AMNA NAWAZ: In Eastern Kentucky, the heritage# of folk and traditional music from instruments## like guitars, mandolins and# dulcimers is deeply seated.

Senior arts correspondent Jeffrey Brown# reports on an effort to capitalize on this## rich culture while offering some residents# a fresh start in the process.

It's part of## our ongoing coverage of the intersection of# health and arts, part of our Canvas series.

JEREMY HANEY, Troublesome Creek Stringed# Instrument Co.

: When I first started,## I had never really worked with# any kind o.. JEFFREY BROWN: Jeremy Haney# handmakes mandolins for the## Troublesome Creek Stringed Instrument Company.

JEREMY HANEY: It's been a learning experience.# It's been a challenge, big learning curve for me## as far as,like, paying attention to detail# and have my eyes open to what to look for.

JEFFREY BROWN: He's proud of his craftsmanship# making instruments that will retail for about## $2,000.

But even more so, he says,# the work has given him purpose.

JEREMY HANEY: I destroyed myself with drugs# and alcohol and just wrong decisions.

And the## work that I found gave me something to plug# my mind and to keep my hands busy.

I love it.

JEFFREY BROWN: Nearly every one of the more than## dozen workers at Troublesome Creek# is in recovery from substance abuse.

DOUG NASELROAD, Director, Troublesome Creek# Stringed Instrument Co.

: That's really pretty.

JEFFREY BROWN: Doug Naselroad heads# Troublesome Creek.

A m.. or stringed instrument maker, himself, he# came to Hindman here in the mountains of## Eastern Kentucky to teach the craft about# 14 years ago and found people struggling.

DOUG NASELROAD: We began to realize that# there was more dire need in the community,## because of the opioid epidemic and the damage# that it had compounded with the downturn of coal.

JEFFREY BROWN: So you came# to fill one need, in a sense.

DOUG NASELROAD: Yes.

JEFFREY BROWN: And.. DOUG NASELROAD: Yes.

There was a larger# purpose that came with the people in addiction.

JEFFREY BROWN: In partnership with a local# rehab center, the county's drug court and## the nearby Appalachian Artisan Center, Naselroad# co-founded a program called Culture of Recovery,## providing workshops for blacksmithing,# ceramics, and lutherie to those in recovery.

DOUG NASELROAD: String instrument# making involves a long curve of delayed## gratification.

You have a labor-intensive# activity.

The rewards are not immediate.## You really have to come back day after day# and week after week to get to that result.

If you engage in that and do so consistently,## it is our experience that people can really dig# out of addiction when they find another focus.

JEFFREY BROWN: In 2019, he started Troublesome# Creek as a nonprofit, hiring those like Haney## who had taken to the craft.

The company is# named for the creek that runs through Hindman,## which in the summer of 2022 lived up to its# name, flooding quickly as part of an historic## disaster that killed 45 people in the larger# region, including 22 here in Knott County.

Downtown Hindman was underwater, and the# building that housed Troublesome Creek's## factory was inundated, destroying instruments and# hundreds of thousands of dollars of equipment.

DOUG NASELROAD: It broke everyone's heart.

My# boys were just like, Doug, did we just get fired?

JEFFREY BROWN: They thought they had# lost the work, the jobs, everything.

DOUG NASELROAD: The work, the job, their dream,## their home in this place.

And almost instantly# I realized I had to gather them up and say,## all right, boys, get your work# boots on, we're going to dig out.

JEFFREY BROWN: For half-a-year,## the luthiers of Troublesome Creek beca.. DOUG NASELROAD: We cleaned up# and salvaged everything we could,## and the rest has been replaced by# donations and grants and just hard work.

JEREMY HANEY: This whole# neighborhood was underwater.

JEFFREY BROWN: Jeremy Haney took us to the# apartment he had just moved into when the flood## hit down the road from the workshop.

Everything# in his ground floor apartment was destroyed.

JEREMY HANEY: I thought it was a total# loss.

I didn't think I would ever## get to go back to work building mandolins there.# And it was a bad feeling too because I thought## I was going to have to go back home to where I# grew up at, and that wasn't the option for me.

JEFFREY BROWN: The 1930s era building# the Troublesome Creek is housed in was## owned by a community college.

And# once reconstruction was completed,## it was donated to the instrument making nonprofit,# including a community space for performances.

DOUG NASELROAD: Good evening, everyone, and# welcome to the Knott Downtown Radio Hour.

JEFFREY BROWN: We saw the first# post-flood performance there of## an occasional livestream musical# review featuring local artists.

(MUSIC) JEFFREY BROWN: And even a few songs# by employees of Troublesome Creek.

(MUSIC) JEFFREY BROWN: Brian Owens is one# of the newest employees coming to## the work after more than two decades of addiction.

BRIAN OWENS, Troublesome Creek# Stringed Instrument Co.

: Opioids,## methamphetamine, heroin, fentanyl,# I have.. rehab that got me into this place on a# overdose, prison, back, prison again.

JEFFREY BROWN: After landing in rehab,## he pushed hard to start learning# guitar making at Troublesome Creek.

BRIAN OWENS: I thought maybe I could get# my foot in the door a little bit because## I knew what I was doing.

So I talked# a lot of big stuff to get in here.

JEFFREY BROWN: But you knew something.

I# mean, you knew it could really help you.

BRIAN OWENS: Yes.

Yes, I have never done# anything that I have woke up and said, wow,## I get to go to work.

You can't keep a job in# addiction.

You get a job, but you can't keep a## job.

This is the longest I have ever kept a job# in my life and I have had this job a year.

And## that's pretty pathetic, but it's just# the case now.

Yes, I love this place.

JEFFREY BROWN: Are there failures along the way?# I mean, are there people you have seen relapse?

DOUG NASELROAD: Yes.

Yes.

JEFFREY BROWN: Y.. DOUG NASELROAD: .. JEFFREY BROWN: But for those that can stick,## Naselroad says there is real# transformation on the other side.

DOUG NASELROAD: I judge success in the# lives of these people.

I would like to## see us become a major economic engine# in a tiny little town.

And we're well## on our way to that.

But there's# different ways to measure profit.

JEFFREY BROWN: For the "PBS News Hour,"# I'm Jeffrey Brown in Hindman, Kentucky.