Zepha Ferguson, an inmate at the Monroe County Jail, stands left of New Leaf - New Life volunteer Mary Goetze. Goetze teaches a songwriting workshop to Ferguson and a group of other women each Tuesday afternoon. Kat Carlton | Herald-Times
Twenty-six-year-old Bloomington native Zepha Ferguson says she's addicted to spice — an illegal synthetic marijuana substance frequently known as K2. It's part of the reason she's currently an inmate at the Monroe County Jail after landing in and out of trouble for several years.
"I’m not just an addict, though," she said, "I’m a person. I have my whole life ahead of me. ... I want to keep going forward."
Ferguson said writing music during a weekly class has given her hope for moving forward. She's one of about a dozen women who participate in "Songwriting Workshop," a class run by retired choral professor and New Leaf - New Life volunteer Mary Goetze. It takes place every Tuesday at 4 p.m., during the inmates' lockdown time.
"We listen to a song; we break it down, and we create our own songs," said Ferguson. "It's a lot of fun, and it’s just very inspiring that somebody would care so much just to share music with us.”
New Leaf - New Life, a nonprofit organization, runs various programs in the jail, including educational and drug and alcohol recovery courses. Goetze began the class with men in May 2015.
“I think the thing I enjoy the most is getting to know them as individuals and watching them open up in the class," Goetze said.
She's reached out to local musicians with the hope they'll produce more of the inmates' songs. During her first class, she helped a group of men record a rap they titled "Something's Going Down."
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