Longleaf Recovery & Wellness

05/29/2026

We asked Madison Griggs with Lawley Counseling, LLC what one small win deserves a big celebration. Her answer: admitting you can’t do it alone and asking for help. It sounds small. It isn’t. For a lot of people, that sentence is the hardest one they’ll say all year, and it’s almost always the one that changes everything that comes after it.

New question, new professional, every week.

05/28/2026

“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” - Audrey Hepburn

We thought it might be time for an update from the Longleaf Baldwin garden! What started with a few client’s hands in the soil has become something bigger. As clients graduate the program, they pass the care of this garden to the next person stepping in. The watering, the weeding, the showing up. It keeps going. That is recovery. We carry the growth that was given to us, and we hand it forward.

05/22/2026

05/21/2026

We asked Lonnie Layton what one underrated wellness habit he’d put on people’s radar. His answer: dying to self. Getting out of his own head, off his own problems, and into making a difference in someone else’s life. He says that’s when he’s healthiest, spiritually, physically, and emotionally. Lonnie Layton with Recover Now is the second of eight Birmingham-area providers we filmed at the Second Annual Jefferson County Mental Health Fair, hosted at Longleaf. New question, new professional, every week.

LongleafRecovery

05/18/2026

Mark your calendar. The Jefferson County Mental Health Collaboration is back on June 30 from 1:00 to 2:30 PM at 2441 International Park Drive, Birmingham.

Quick note: there is no May meeting due to the holiday week. We’ll see everyone again in June.

This is an afternoon of collaboration with mental health resources and professionals from Jefferson and surrounding counties. Hosted alongside Mountain View Hospital and Alliance Health Center.

Questions? Reach out to Lakebra Walker-Harper (205) 203-5189, Jennifer Gentry (256) 294-3371, or Brittany Williams (502) 529-7000.

05/14/2026

Something special is taking root in Baldwin County…check it out!

05/14/2026

Meghan McKenzie wants to retire one misconception: that asking for help means you’re broken. Her reframe is kintsugi, the Japanese practice of repairing broken pottery with gold. The cracks are traced, not hidden. The piece ends up more beautiful than the original, and stronger where it broke. Meghan McKenzie, Therapist and Co-Owner of McKenzie Strategies, is the first of many Birmingham-area providers we chatted with at the Second Annual Jefferson County Mental Health Fair, hosted at Longleaf. New question, new professional, every week.

05/13/2026

Spent the morning for the second annual Mental Health Fair. What an amazing collective of mental health professionals!

05/11/2026

See you there?

05/07/2026

"Caring for the people who spend their lives caring for others is part of our mission at Longleaf, and it is a privilege to be able to show up for nurses and other healthcare providers in the community the way they show up for everyone else when we need it most." Dr. Timothy Carpenter, Medical Director

This Nurses Week, we are celebrating Patti Painter in Huntsville, Paul Ernst in Birmingham, and Erika Bruce in Baldwin. The skill, steadiness, and genuine compassion they bring to our patients every day make our work possible, and the care they give well beyond any job description does not go unnoticed.

To our team, and to every nurse caring for the mental health and wellness of others, thank you. We are grateful for you.