In 2011, Tim Cross started Expedited Transport Agency (ETA), a logistics company in Birmingham where the majority of employees are in recovery from alcohol or drugs. That’s by design, to provide a second chance—and support—for those in active recovery.
When Robyn Pierce Stringer, who is in recovery from drug addiction, had an upcoming court date that would decide if she’d regain custody of her children, she mentioned to her boss that she may need a character witness. Well aware of Stringer’s situation, her boss made an offer: He proposed shutting down the entire company for the day and having all 70-plus employees turn up at court as witnesses.
Cross, 54, is in recovery from alcohol addiction. As a young boy, he fled home with his mother after his father physically abused her. He says he turned to alcohol as a teen, suffering “drug and alcohol torture” for 20 years before getting sober and rejoining the workforce in the logistics industry. “Somebody gave me a second chance,” he says.
“It is kind of unorthodox,” Cross says. “We decided that the company was not going to be just about us. The company was going to be something that could serve other people.” ETA recruits from various sources, including word of mouth, social media, and job sites. It utilizes Jails to Jobs, a national nonprofit that assists previously incarcerated individuals in finding work , and the Second Chance Job Fair held annually in Jefferson County. ETA also recruits from sober living facilities and halfway houses.
ETA offers resources as well. Cross started a nonprofit under the company called Together We Serve, and sets aside funding that the employees, who make up the board, then decide how to distribute. Those funds support people financially in their recovery journey. Thanks to those funds and support, one employee, whose fiancé died from a fentanyl overdose, could begin to recover mentally and stay sober through her grieving process.
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