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In rehab programs, making guitars helps them kick addictions into recovery

HINDMAN, Kentucky — Hindman, Kentucky, an outpost of the Appalachian Mountains, has a way of pushing the expectations of heartache.

Nathan Smith’s drug addiction took 20 years of his life. Pain medication began his spiral after a work accident, followed by crystal methamphetamine.

“You can go anywhere and find what you’re looking for,” Smith told CBS News.

According to the latest projected numbers from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there will be more than 109,000 drug overdose deaths in the US in 2022. More than two-thirds of these, more than 75,000, were caused by Synthetic opioidsCDC found.

“I knew that if something didn’t happen, I was either going to end up in prison, or I was going to die,” Smith said.

Hindman and its population of about 700 are located in an area known as Troublesome Creek in Knott County, one of the poorest counties in the country, where the overdose rate is nearly three times the national average, according to the Appalachian School of Luthier.

“It’s a crisis here,” said Doug Nesselrode, who runs the Knott County Rehabilitation Program for former drug users.

The program has about a dozen employees, all recovering addicts. Nesselrode takes in addicts and teaches them woodworking, especially how to build and break down guitars.

“The nature of guitar making, it’s a long curve,” Naselroad said. “Satisfaction is not instant.”

“(It’s) the opposite of drugs,” he added. “You have to commit a lot of labor-intensive hours to make a guitar.”

Since 2012, more than 200 recovering addicts have come through the program. They have produced hundreds of string instruments sold in music stores across the country. The program has a success rate of 71%.

“You know, a 71% success rate is also a 29% failure rate,” says Nesselrode. “Not everyone can be successful. Some people can’t be free.”

Smith rebuilt his life here and has been clean for the past five years.

“Everyone deserves a second chance,” Smith said. “And those of us who got a second chance turned our lives around.”

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Mark Strassman

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