Hear the moving stories from the people in our programs
Hello. My name is Patricia and this is the first time I’ve told my story. I was born in “fabulous” Las Vegas on the first day of summer, in 1973. Growing up in that hot desert valley was a stark contrast to the wet alfalfa farm in Utah that my grandmother moved to Vegas from. My grandfather left her to …
Hello my name is Cody Davis. I am 33 years old and I’m a native of California, being born in Monterey County in the mountains of Carmel Valley. I would like to share with you my experience with the Homeless Garden Project and the significant change in my life since becoming a trainee. I would like to start by giving …
Jennifer Jewell’s podcast is up! It’s one of the most beautiful pieces about the Homeless Garden Project that we have heard. Thank you to all who contributed. Cultivating Place with Jennifer Jewell: http://bit.ly/CultivatingHGP
Hello my name is Brenda Deckman and I love who I am today. I am proud to be part of the staff here at the Homeless Garden Project. It has changed my life completely. Almost 20 years ago, I left an abusive relationship and lost my 5-year old son and my home. It was a difficult decision to leave, made …
“In Santa Cruz, where I live, there’s an organization called the Homeless Garden Project. [. . .] It can’t ‘solve’ the problem of homelessness, but it’s been changing lives, one at a time, for nearly thirty years. Supporting itself in part by selling organic produce, it contributes more broadly to a revolution in how we think about people in need, …
From an early age I’ve been fascinated with food. Why do we eat what we eat? I wondered what unprepared foods looked like. How they tasted and worked together for nutrition. Where they came from. How they are sustained. For me this blossomed a passion for sustainability. How sustainable is one of the most important systems that we know? Food …
My name is Adam, I grew up in Santa Cruz county, in Aptos. My family was a pioneer family before the turn of the century in Aromas, California, where my Great grandfather Homer Marshall, ran a self- service station and a grocery store. In 1951, my Great Uncle Dolan took over the store and gas station. My grandfather was not …
Not too long ago, I was in a marriage living in a home with my husband and children, and my mom lived close by. My dad died when I was twelve, and my mom and I have always been very close since then. I was married for fourteen years and have been through a lot with my husband. Addiction was …
I never guessed that when I grew up, I would actually experience homelessness. I was the picture of success at a young age, having started working at 15 and loving it. I went into banking at 19 and by 25 years old, I was a top-performing Store Manager in a Wells Fargo branch in San Jose. And then, completely shocking …
My name is Jessica and this is my truth. I always knew that my chronic homelessness had a thin line between being caused by chance and by circumstance. What started by circumstance created a pattern in my life that consisted of bad choices and hard decisions. A lot of it can also depend on your stance of whether or not …
