2. Growing Home’s mission is to operate, promote, and
demonstrate the use of organic agriculture as a vehicle for
job training, employment, and community development.
3. Growing Home was founded in 1992 by Les Brown, Director of Policy for the
Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.
He wrote that “Homeless people are often without roots. They’re not tied down, not
connected, not part of their family anymore. Our organic farming program is a way
for them to connect with nature – to plant and nurture roots over a period of time.
When you get involved in taking responsibility for caring for something, creating an
environment that produces growth, then it helps you build self-esteem.”
4. Growing Home operates an employment training program through three USDA Certified Organic farm sites.
9. Job Training: Growing Home’s program targets individuals
who have major barriers to employment, including having
been previously incarcerated, homeless, and/or having a
history of substance abuse.
10. Job skills: Program participants gain
specific skill sets in farming,
customer service, and horticulture,
as well as, job readiness skills like
resume writing, interview etiquette,
and other employment skills.
12. "Plants are like people. Or people are like plants. They need
nurturing, and help... to become stronger and to stand on
their own.” – 2011 Program Participant, Lisa R.
13. Participants are paid for their time in
class and working. Their hours are
split evenly between time in
classes—including courses in soils,
plant identification, pruning, math at
the market—and time working on
the farms and at the farmer’s
market.
14. "Since I've been [at Growing Home] ...
I'm more peaceful. It's like I'm in a
totally different world, I'm still in
Chicago and Illinois, but my mind goes
elsewhere because there is something
about the soil that's just calming.”
- 2010 program graduate, Latoya W.
18. "I was so ready to be done with the bad parts of
my life. I wanted it behind me, and I wanted to be
clean. Growing Home has helped. It's peaceful
here. And its an indescribable feeling: to get up
every day and make a conscious decision to
focus on the positive.”
- 2009 program participant, Jasmine E.
