The Farm Nourishes Me

Hello, my name is Doug, I have been at the Homeless Garden Project since May. I grew up on the east coast, and have a construction, and restaurant background. I moved to California about ten years ago, and even though I had experience, it was hard for me to find work. The Homeless Garden Project gets people from all different …

Agricultural Work and the Benefits to Well-being on the Homeless Garden Project Farm

The Homeless Garden Project Farm provides an avenue for Agriculture Therapy. It is a site for the community to come together and experience healing, growth, and solace. My Journey with HGP The Homeless Garden Project is a unique site representing strength and resilience in the Santa Cruz community. This farm provides a healing and therapeutic setting for everyone involved.  During …

A Second Opportunity

Being homeless I am never happy, but sometimes I am content. Since I started working for HGP and earning a paycheck I have been content. My god, just having a bike that’s not stolen is a godsend. I use to have to walk everywhere, about 8 miles a day for most of a year.

Belonging to Something Bigger Than Myself

If you would have told me just a few short months ago that I will be asked to speak for the city of Santa Cruz, honestly I would’ve told you that you were crazy. No one tells you life is easy. But I believe it is as hard as you make it, and I made my life extremely hard for …

Systems of Poverty: Understanding Structural Causes of Homelessness

Presented by Morgan Bishop When we talk about the causes of homelessness, we must first understand that there is no one main cause, meaning there is no single solution. The factors that have contributed to the crisis of homelessness that we see today cut across the sectors of politics, the legal system, economic spheres, social welfare systems, and ideology. To …