The Homeless Garden Project in Santa Cruz has been selected to participate in the California Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise and will receive a $150,000 grant funded by the state through the California Office of the Small Business Advocate. It’s one of 61 grants awarded to organizations across the state.
It will support the Homeless Garden Project’s effort to create artisanal products using materials grown on its 3.5-acre organic farm on the Westside. The program was started as a way to keep people who work on the farm busy during rainy periods. More than 40 products from the farm are now sold at its downtown Pacific Avenue store, its Capitola Esplanade store, online and wholesale.
Participants experiencing homelessness work 20 hours a week in yearlong, paid jobs at the Homeless Garden Project. “With social work and peer support, participants practice core job skills including communication, teamwork, professionalism, and time management,” the organization explained in a release about the grant. “The programs foster community engagement, cohesion, and spirit, and HGP graduates play long-term constructive roles in the community and workforce.”
As a member of the California Regional Initiative for Social Enterprise, the Homeless Garden Project will receive “customized capacity building support and advisory services” in addition to the grant funding.
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