Volume 4 | Issue 12 | April 2017
PLAYING hardball
Mary Norwood prepares a bed for a Family Promise guest. Photo by Emily Featherston.
Being born without a full left arm hasn’t stopped Josh Stevens from becoming a top Rebels pitcher
Area churches help homeless through Family Promise program
T
By KYLE PARMLEY here’s nothing Josh Stevens can’t do. Throughout the Vestavia High School senior’s baseball career, he has played first base, outfield and is now primarily a pitcher. As a pitcher, his fastball has risen in velocity from the 80-82 mph range early in his high school days, to now one coming across in the mid- to upper-80s. He has an above-average curveball and spent much of the past offseason working on his changeup, one that he began to feel more comfortable with as the 2017 season began. Stevens entered his senior season with a great opportunity. After pitching just a handful of innings in 2016, his first season with the varsity squad, coaches and players alike were expecting him to be one of the Rebels’ main cogs this spring. “I knew the whole offseason I needed to come in here and get to work every day,” Stevens said prior to the season. “I
By EMILY FEATHERSTON There are more than three dozen shelters and organizations in the greater Birmingham area aimed at housing and aiding the local homeless population. But only a handful of them are able to keep families together. Many are only able to take certain demographics or aren’t designed for family units in crisis. Family Promise, however, is designed exactly for that. Every night, in Birmingham as well as around the country, families with nowhere else to turn are welcomed into churches and synagogues for a hot meal and a safe place to stay together. The national organization has its roots in New Jersey. It began in the 1980s when founder Karen Olson realized families in her community were facing homelessness. In Birmingham, the organization came out of the Birmingham Hospitality Network, founded in 1998. Many of those who founded the organization were members of the Genesis Class at
Pre-Sort Standard U.S. Postage PAID Tupelo, MS Permit #54
See FAMILY PROMISE | page A21
The fact that Stevens was born without a full left arm is secondary in his quest to become one of the Rebels’ top pitchers in 2017. Before the season began, Vestavia head coach Jamie Harris put it best: “Josh is just Josh.” Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
INSIDE
Sponsors .............. A4 City ........................ A6
See STEVENS | page A22
Business .............. A12 Chamber.............A20
Sports ................... C4 Events ................... C9
Community ......... C15 Real Estate.......... C17
Calendar .............. C18 facebook.com/vestaviavoice
Spring Home Guide
Find tips and tricks for your spring home projects from area businesses in our Spring Home Guide.
See page B1
Girl-Powered The all-girl Pizitz Middle School robotics team is traveling to VEX Worlds.
See page C1