Conceived in 1990 as a catalyst to help people get off the streets and turn their lives around, the Homeless Garden Project has, over the last 20 years, given hundreds of people a foothold on a better life.
Conceived in 1990 as a catalyst to help people get off the streets and turn their lives around, the Homeless Garden Project has, over the last 20 years, given hundreds of people a foothold on a better life.
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, the project is throwing a party, complete with a parade of lanterns, tales of success, stuff for the kids, a dinner prepared by Jozseph Schultz of India Joze with food grown in the garden and more. “We’re celebrating the hard work and miracles that have kept the project going,” says Executive Director Darrie Ganzhorn. “And, of course, the garden is one of the stars of the event. Without the garden, none of this would be possible.”
The Homeless Garden, like many non-profits, struggles with funding issues. In this case, there’s also the ever-present awareness that the farm, at its current Natural Bridges location, is on borrowed land. The project was unanimously approved for inclusion in the master plan for the open space greenbelt at Pogonip. But that was 10 years ago, and the wheels of change can be slow.
“The Natural Bridges land is owned by developers, who will, at some point, want to develop it,” says the project’s board chairman, Mark Primack, explaining the decision to eventually move to Pogonip. There was a question of where the water would come from, but the existing storage system provides a viable solution that was approved last year. Now the city re-examines environmental impact reports, and then fundraising for the Pogonip move begins; and so goes the long and winding road of bureaucracy.
In the meantime, the Homeless Garden Project is doing what it does best: running an organic farm that provides job training to individuals and organic produce for the community.
Looking down the road, the project will continue to face challenges, both day-to-day and big-picture, but it will also carry into the future the vision that gardening can, and does, transform lives. “A lot of the 20th anniversary celebration,” says Ganzhorn, “is gaining the solidarity, support and sustenance for the next 20 years.”
THE HOMELESS GARDEN PROJECT’s 20th Anniversary party is Saturday, Oct. 2 from 2:30pm until sunset at the Natural Bridges Farm on Shaffer Rd, Santa Cruz. The party is free. Dinner is $30 adult/$15 teen/Free for kids 10 and under. Reservations and more information at www.homelessgardenproject.org.
