Substance abuse, of both alcohol and prescription drugs, is one of the most critical public health and safety issues facing Kentucky. Liberty Place Recovery Center for Women is a 108 bed long-term residential substance abuse recovery program which provides support and hope for women recovering from drug and alcohol addiction. 

The Madison County Cooperative Extension Agent for Horticulture worked with Liberty Place residents to create a healing garden at the residential site with funding from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP-Ed). The purpose of the healing garden was to learn new skills, divert thoughts of substance use, and grow food that can be used at the facility and increase the consumption of vegetables.

This is the third year the Horticulture Agent has worked with the center. The prior two years the gardening project started in May and lasted until October. This year, the project started two months earlier to allow for growth of an early spring garden.

The center identified over twenty women who were interested in gardening. The Agent taught a beginning gardening class to these women in March. The group then planted vegetables in raised beds. Of the twenty from the garden class, twelve were assigned to maintain the garden. Other residents in the facility were allowed to visit the garden.

A Madison County Master Gardener visited the garden weekly to provide continued hands on education throughout the growing season. 

The Madison County Cooperative Extension SNAP-Ed assistant conducted programs on food safety and preparation, food resource management, and nutrition during the growing season. Produce from the garden allowed the residents to have a salad bar for lunch and add fresh vegetables to the meal at dinner.

According to the Intake Coordinator, “Maintaining the garden provided structure for the clients and reinforced responsibility. Liberty's clients have come from environments where they have not learned basic life skills and the garden project increased their self-esteem and self-worth by showing they could successfully accomplish something they have never done before.” 

Liberty Place is visited often by people from other areas of Kentucky and other states to learn more about how the facility operates. The garden area is included in this tour as it has been shown to be beneficial to the healing process.