Partners in Recovery to Sustainable Life
- FarmerKarl
- 3 days ago
- 4 min read
Partners in Growth: Farming for Recovery and Renewal (YouTube video 4:52)
Across the United States, addiction continues to devastate families and communities. One in four Americans over the age of 12 has a Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Alcohol alone affects nearly 10% of adults, and across all forms of addiction, SUD claims between 13 and 21 lives per 100,000 people every year. Even after successful treatment, the risk remains high—one study shows a 7% chance of death within a year after leaving a recovery program.
Behind these numbers are thousands of neighbors, loved ones, and community members whose lives are derailed—not because they don’t care, but because their addiction has taken hold and won’t let go. Recovery requires courage, commitment, and connection. And that is where Eden Streets is making a difference.
Farming That Relaunches Lives in Recovery
Recovery doesn’t end after detox, counseling, or even a 90-day residential stay. After the structure of treatment, many people face the hardest question of all:
Now what? How do I return to the world, find work, rebuild trust, and stand on my own again?
Eden Streets believes that farming can be a profound part of that answer.
Through Grow Ogden and partner farms such as Faircrest Farms, we provide a 4-month job training and reintegration program designed for individuals on their road to recovery. It is practical, disciplined, outdoors, grounded, and deeply human. Participants learn to work, show up on time, be part of a team, develop real employment habits—and rediscover purpose.
Working together, planting, harvesting, tending soil, and growing food is transformative. It is physical, calming, structured, and rewarding. As one client put it:
“After getting sober and being here (the farm), I find that I really enjoy it. It’s very calming, and I find that I can put my energy into something that is beneficial.” – Amy Espinoza, Eos Serenity Lodge
The Road to Recovery: From Treatment to Real-World Stability
Many Eden Streets participants come to us from partner recovery centers such as Eos Serenity Lodge and Weber Recovery Center. Their clients often start with incarceration, trauma, or hitting rock bottom—but also with the brave decision to fight for their lives.
Eos, for example, provides a structured path:
Phase 1 – Residential Treatment (90 days): Trauma healing, early sobriety, and clinical care.
Phase 2 – 120-Day Intensive Outpatient: Continued therapy, supported sober housing, and structured progression.
Sober Living and Alumni Community: Ongoing accountability, sisterhood, and support.
As Executive Director Hilary Rowberry shares:
“I’m incredibly excited about this partnership with Farmer Karl. It gives the girls another way to get back on their feet.”
Weber Recovery Center offers a similar continuum—detox, residential treatment, then step-down support while participants seek work. But finding employment after treatment can be incredibly difficult. Many have little recent work experience, criminal records, or court-mandated community service hours.
That’s where Grow Ogden comes in.
“The step-down program at Weber Recovery Center allows them to seek employment while they have safe housing, and that is where we come into play with Eden Streets and Grow Ogden… offering transitional employment while they are seeking something more stable.” – Patricia Cardwell, CEO, Weber Recovery Center
Work. Community. Hope.
Clients from both centers volunteer two hours a week at Grow Ogden or Faircrest Farms from March through November. They work side-by-side with supervisors, volunteers, and fellow clients, participating in planting, harvesting, composting, and field maintenance.
These hours count toward court-ordered service requirements—and more importantly, count toward rebuilding a life. For those who show commitment, attendance, teamwork, and growth, the next step opens:
A paid part-time job with Grow Ogden, 11 hours per week, $12 per hour for 16 weeks.
It’s transitional employment with dignity—a bridge between recovery and stable independence.
As one participant shared:
“I feel very blessed that I got the opportunity to meet these people. I’m going to get a job here when I get out of treatment in two weeks.” – Stacie Atmore, Eos Serenity Lodge
Another participant from Weber Recovery Center explains what was at stake:
“I came here because I needed help. I was an alcoholic. It was either come here and get the help I needed or end up dying. Since coming here, I feel it’s a whole new life…” – Cyrus Martinez
Today, Cyrus is employed part-time at Faircrest Farms, rebuilding his future one day at a time. He comes with his friend Gerald, another graduate who finds purpose in growing food and working outdoors.
A Partnership with Real Impact
In September, Eden Streets and Eos Serenity Lodge formalized their collaboration through a Memorandum of Understanding. Together, the programs commit to:
Offering structured outdoor experiences that support healing
Building supportive relationships with staff, peers, and the wider community
Giving clients meaningful work to fulfill community service hours
Preparing participants for the Grow Ogden job training program
Encouraging personal growth, confidence, and healthy habits
Teaching gardening, life skills, and job readiness
Sharing the produce grown
Opening pathways to paid transitional employment
It is more than a program. It is a lifeline.
Or in the words of Eos staff:
“Eos is not just a program; it is a life-changing journey.”
You Can Help Save a Life
The Spring session of Grow Ogden begins March 10th. Dozens of determined men and women in recovery are ready to work, show up, learn, grow, and reclaim their futures.
With support, the chances of long-term recovery rise dramatically.
You can be part of that story.
Your donation helps provide the farm, the training, the mentors, the seeds, the tools—and the chance for someone to relaunch their life.
Donate today.
Help another neighbor stand again.
Grow a Future: Relaunch a Life!
by Farmer Karl - November 2025
Organizations Supporting Recovery
USARA - Utah Substance Abuse Recovery Association
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