Longleaf to open new treatment center in Baldwin County

Longleaf Recovery & Wellness has announced that they will be opening a new facility on the Gulf Coast in Spanish Fort on July 11, the company’s fourth center.

Birmingham Recovery Center in Hoover was the flagship facility, but Longleaf also operates both Longleaf Recovery and Wellness (also in Hoover) as well as Longleaf Recovery Huntsville in Madison.

The fourth facility gives Longleaf a connection from one end of the state to the other.

“We want these facilities to address the lack of access and to provide quality treatment care for the people of Alabama,” said Thomas Harris, chairman of the board of Longleaf.

Harris cited the following statistics on the substance abuse epidemic and how it is impacting residents of Alabama:

• According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA),
  41 percent of Alabama adults sought medical treatment for a mental health issue between 2017-2019.
• In Alabama, 794,000 adults have a mental health condition – that’s more than three times the
  population of Birmingham, according to NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).
• Serious mental illness impacts some 214,000 Alabamians, according to NAMI.
• Almost 3 million people in Alabama live in an area where there are not enough mental health
  professionals (NAMI).
• According to the most recent data, 823 lives were lost to suicide in Alabama – with 165,000
  adults having suicidal thoughts within the last year (NAMI)
• In 2021, 43 percent of adults in Alabama reported symptoms associated with anxiety or
  depression (NAMI).

“There is such a need for more options for both substance use treatment in Alabama,” said Longleaf’s Chief Executive Officer Colin Harris. “Treatment options are typically hard to find or inaccessible to so many in our state – we wanted to change that and, by opening our center in Baldwin County – we are doing our best to make it better.”

There will be a ribbon cutting ceremony and an open house for the new center in Spanish Fort on July 11 at 9:30 A.M. CST.

Michael Brauner is a Senior Sports Analyst and Contributing Writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @MBraunerWNSP and hear him every weekday morning from 6 to 9 a.m. on “The Opening Kickoff” on WNSP-FM 105.5, available free online.