Connecting with  Community

Be a Part of the Solution

Our Connecting with Community program builds well-being to support trainees' sustainable transition into a job. Trainees work with social work interns to connect with community resources and set and work toward short and long-term goals.

 

Connecting with Community

Our Connecting with Community program builds well-being to support trainees' sustainable transition into a job. Trainees work in partnership with social work interns to connect with community resources, and set and work towards short and long-term goals.

Social Work Interns

Our Social Work Interns work with our Connecting with Community program, working one-on-one with trainees to promote their full participation in our job training and transitional employment programs. Needs such as health care, legal issues, transportation and shelter are addressed throughout the year. With our social work team, trainees identify goals that will create and sustain their own well-being. The team monitors trainees' progress toward goals, as well as supports meaningful engagement in accomplishing goals. In addition, our social work interns foster trainee progress toward unsubsidized employment as a key long-term goal related to a career plan.

Our social work team is supervised by San Jose State Professor, Francis Krebs, LCSW. We are currently working with both Bachelors and Masters level Social Work Students from SJSU, CSUMB and HSU.

In addition to working with trainees one-on-one, our interns have defined three focus areas for their special projects:

  • Housing

  • Employment

  • Well-being/Recovery

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Finding Flatmates

Finding Flatmates connects our trainees with the community to secure safe and affordable housing. By partnering with our program, landlords and property managers play a vital role in addressing the housing crisis and reducing homelessness.

Santa Cruz County faces one of the largest homeless populations in the U.S., with the Santa Cruz–Watsonville metro area experiencing a homelessness rate nearly five times the national average. In the 2023 Point-in-Time count, 79% of those experiencing homelessness were unsheltered.

Be part of the solution. Connect with us today to make a meaningful difference in our community!

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A Hot Healthy Meal

Another way we support our trainees is by providing a free nutritious lunch every Tuesday through Friday. These delicious and healthy meals are prepared by volunteers out of our farm kitchen, using organic produce from our farm. Providing our trainees with meals allows them to enjoy the fruits of their labor!

Breaking Bread Together

These meals serve as a platform for our community to connect and regularly come together. Everyone from trainees to volunteers to interns to staff eat together, creating a positive sense of belonging that promotes wellbeing beyond the nutrients in the food. These communal meals also mitigate the sense of isolation felt by many people experiencing homelessness.

A Hot Healthy Meal

Another way we support our trainees is by providing a free nutritious lunch every Tuesday through Friday. These delicious and healthy meals are prepared by volunteers out of our farm kitchen, using organic produce from our farm. Providing our trainees with meals allows them to enjoy the fruits of their labor!

Breaking bread together

These meals serve as a platform for our community to connect and regularly come together. Everyone from trainees to volunteers to interns to staff eat together, creating a positive sense of belonging that promotes wellbeing beyond the nutrients in the food. These communal meals also mitigate the sense of isolation felt by many people experiencing homelessness.

" Then there’s the social workers, mine being Hannah, who is such a bright light allowing one on one healing to take place. We set weekly goals and a tangible plan for accomplishing them - I cannot emphasize enough how much I truly appreciate and value the presence of her and the other social workers. This is such a contrast from the unpredictable nature my life has previously carried out. Here I feel it possible to count on others, and I am constantly inspired to be present, nurture, and learn. "
- Anonymous Trainee