Celebrating 30 Years of Homeless Garden Project!
This year, 2020, marks the 30th birthday of the Homeless Garden Project! Our evolution has been gradual, building on successes and paying attention to what works. We are proud of the programs we've developed and excited about the future for the trainees that have been changed through our programs.
Embracing our move to Pogonip Farm, one of our parks commissioners said, "An idea becomes a movement, a movement becomes an institution." With your help, we are becoming an institution. No longer farming on temporary land, we are building a permanent site. At Pogonip Farm, the little seed that our founders, Paul Lee and Lynne Basehore Cooper, planted will take root and our work will have lasting impact on the community.
Our trainees feel a great deal of pride for this permanent farm and are passionate about the vision of growing our program to address the needs in our community. It’s inspiring to watch trainees succeed, acknowledge their deep gratitude for this opportunity, then move into the community with a job and a home, so that someone else can take their place in the program.
Thank you for providing this opportunity to our current trainees, like Shadley who said, "I am truly blessed to get to work on this beautiful farm every day. Learning how to grow organic produce, and eating fresh cooked meals daily from what we grow right here on the farm. I get to watch these plants grow from seed, while I grow alongside them as a human being. Caring and nurturing for these plants is re-teaching me how to care and nurture for myself."
Listen to Shadley share his experience at Homeless Garden Project in his talk "Deciding to Change" on the bottom of this page.