ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — By all accounts, Jace Waters had a bright future ahead of him.
An honor student and a standout pitcher on the Robertsdale High School baseball team, he received both …
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ROBERTSDALE, Alabama — By all accounts, Jace Waters had a bright future ahead of him.
An honor student and a standout pitcher on the Robertsdale High School baseball team, he received both academic and athletic scholarships to attend the University of West Alabama.
In what should have been a minor setback, he hurt his back just before the start of his senior season.
“He was prescribed physical therapy and Lortab,” said his mother, Julie Waters.
Despite that, he would go on to finish his senior season and was looking forward to playing college ball at UWA.
After enrolling at UWA however, things began to spiral out of control.
“We received a call from the university,” Julie Waters said. He had become addicted to the prescribed drugs and was missing classes and practice.
“So we brought him home and put him in a rehab program,” she said.
After finishing the program, Jace seemed to be doing great for a while, even going back to school at the University of South Alabama.
But it wouldn’t last long, his mother said. He was soon spiraling back out of control, and the next 12 years would become a rollercoaster ride of addiction, followed by recovery programs, some voluntary, some court-ordered after run-ins with the law.
During that time, Waters said, her son expressed a desire to help those who were like him.
“He said that he knew so many people who had the desire to get their lives back on track,” she said, “but didn’t have the knowledge or the resources to make it happen. Our family owns several rental houses in the area and he said that he knew enough people in his same situation to keep all of those rental houses full.”
One of the biggest needs Waters said her son saw was transitional housing, a place that recovering addicts could go to learn to break their habits of addiction and be productive members of society.
“There are a few places around for women, but there’s really nothing available for men,” she said. “He wanted to do something to provide transitional housing for those recovering from addiction.”
But tragically it was not something that Jace Waters would live to see come to fruition. In 2016, he was living and working in Arizona when the family got the call that he had died of a heroin overdose.
“This wasn’t how his story was supposed to end,” Julie Waters said. “He was supposed to live ‘happily ever after’ and help others overcome addiction like he had.”
After going through the grieving process and a lot of soul searching, Julie Waters, who recently retired from Robertsdale Elementary School, came to a realization.
“I came to the realization that I would have to be the one to take up his cause,” she said. “I would have to be the one to make sure his dream became a reality.”
So in 2017, Waters, with the help of her husband Jim and their son, Jacob, established the Jace Waters Foundation for Transitional Living in Alabama.
“The mission of the Foundation is to provide a sober environment for residential living for those who have completed a recovery program to practice life skills for successful transition back into society,” Julie Waters said.
The statistics for opioid additional in Alabama and across the United States are alarming, prompting the Baldwin County Commission, in conjunction with the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office and Baldwin County District Attorney’s office, to recently file a lawsuit against the industry.
According to statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2016, there were 42,249 deaths related to opioid addiction in the United States, a 500 percent increase from opioid-related deaths in 1999.
Alabama has the highest rate of prescribed opioids in the country, according to CDC statistics. Baldwin County’s rates are at or near the state average, Waters said.
“With the opioid epidemic reaching new heights, there are not enough facilities available to help those seeking recovery,” Waters said. “Transitional homes are a positive way to meet the challenge of transitioning from the structural environment of rehabilitation back to being independent, productive citizens.”
Too often those who complete a 30 to 90-day recovery program return home to face the same struggles and pressures that enabled their addition with a relapse rate of about 50 percent, she said.
“A transitional house is less structured than an inpatient recovery facility, but provides a sound environment for living, working and accountability,” Waters said. “The Foundation is committed to helping those in recovery get a new start on life.”
The ultimate goal of the Foundation, Waters said, is to build, purchase or lease a house and property for transitional living in Baldwin County. The Foundation is also working to provide scholarships into transitional living homes and to raise awareness of the importance of transitional living in our communities.
“Our desire is to prevent the constant back and forth of recovering addicts in treatment programs because many have nowhere to go once their recovery program is complete,” she said. “We must step up and provide them with the housing and skills to prevent relapse and encourage long term recovery.”
On Feb. 10, the Foundation will hold its first fundraiser, the Hub City Classic 5K/10K and 1-mile fun run/walk with start times beginning at 8 a.m. at Garrett Park in Robertsdale.
You can register by mail or online at productionsbylittleredhen.com through Feb. 8. Pre-registration for all three events costs $20 for those 14 and under, $25 for those 15 and older.
Race day registration and packet pickup will be held from 7 to 7:45 a.m. at a cost of $25 for those 14 and under, $30 for those 15 and older.
Sponsorships are also available ranging from a $100 “Friend” sponsorship to a $2,000 “Platinum” level sponsorship.
The Jace Waters Foundation for Transitional Living is an approved IRS 501 ( c )(3) charitable organization and additional tax deductible donations are welcome.
For more information on the Foundation visit jacwatersfoundation.org. You can also contact Julie Waters at 251-550-5031 (juliew50@ymail.com) or race coordinator Janie Mothershed at 251-404-4980.
