General Proposal, Homeless Garden Project (Santa Cruz, CA)

GENERAL PROPOSAL

Context

Nearly 5,000 people in Santa Cruz County are homeless in a year.  Research indicates job loss as the number one reason given for homelessness. Regrettably, job skills alone cannot erase the barriers to employment that confront people who are homeless. Low self-esteem, untreated health issues, chemical dependency, domestic violence, and laws and ordinances that criminalize homelessness and undermine dignity present formidable obstacles to securing employment. Consequently, interventions that enable individuals to access treatment and allied rehabilitative services, to build healthy relationships in a safe environment, and to learn marketable job and life skills stand the best chance of successfully reintegrating homeless and formerly homeless individuals into productive, meaningful engagement in community life.

The need for programs serving the county’s homeless population has never been clearer. On March 30, 2010, Santa Cruz’ Project Homeless Connect, modeled after a San Francisco-based nonprofit, invited all people who are homeless or facing housing insecurity to receive a day of services under one roof. Nearly 1,200 people gathered to access preventative health screenings, receive phone cards and sign up for free voicemail, learn about transitional housing and temporary shelter options, register for identification cards, and access a variety of other vital, basic services.

The Homeless Garden Project, described below, represented one of only two participating county agencies that focused on employment. At this event, the Project received 71 applications for our transitional employment and skills’ training program. Staff and volunteers distributed 116 informational sheets to participants, sharing the details of the Homeless Garden Project’s services, including the training program, volunteer opportunities, lunch, and opportunities to connect with people in a productive and safe space.

Mission: Cultivating Self-Sufficiency & Self-Esteem

The Homeless Garden Project (HGP) brings together people from throughout the community in the beauty and security of its certified organic farm to practice and teach principles of ecological & economic sustainability. In so doing, HGP provides homeless men and women with job skills training and transitional employment.

Core Programs

The Homeless Garden Project is more than a community garden–it is a place where community is nourished and restored. Annually, homeless and formerly homeless individuals, called “trainees,” work alongside community members, tending a 3-acre organic farm; preparing hot, healthy meals from the produce they grow; drying flowers, grasses and herbs; and creating beautiful long lasting arrangements from dried flowers and grasses; and producing and selling value-added products in our workshop and store.  Both our trainees and volunteers enjoy participating in HGP’s core programs and interconnected enterprises:

• A Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, where community members buy CSA shares--a portion of the garden’s organic produce and flowers--and pick up their weekly ‘share’ during the harvest season.  On average, approximately 55 families and individuals purchased shares and another 15-18 shares are donated to local non-profits for distribution to low-income families.  Fifteen bouquets of flowers are given to Hospice Caring Project each week for sharing with their clients.  
• Connecting with Community (formerly Community Connections) brings vital resources within reach to those members in our area in desperate situations.  Our advocates assist individuals in finding the help they need including with housing, health, resolving legal issues and access to low-income educational programs; and our staff works daily with trainees to develop and progress toward personal and work goals.
• Women’s Organic Flower Enterprise (WOFE) creates value-added products using raw materials grown by our trainees on our organic farm while providing individuals meaningful work, skills and increased understanding. WOFE products are sold in our retail store, From Our Garden, with all revenue returning to the program.  Originally intended as a safe place for women, WOFE now employs men as well, while retaining the value of safety for women.
• Cultivating Community is an educational program open to anyone interesting in learning about sustainable horticulture, social justice and nutrition.  Individuals or groups may attend free lectures; participate in formal outdoor classroom series; or take part in hands-on training.  In 2007-2008, we targeted underserved youth with the focus on healthy eating; in 2009, 1034 individuals participated in the program, including college interns, seniors, developmentally challenged, low income and homeless individuals.  We know of no other program that provides this level of access to such a broad diversity of visitors.

Our trainees are involved in every aspect of our project, including planting, tending, and harvesting fruit, vegetables, and flowers; preparing flowers and CSA shares for distribution; making gift products; and running the retail store.  Through these activities, our trainees have experienced numerous meaningful changes in their lives:  entering into housing with family, maintaining sobriety and improved mental health, attending school, getting married, working through legal issues, taking on increased responsibility at the farm, taking additional jobs, working on resolving bad credit, and receiving disability for a chronic illness.  The very environment in which our trainees work – outdoor among the plants and vegetables – nurtures them and promotes healing and stability.

Description of Organic Farming & WOFE Training Programs

In 2009, HGP trainees and volunteers grew and harvested 13,280 bundles of flowers, which were dried and crafted into 108 wreaths, 94 bags of potpourri and a host of other gift products. These products fill the shelves of our tiny store, From Our Garden, where community members and visitors to Santa Cruz can purchase them. Each purchase provides vital revenue for ongoing training efforts while simultaneously affirming the growing skills and confidence of WOFE trainees.

The training program consists of formal lectures and in-field/on the job training. While providing structure, the program is flexible enough to build on strengths of trainees coming from a very wide variety of backgrounds, skill levels and work histories.

Lectures are predominantly focused on horticultural topics and are designed to provided backgrounds and deepen understanding of in-field practices.  In addition, lectures on conflict resolution, communication, local resources, resume building and other topics both strengthen individual trainees’ life skills and create a common frame for the trainee community to move in positive directions and mutual support.

Rules reinforce basic workplace skills and standards.  The program offers training in technical skills from greenhouse skills to harvest and post-harvest handling; as well as soft skills such as planning, communicating with co-workers and taking initiative.

During the harvest season, the work week is highly structured: Tuesday is circle meeting, followed by field work; Wednesday is lecture, followed by field work; Thursday, flower harvest and Friday vegetable harvest, both followed by field work.  The harvest is an extremely tangible shared goal that creates the ongoing need to replenish, replant and maintain existing crops.

Trainees advance through the program at their own rates and excel in various areas; we regularly hear that returning for a second season brings increased understanding of the seed to harvest cycle as well as appreciation for all that has been experienced and learned.

Demographic Information for 2009 Trainees

In 2009, the Homeless Garden Project provided 10,448 hours of paid job training to 21 people in 14 positions. Among the group of trainees in our 2009 program, 74% were White, 16% Native American, 5% Asian, and 5% Latino.  Sixty three percent of this group identified the city of Santa Cruz as their home.  About 16% of our trainees receive disability benefits, and therefore fall slightly above poverty level, but all fell well below 200% of poverty level.  Trainees’ ages ranged from 23-59, and the group was 47% women and 53% men.  Sixty eight percent of the trainees reported a documented disability, mental health diagnosis, or addiction issue.

Evaluation

Homeless Garden Project’s job training is an in-depth, consistent approach that is sensitive to the strengths and weakness of each trainee rather than a quick and intensive program that aims to get as many people through in as short a time as possible.  It is because of this approach that we have a reputation for working with clients who have not succeeded with other organizations.  

We measure the results and quality of our programming by benchmarking the skills and general wellbeing of trainees at the outset of the program and participants’ completion of evaluation questionnaires upon completion of the program and at intermediary points.  Please see the attached description of assessment tools.  Upon completing the skills training programs, we anticipate a response of at least 75% of program participants who feel the educational workshops and skills training activities helped them to meet their personal goals.  For our training programs, we also aim for 80% of our trainees to increase by at least one point on a work skills check-in sheet. In addition, we maintain records for each trainee that includes information about other significant milestones, e.g.: gaining employment, accessing and completing addiction treatment programs, securing stable housing arrangements, etc.

Here’s what trainees said about their experience in a survey created for HGP by the Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community at the University of California-Santa Cruz:

All trainees replied that their lives had changed since starting the program. Some explained:

• I feel more grounded and feel inspired to create a better life for myself.
• I feel like I have a group of people who understand my situation and are there for me and want to help me move forward in life.
• I have learned more than words can explain and feel as if many doors are now open to me. I have more inspiration.

Trainees also offered concrete illustrations of how HGP has helped them make progress towards their life goals:

• HGP has given me the support I needed to be more confident within myself – making it possible to overcome handicaps – and work everyday.
• I feel I have learned to take care of myself more by working at HGP. I also have been inspired by other people I work with to do school and to take care of myself in the right ways. HGP has been a place where I can work through emotional issues without being judged.
• [HGP staff] helped me learn many skills, knowledge that will help me get closer to my wants. They have been an excellent support system. Their focus has always been to us individually as well as a team. I really feel they have helped me stay on the right track.

During 2009, we worked with over 452 volunteers, 423 of them new in 2009.  The majority of these volunteers worked at the farm, but others worked in our workshop-- creating wreaths, sewing, wrapping and decorating candles--staffed our retail store or helped out in the office.