In our most recent Kentucky Extension Community Assessment for McCreary County, issues of high importance were identified as: 1.) availability of substance use prevention programs, 2.) availability of substance use treatment, 3.) better skills for selecting and preparing healthier foods, 4.) more training for food gardening skills, and 4.) more community gardens. Approximately 8% of the population 12 and older has a substance use disorder in any given year. Substance use disorders are more than twice as common in males than females. They often co-occur with mood, anxiety, and psychotic disorders. People with a mood or anxiety disorder are two times more likely to have a substance use disorder; one reason for this is that many people use alcohol or other drugs as self-medication for anxiety, depression, or psychosis. 

McCreary County men and/or their family and friends seeking inpatient substance use treatment now have the option to receive treatment locally at The Next Chapter, LLP (TNC) in Whitley City, which opened in July of 2022. The residential center’s initial capacity will serve 32 men for up to six months. In January of 2023, McCreary County Extension began making plans to establish a recovery garden at The Next Chapter LLP. An increasingly large body of research attests to the unique values of horticulture as a therapeutic modality for people with physical, mental, emotional, and social disabilities. Our project with these patients was intended to aid their recovery by promoting: 1.) physical health through purposeful exercise (level determined by ability), fresh air, learning about nutrition, practicing healthy eating, 2.) emotional health through stress reduction, connection to nature, creative expression, successful outcomes with plants, 3.) social health through social interaction, cooperative enterprise, community building, and 4.) learning new skills in horticulture and related fields to promote vocational and leisure opportunities. As patients re-enter society, they will be able to take these skills with them to aid their recovery. News and testimonies from this program will also bring awareness to the community about substance use prevention and recovery.

In February of 2023 we received a grant from Operation UNITE to aid in purchasing materials and tools to construct raised beds on the property. Under the instruction of county extension agents and McCreary County Master Gardener volunteers, patients constructed three 4x8 raised beds and filled them with soil and plant starts. Additionally, Tarter Farm & Ranch Equipment donated a stock tank to be used as a raised bed. A representative from Tarter visited the facility and taught the patients how to make a self-watering raised bed from the tank using PVC pipe. Through this program, they will learn how to grow and maintain a food garden, how to preserve food, and be introduced to nutritious recipes using fresh ingredients they grow themselves. Since the Recovery Garden program began, 30 patients have graduated and learned skills they can take with them after recovery and use for further healing.