When you purchase a candle, bar of soap, or any handcrafted item from the Homeless Garden Project Store, you’re not just buying a product—you’re supporting a story of resilience, transformation, and hope. Behind each handmade gift is a person who has poured their time, effort, and heart into its creation. One of those individuals is Carrie Young. A Fresh Start …
Why Shopping with a Purpose Matters: How Your Purchase Changes Lives
The Power of Shopping with a Purpose In a world where gift-giving can sometimes feel routine, choosing a gift that gives back brings a deeper meaning. At the Homeless Garden Project, every item sold supports our mission to empower individuals experiencing homelessness through job training, skill-building, and transitional employment. Our products are crafted with care, but even more importantly, they …
Cultivating the Beloved Community
My name is Alison Alkon and I’m a professor in the community studies program at UCSC. I do research and write and teach about food justice, meaning the ways that inequalities like race, class and gender affect who gets access to healthy food, so clearly an organization like the Homeless Garden Project, that helps folks who are struggling to both …
Growing Together: Volunteer Spotlights
Volunteers are the heart of everything we do at the Homeless Garden Project. Everyone who joins us has their own story, their own reason for showing up. In this series, we’re handing them the mic to share why they volunteer, what they’ve learned, and what this community means to them. Take a read, get inspired, and maybe even join us! …
A Mountain of Gratitude
On November 23, 2024, HGP hosted its annual Holiday Celebration, screening the documentary film Food, Inc. 2 and a talk by author Eric Schlosser at the 418 Project in downtown Santa Cruz. Before the event, HGP welcomed Chris Beresh and Kyle Franks to speak of their experience with the program. Below are their talks: Good evening, My name is Christopher …
From Riches to Rags to One Day at a Time
Hello everyone, my name is Chris and I’m forty-seven years old. Today I’m going to tell you my story – a journey that has taken me from the depths of despair to a place of hope and gratitude. It’s a story shaped by unique experiences across different continents and cultures. I’ve had to leave out many, many details for times …
A Sense of Fulfillment
This testimonial was delivered at HGP’s October First Friday event, Hope Renewed, at the Downtown Store on October 4th, 2024, following a talk from Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley. Hello, my name is Charles Ian Stange, a 43-year-old originally from Berkeley, California, born on September 17, 1981, at Alta Bates Hospital. My mother, Jill Marie Blough, was just 17 and …
Engaging in Active Hope
We are pleased to share this keynote talk from HGP’s July 20,2024 Sustain Supper by Anne R. Kapuscinski, Director of Coastal Science and Policy program & Professor of Environmental Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz & Chair of Board of Directors, Union of Concerned Scientists. Video of the full presentation is at the bottom of the post with Anne’s talk …
Journey to Recovery and Fatherhood
My name is Frank Daly. I’m a trainee at the Homeless Garden Project. I want to start off by thanking Darrie and all of the management for giving me the honor to talk a little bit about myself and the role I play at HGP. I was raised here, in Santa Cruz. The last 20 years of my adult life …
