Recovery Without Shoes

Planting seeds of connection to body, mind, and spirit

March 26, 2026

We all know how recovery is portrayed in movies: people in a church basement, sitting in a circle, rooted to folding chairs under dim fluorescent lights.

But what if recovery also includes sunshine and movement—maybe a walk outside…to a garden, where getting your hands dirty becomes another path to healing and hope?

Recovery, of course, is serious work. Resident-guests at St. Anthony’s Father Alfred Center in San Francisco commit to a year-long program of abstinence and action that includes individual therapy, group counseling, medical treatment, and job training. But not all healing takes place indoors.

At St. Anthony’s, Dr. Diana Chen, an Addiction Medicine Specialist, and her colleagues are expanding what recovery can look like, offering guests new opportunities to find health and sobriety alongside traditional treatment. These group activities build on established clinical approaches through fresh avenues of connection, education, and community.

A lifelong gardener, Dr. Chen recognizes the therapeutic power of putting seeds in the soil. “Addiction isn’t just a medical issue,” she says. “Practices that support the mind-body connection and help guests feel more grounded and in the moment are a key component of emotional well-being.”

After reaching out to gardening groups across San Francisco, Dr. Chen connected with the stewards of Parklab, who manage a community garden within walking distance of St. Anthony’s main service center in the city’s Tenderloin. With funding from a generous donor to purchase basic tools, a new garden group took root.

Months later, the weekly walk to the south-of-Market garden has become just as meaningful as the planting, watering, and weeding itself. It’s a time for guests and staff to catch up, share successes and setbacks, and remind one another that no one does this difficult work alone.

“Some things thrive at the garden, some don’t make it—and together, we talk about it all,” says Dr. Chen. Many guests have little or no gardening experience, and she delights in watching how putting hands in the soil and witnessing growth can lift spirits and inspire a sense of peace and wonder.

For Myra Villas, a colleague who co-facilitates the garden group and mindfulness exercises, these moments are essential to holistic recovery. “Sitting outside in a circle, taking our shoes off to feel the earth, with the sun shining on everyone during meditation—I can feel the shift in their bodies as they relax and become calm,” she says. Just as important, she notes, is that these are practices guests can return to on their own, and that’s empowering.

Residents at the Father Alfred Center are also regulars at Book Club, a study group focused on reading material that builds coping skills and resilience. Titles like “The Body Keeps The Score” and “Let Them” highlight the impact of past trauma—often a root cause of addiction—and the wisdom of letting go.

Alongside the garden gatherings, a weekly meditation group offers respite from overwhelmed minds, teaching practices that help bring calm, clarity, and peace—techniques that guests can carry with them long after the group ends.

For Diane Ramos, R.N., the gardening, mindfulness group, and Book Club reflect St. Anthony’s commitment to holistic recovery, embodying values of healing, community, personalism, and gratitude. One guest told her that participating in these groups opened up new possibilities for healthy coping strategies. “It helped him realize there is more to the world—and that you can enjoy life without substances,” she recalls.

In the garden, guests become part of something living and communal, tending the same beds, walking the same path, and seeing their care reflected back in new growth. In Book Club, they encounter new ideas—language for resilience, reflection, and possibility—that can reframe how they understand themselves and their futures. And in mindfulness and shared recovery spaces, they experience the quiet power of meditation while being seen and supported by others on the same journey. Together, these moments build trust, belonging, and hope—powerful forces for change in lives often shaped by isolation and loneliness.

That isolation is well understood by Sr. Marilu Ibarra, who recognizes the deep feelings of exclusion that many guests carry as they navigate recovery. A former teacher in her native New Mexico, she has an instinct for offering the right support at the right time. Whether accompanying guests to Sunday Mass or facilitating quiet conversation after a guided meditation in the garden, she sees her role as helping bridge the gap between body, mind, and soul.

“We see ourselves divided—by culture, by language, by guilt or shame. But we don’t have to walk alone. We are all connected, and at St. Anthony’s, we teach, we learn, we have faith in each other and in action. Whether we’re exploring our past in a group or weeding and watering at the garden, this is spirituality with purpose.”

Learning to garden years ago from her father, today Dr. Chen finds meaning in sharing that experience with guests and staff alike. The transformation of a seed into a flourishing plant takes time, she notes, sustained by care, patience, consistency and community—much like recovery itself. Sometimes, it even happens without shoes.

Your support helps to create a future where everyone can flourish. Donate today at stanthony.org/give.