Soul of Athens is an annual multimedia project produced by graduate and undergraduate students in the School of Visual Communication at Ohio University. This year's project features four teams creating individual interactive documentaries. Find out how one man's struggles lead to compassion for others. A couple's journey and perseverance to cut into the business of home brewing. A mother who opens her home and heart to help children. And a look at the state of mental health treatment through one of the town's oldest institutions. The student teams come together in one semester to tell these stories, collaborating with journalists, photographers, web developers, editors, and designers.

RENEWAL

Recovering from drug addiction, 34-year-old Calvin Kirby from Gallipolis, Ohio needed a place to call home. Frustrated with the life on the streets, he and his wife found an empty plot of land that was owned by the city and built a community.

HOW TO BREW A FAMILY

The story of a family of three that has bonded tightly together over the passion of brewing beer. The Warrens are learning the challenges of running a small brewery business while brewing a family of their own.

SEARCHING FOR SERENITY

D.J. Fuller is a mother of seven adopted children. Classified as “trauma” kids, they were born from substance abuse parents and broken homes. This story explores why she took them and how they changed her life.

TO SUCH A PLACE

The Athens Lunatic Asylum impacted the town's economy and politics since it opened in 1874. The existence of the facility is a microcosm of how this country has viewed and approached the treatment of mental illness.