POWERGRAMS

41 O ne of the loveliest parts of Alabama is the heavily wooded, rolling hills surrounding Rickwood Caverns, a popular state park just off Interstate 65, halfway between Birmingham and Cullman. Less than a mile from there, something equally lovely is happening, as women overcome addiction at the Alabama Adult and Teen Challenge Women's Training Center. The Alabama Business Charitable Trust — started 27 years ago by Alabama Power to help low-income Alabamians and nonprofits that serve them — has helped make the training center itself lovelier. "By helping to keep our energy costs down, Alabama Power has opened our doors to more ladies seeking help," said Rachel Ellis, program director of the center, which can accommodate up to 40 women. "Our ladies leave their families, jobs and lives to come live with us for a year and allow themselves the opportunity for freedom from life-controlling issues through Christian discipleship," Ellis said. Those issues include drugs, alcohol, eating disorders and depression. The ABC Trust provides help statewide in three areas: • Efficiency Forward grants for nonprofits, like Teen Challenge, in the health and human services sector. These are used for weatherization and installation of energy efficiency measures in facilities and buildings. • Home Forward grants for residential houses of economically distressed people struggling because of losing a job, having a disability or a personal crisis. • Emergency energy and cooling programs to help pay energy bills of low-income Alabamians when their funds fall short. In 2016, the ABC Trust provided Teen Challenge a $10,000 grant to make the main living quarters energy efficient with new windows and doors. Two years later, a $4,985 grant replaced hot water heaters with a heat pump to resolve a daily struggle maintaining a constant flow of hot water to showers. "Both of these efforts have lowered our power bills, and we are so very thankful for that," Ellis said. "Our center is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, and we make an effort to not allow money to be an issue for those wishing to enter our program." While the campus near Rickwood Caverns is exclusively for women, Teen Challenge has Alabama men's centers in Lincoln, Selma and Bay Minette. The overall ministry, with more than 200 centers across the United States, was started in 1958 by evangelist David Wilkerson, whose 1963 book "The Cross and the Switchblade" became a bestseller, and a popular movie in 1970. Since then, Teen Challenge has blossomed into an international faith-based drug rehabilitation program claiming one of the highest success rates in the world, with more than 1,100 centers around the globe. ABC Trust has provided more than $30 million since its inception in 1992 to help pay energy bills and provide home weatherization, energy efficiency measures and education to low- income families and nonprofits. This is done via partnerships with 22 community action and social services agencies and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. More information is at powerofgood.com/abc- trust. By Gilbert Nicholson ABC Trust grants improve recovery center for women COMMUNITY

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