"Be Here Now"

For young people in recovery, music can act as a bridge to sobriety and provide an outlet for healthy recreation. Recently on a visit to Old Friends Guitar Shop in Wentzville, MO, a young man in our Troy Day Treatment Program was given the opportunity to play the guitar of his dreams. As he began to strum the perfectly tuned antique, acoustic twelve string, a familiar light of self assured contentment settled in. With teens struggling from substance abuse, one of the biggest enemies to sobriety is the foe of being discontent. But at this moment, the young man you see in the photo was anything but bored. He was in the moment entirely. Not in the past, not in the future, but fully in the present. The virtue of living in the moment was no better expressed than by Grammy award winning artist Ray LaMontagne, in his song, "Be Here Now":




"Don't let your mind get weary and confused
  
  Your will be still, don't try
  Don't let your heart get heavy child

   Inside you there's a strength that lies...."


When redirecting our minds through awareness, uncertainties become irrelevant and strength is found. Allowing the mind to rest reaffirms the sense of control, autonomy, and escape that so many teens end up struggling to achieve through high risk behaviors. Such is the plight of substance abuse in adolescence. But the great gift of music not only provides a life skill that teaches discipline and commitment. But it's also a place where the mind can be free to "Be Here Now".

Written by: Michelle Boonaerts 

The Healing Garden

Making the Community a Little Brighter  

Community Garden

Recovery is a process. Changes are being made from the inside out. There are many challenges along the way: addressing relationships, finding jobs, learning social skills, and returning to plans for education and future planning. But there are also challenges for learning how to take care of basic essential needs.
Hygiene. Healthy Eating. Exercise. Spirituality and Mental Healthcare.




This summer, clients in our adult program in Kirksville were able to learn new ways to fill these needs by having something external to care for, a community garden.

Clients were able to add a few personal touches from scrap materials

After seeking donations from several organizations in the area, we were finding quite a challenge to start a garden with such minimal resources, and no one willing to help donate to the cause! However, that did not stop us! Our ART-C coordinators and staff put our brains together to plan out a garden area that would be large enough to grow both annual and perennial plants, as well as display inspirational artwork by our clients. We sketched out, brainstormed, researched and reached out to experts who were able to help us with soil terracing and eventually our garden was built and ready to plant!

Our clients were able to learn about inexpensive plants they can cultivate to help with ailments such as sour stomachs and various aches and pains, and grew herbs to help alleviate these symptoms. They also learned how to make herb infused waters which they loved!

In the years to come, we hope to expand the garden, adding new things and hopefully more self-sustaining plants which will flower and produce year after year.

This project is a reminder that we are never done growing, and that we need to continue to nurture and care for ourselves in order to recover.