03/23/2024
As founder and executive director of Youth Towers in Birmingham, Alice Westery works with homeless youth by helping them find affordable housing or avoid losing the housing they already have.
She also provides resources and agencies that can address their various needs such as securing clothing, life and employment skills, credit counseling, tutoring, a job, etc. Some clients have experienced s*xual abuse, violence, a lack of family support, etc. Some are runaways. Most have been in the foster care system.
They know Westery cares about them, which is why they often contact her.
"What drives me is if a baby tells me, ‘If I don’t have anywhere to lay my head tonight, then I gotta do what I gotta do.’ So that means that they have to do whatever it is, whether it’s human trafficking, s*x trafficking, breaking the law or stealing ... in order to be able to survive. I cannot sit by and let that happen," she said.
"Even if I cannot house a young person during the day, I can just give her some hope," she said. "This is what I tell her: ‘Come back tomorrow. But while you are out there, if you don’t show back up, someone cares about you, and they will come looking for you.’"
Westery started Youth Towers in 2007 after having worked for years as a licensed social worker. She noticed that when young people aged out of the foster care system, they may not have a place to go.
Upon leaving foster care, some young people called Westery, asking her for phone numbers to homeless shelters.
She works with ages 18 to 26. Most young people call her Mama Westery. But the “real cool kids,” as she calls them, refer to her as "The Plug."
"‘The Plug’ means if there is a connection to something, you are ‘The One’" she said."They had to tell me what that meant. They said, ‘You are the source. You are the one we can go to and make sure we get connected to get the help that we need.’"
Outside of Youth Towers, Westery volunteers with several groups, including the Community Affairs Committee; serving as vice president of the Jefferson County Family Resource Center; and serving as vice president of the Pratt City Business Association.
She is a Birmingham native and lives in the Huntington Hills neighborhood.
"I want to live where the need is," she said. "I love Birmingham, and I love my neighborhood. I appreciate that we start at home to make home better."
For more information, visit www.youthtowers.org.
