We know art adds value to everything.  A wedding without music and a house without any paintings would both be sad.  We also know that expressing ourselves through art  helps add value to ourselves. 

Kentucky 4-H and Arts Extension partnered to present a 6 hour workshop on songwriting for 12 mothers in recovery.  A pre and post evaluation showed the following results. 

• 90% change in the parts of a song
• 100% change in identifying songwriting tips
• 300% change in writing a song
• 58% change in happiness and joy
• 50% change in ability to focus
• 90% change in confidence
• 90% in being comfortable expressing themselves through art
• 81% change in feeling comfortable sharing their story
• 66% change in identifying songwriting as a way to help with recovery
• 81% change in being motivated to use songwriting to improve myself

When asked what the most important thing you will take away from this workshop, one participant state she felt like she had accomplished something in her life for the first time and another said more self confidence. 

This was a pilot program that will be used with other at risk populations in the future.