Today’s guest columnist is Ken Grodner.
Last month I got a call from a friend inviting me to visit a facility I knew nothing about.
What I witnessed is truly a miracle.
The facility was founded by a Birmingham woman whom I’m convinced is an angel.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have an opportunity to meet “Miss Brenda.” She passed away in December.
Accused of a crime she didn’t commit and on the verge of losing everything, she founded the Lovelady Center, the largest faith-based recovery center of women and children in the nation.
Brenda faced the terrifying prospect of prison
In 2004, Brenda Lovelady Spahn opened her front door—not just to guests, but to possibility, to redemption, and to the idea that no one is beyond hope. Seven women from Alabama’s Julia Tutwiler Prison, stepped inside her home that day, not as prisoners, but as women in desperate need of a second chance.
Brenda never imagined she would understand what it felt like to lose everything. But when she found herself under investigation for a crime she didn’t commit, facing the terrifying prospect of prison, her life unraveled. Her business collapsed, her future darkened, and yet, in that rock-bottom moment, she discovered a new calling: fighting for women who had been failed—by the system, by their families, and sometimes by themselves.
Words from the Women of Lovelady
“I didn’t care if I lived or died.”
“They love you here.”
“I was hopeless, lost, and damaged inside.”
“I should be dead.”
As the need for her ministry grew, referrals poured in from the criminal justice system across Alabama. The number of women desperate for a fresh start soon outgrew Brenda’s home. That’s when she and her daughter, Melinda MeGahee, now the Executive Director of The Lovelady Center, began searching for a larger space.
When Brenda walked into the abandoned East End Memorial Hospital in East Lake, she felt it instantly. “When I crossed the threshold of the former East End Memorial Hospital in East Lake, I realized, ‘This is what You want, Lord,’” Brenda recounts. “I knew there was no way at that moment to calculate how many lives could change in a place that big.
Everyone thought I’d lost my mind, but God made it happen and we moved into the building in October of 2005.” The building has since become a sanctuary for thousands of women and their children.
The Lovelady Center isn’t just about shelter, meals, or clothing. It’s about breaking cycles—of addiction, poverty, and incarceration. It’s about equipping women with real skills, real faith, and real hope so they can rebuild their lives, provide for their families, and step into a future they never thought possible.
Brenda was passionate about making sure every woman had teeth
Many ladies come to the Lovelady Center with very unhealthy teeth\mouths. Their self-esteem is gone and with rotten teeth or no teeth, it is very hard to build that confidence back. Everything from eating to job interviews are affected by poor dental care.
Over the years it got way too expensive to provide teeth so a dental clinic was built to restore smiles. Last year the clinic provided 396 Dentures/Partials, restored 423 teeth, had over 1600 office visits, extracted 1604 teeth, and provided basic care to 156.
The largest long-term, faith-based recovery program in the nation
Today, The Lovelady Center is the largest long-term, faith-based recovery programs in the nation, serving women and children displaced by addiction, homelessness, incarceration, and domestic violence. Their comprehensive services provide not just recovery, but transformation.
The impact is undeniable. The Alabama Department of Corrections credits The Lovelady Center for lowering the state’s recidivism rate. It is also home to Alabama’s only State Supervised Re-entry Program, allowing certain prisoners to complete their sentences within the program instead of behind bars. By using the Department of Corrections’ own financial data, it’s clear: Lovelady has saved the state millions while saving countless lives.
Brenda’s journey began in desperation but became a story of divine redemption.
In her book, Miss Brenda and the Loveladies, Brenda writes… “People say I am such a wonderful person…but I am the lucky one. There is something so incredible about looking into the faces of women who are devoid of hope and watching their expressions change when they discover they have a future and its going to be great.”
To learn more about their mission, programs, and services, visit www.loveladycenter.org. They are proud members of the Citygate Network, the largest community of faith-based missions and ministries in North America.
Ken Grodner is the co-owner of the Hospitality Network Group at Keller Williams. He grew up in Mountain Brook and graduated Magna Cum Laud with a BS Degree in Accounting from the University of Alabama. After working in finance for many years around the country, he returned home to Birmingham with his wife, Vikki, to become a realtor.
David Sher is the founder and publisher of ComebackTown. He’s past Chairman of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce (BBA), Operation New Birmingham (REV Birmingham), and the City Action Partnership (CAP).
Click here to sign up for our newsletter.
Invite David to speak for free to your group about how we can have a more prosperous metro Birmingham. dsher@comebacktown.com
(Visited 174 times, 174 visits today)
