Fostering connections among members of the Santa Cruz community
Donna spoke at our 2017 Downtown Store Gala Holiday Open House on December 1, 2017. The trainees had been working in the workshop for over a month, creating wreaths, decorating our beeswax candles, making our bath and body products, baking mixes, herb salts and much more! This Open House celebrated our trainees’ work and achievements. Hello everyone, welcome. I’m Donna …
Lienallie gave this talk at Permaculture Action Day at our farm on November 4, 2017. Over the course of the day, about 200 people gathered to take part in a day of hands-on regenerative projects, music, shared food, workshops, and taking action as a community. Lienallie spoke about her experience in Homeless Garden Project’s transitional employment program. Here are her remarks. Hello, …
Justin gave this talk to guests at Homeless Garden Project’s Sustain Farm Supper, 9.16.2017 Good Evening! First of all, I would like to thank everyone for being here tonight. And an extra special thank you to Mr. Tom Steyer and Ms. Kat Taylor for volunteering your time and energy to be with us tonight. But whether you are here to …
My name is Ali. My favorite flower, Shepherd’s Purse, is a weed. You can find an abundant amount of it in the cracks in the sidewalks along the streets and even next to the highway. It is strong and delicate with roots that can survive and help to heal dying soil. it has small heart-shape seeds that contain properties that …
Shannon spoke at our Sustain Farm Supper on June 10, 2017 to over 200 people. Good evening. My name is Shannon McGurk and I am a trainee at the Homeless Garden Project. This experience has been a genuine blessing in so many ways during a particularly transformative part of my life. From a very conservative Roman Catholic upbringing as the …
One goal of our community education and volunteer programs is to create the Inclusion in our vision statement: We envision a thriving and inclusive community, workforce and local food system. A recent study performed by UCSC researchers, Heather E. Bullock, Shirley V. Truong, and Lina Chhun was published in the Journal of Poverty. You can read Combatting Social Exclusion: “Safe Space” and the Dynamics of …
Hello and welcome to our farm and garden. My name is April Wilson and I am blessed and honored to be here. I am a trainee here at Homeless Garden Project. I’ll begin with a testimony about myself and what gravitated me to this ever-giving garden. I’m a local—born and raised here. I’m 35 years old and single. I was …
Four days ago, Darrie pulled me aside at work and gave me what felt like an impossibly hard task. I was to write my story of how I got here and how the program has benefited me, and share it with you tonight. I didn’t know where to begin. I didn’t know what to say. My story is one of …
On May 27, 2016, I was released from jail after a month of incarceration. I had only been in the car about two minutes when my case worker informed me that the Homeless Garden Project (HGP) was going to give jobs to the first 20 people that showed up to their main office; my first inclination was “too much, too …
My name is Laurie Soderman and I became a trainee earlier this year in May. When I was asked to speak tonight, describing my experience, a quote from a song by the band Genesis came to mind. They sang: The sands of time were eroded by the river of constant change. This is a glimpse of my story of Transformation, …
