancy, domestic, etc.):
□ Traumatic event:
□ Other “at-risk” concern:
Law Enforcement Report I/O or Case number (if available): *Email / Attach report copy if available*
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