Baton Rouge, La – The Southern University Agricultural Research and Extension Center’s SNAP-Ed Growing Healthy Gardening Program collaborated with the O’Brien House in implementing several on-campus gardens for clients to tend to and enjoy.
O’Brien House is a halfway house established in 1971 in Baton Rouge for adults recovering alcoholics and drug addicts. According to the website, O’Brien House’s goals include helping recovering alcoholics and drug addicts develop and/or restore strength, hope, and stability to their lives so that they become healthy, productive citizens. O’Brien House offers a 3 months comprehensive, multi-phase residential program based upon the American Society of Addictive Medicines (ASAM) Levels of Care criteria. This program utilizes cognitive-behavioral, rational emotive, and motivational enhancement therapies.
The SUAREC SNAP-Ed team is directed by Joshua McDonald and consists of Nutrition Educators, Educator Assistants, and state office staff that provide nutrition programming and resources to 13 parishes throughout the State of Louisiana. The Growing Healthy Program is the garden initiative of the SUAREC SNAP-Ed Program. Run by Stephanie Elwood, Growing Healthy has implemented nearly 80 gardens statewide. Gardens are implemented to complement fitting sites where Nutrition Education is being taught. This spring, O’Brien House became one of these sites.
Clinical Director for the O’Brien House, Karla Alexander, believes the act of gardening gives the clients a productive activity to focus on that can help with the recovery process. Alexander states, “The garden will help the clients with having something to focus on and something to care for outside of themselves.” According to Ashlyn Harrison, Mental Health Specialist for SUAREC, “Gardening can not only increase mental capacity but also support the recovery process.”
Elwood explains that the garden build day went so smoothly at O’Brien House because each of the 12 participants had prior gardening experience, be it gardening with a grandmother, daughter, or other family member or even owning their own landscaping business in a ‘past lifetime’. With the additional assistance of Michael ‘Terra’ Polite and Extension office staff, three raised beds were implemented on the campus; each planted with vegetables and herbs. Four large ornamental pots were planted as well with beautiful flowers for residents to enjoy as well as pollinators. Elwood states, “Gardening has saved my life and I teach it with a passion to others, in case it may save their life as well.
