Kenny Utter has been around a saw or two in his life.

“Tools I've been around all my life," Utter said. "My dad is a mechanic, a car mechanic.”

Kenny is on the path to recovery, after dealing with heroin addiction. He says working with tools was something that takes him back to his younger days, doing carpentry odd jobs.

“When I veered away from home from an early age, I learned all the tools of the trade, like carpentry and stuff like that from friends of mine that were in the trade," he said. "And then, as the saying goes, the more time you got under the tool, the better you are. And so every job that I usually get involves some kind of carpentry or something like that.”

Now, Samadhi Recovery Community Outreach Center is helping others find joy through woodworking.

Marc Trautrimas is a vocational teacher, an architect by trade who teaches workshops like these. Folks in Samadhi who are in recovery can learn some of the basics of woodworking and get paid a little bit while they do it.

Trautrimas says they’re currently working on making about 150 meditation benches for a nearby monastery.

“Some people in this program haven't worked in a while," he said. "And as they get back to it, I think they really enjoy being part of a group. I think naturally in life we want to be part of a team and a group. And this is this is what that's like.”

Kenny says it has been a while since he’s last worked, so getting this experience, he notes, is life changing. He knows it means his recovery is on the right path.

“It makes me feel like I can actually be a citizen again," he said. "I can be trusted again.”