The Homeless Garden Project (HGP), an innovator in providing a path to self-sufficiency, announced today that the Pogonip Campaign Goal of $3.5M has been met. “What a tremendous community gift this is! At Pogonip Farm, homeless men and women will receive job training and community support that can move them into permanent jobs and housing. I’m proud to live in a community that is willing to dig deep and to invest in meaningful solutions to homelessness,” said Cathy Calfo, Homeless Garden Project board president.
The Homeless Garden Project has long thrived on borrowed land. Now, in partnership with the City of Santa Cruz, the organization will build a permanent farm. The 1998 Pogonip Master Plan provides for a 9.5-acre farm site. This funding will enable the facilitation of the site and construction of several important structures, including a barn, a greenhouse, and a combined kitchen and administrative building. Construction is expected to start in spring 2020.
The Project will continue to accept capital campaign donations to cover additional needs such as a second greenhouse, barn expansion and improved water sourcing as well as overages and unexpected costs. In order to double the number of trainees that the project serves, the “Grow Our Impact” campaign will raise an additional $300,000 per year for the next 3 years ($900,000 total). The organization’s long-term plans are to triple the number of people served. More information about how to support Pogonip Farm is available at pogonip.homelessgardenproject.org.
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Pogonip Farm will enable the Homeless Garden Project to triple job training capacity, expand public engagement, consolidate operations and ensure long-term stability and sustainability. The permanent site will allow the Project to plant orchards for the first time and make the long-term commitment necessary to build a world-class farm to better serve the Santa Cruz community.
Over 750 unsheltered members of our community have participated in the Homeless Garden Project (HGP) training program since its inception in 1990. In the past two years 100% of program graduates found a job and housing. This successful program combines transitional employment with job and life skills training to provide graduates with the confidence to overcome obstacles of re-entering the workforce and the capacity to reach financial self-sufficiency.
The HGP provides a vibrant education and volunteer program for the broad community that blends formal, experiential and service learning. The Project’s mission and vision is that “In the soil of our urban farm and garden, people find the tools they need to build a home in the world. We envision a thriving and inclusive community, workforce, and local food system.”
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Learn more at www.homelessgardenproject.org or engage with us on Facebook and Instagram.
