In Martin County, Florida, two non-profit organizations have come together to plant seeds of hope through community gardening. Recently, the House of Hope charity for the homeless and people with addictions and other mental health issues partnered with Project L.I.F.T., an organization that helps at-risk teens, to grow community gardens in 4 small towns across the county. <\/p>\n
The teens in Project L.I.F.T.\u2019s program\u2014many of them aged 14-19 who are also struggling with addictions, managing mental health or legal issues or have been victimized by crimes\u2014visit the gardens every day after school where they grow seeds, maintain and water plants, set up irrigation, harvest the produce and learn to create their own meals. They take some of the produce home to their families but most is sent to House of Hope\u2019s pantry for the homeless community.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe saw a need for people that were hungry and homeless,\u201d Laura Lyman, House of Hope\u2019s agricultural coordinator tells Guideposts.org of their decision to partner with Project L.I.F.T\u2019s community gardens initiative.<\/p>\n
Beyond the need for food, Project L.I.F.T. envisioned the gardens would provide an educational opportunity to their teens.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to teach nutrition,\u201d Bob Zaccheo, the executive director of Project L.I.F.T. tells Guideposts.org.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a problem with diabetes and obesity in our community, like a lot of other communities,\u201d Zaccheo says. \u201cWe want to start with education and nutrition, but when we get into the garden, now they\u2019re doing hands on stuff that really connects.\u201d<\/p>\n
The gardens also offer the teens vocational skills that can help them find work later in their largely agrarian county. Beyond skills, this project has helped the teens find confidence and hope for their futures.<\/p>\n
Alisia Kifer, director of the all-girls branch of Project L.I.F.T. called The Willow Project, can speak to that.<\/p>\n
\u201cOnce you give them something to get their hands dirty in and they see the fruits of their labor quite literally, they become passionate about it,\u201d Kifer says.<\/p>\n
So far, the four gardens around Martin County have yielded 100 pounds of produce for the pantry and the community at large. It\u2019s just a dent in the greater need \u2013 the area\u2019s homeless population is high, especially in the off season when tourists return home and work is scarce \u2013 but the opportunity to teach kids the importance of giving back is just as valuable as the food they\u2019re harvesting.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see a paradigm shift in the thinking of these kids,\u201d Zaccheo says. \u201cYou see them giving. The kids are learning to give at a bigger level than they\u2019ve ever been able to give at before.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lyman hopes the collaboration can foster seeds of togetherness in the community and bring sustainability, nutrition and hope to the area.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole point is to get people aware and growing their own fruits and vegetables so they can take what they\u2019ve learned and share it with their friends and families.\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
In Martin County, Florida, two non-profit organizations have come together to plant seeds of hope through community gardening. Recently, the House of Hope charity for the homeless and people with addictions and other mental health issues partnered with Project L.I.F.T., an organization that helps at-risk teens, to grow community gardens in 4 small towns across […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":79,"featured_media":29263,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[193,192,199,185],"tags":[51,197,80],"ppma_author":[470],"class_list":["post-21211","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-addiction-and-recovery","category-health-and-wellness","category-people-helping-people","category-stories-of-faith-and-hope","tag-inspirational-stories","tag-motivational-stories","tag-stories-of-hope"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n