Transitions Mental Health Association’s Growing Grounds
Sustaining Hope by Nurturing Plants and People
by Leslie Jones
Across the street from Mission San Luis Obispo lies a hidden jewel offering a wide assortment of gardening supplies, native plants and locally-crafted gifts. Quaint and colorful, there’s a lot more to this shopping destination than meets the eye.
As a part of a much larger non-profit entity, Transitions–Mental Health Association, this Chorro Street location offers on-the-job training and employment for individuals in recovery from mental illness. Transitions clients learn valuable skills including: customer service, cashiering, special events coordination and many aspects of the retail industry. This not only increases their confidence level, it supports their financial and professional goals, as well.
Growing Grounds Downtown Store also provides an educational lecture series in its backyard patio. This informative series covers gardening and cooking topics, planting advice and tips on ways to creatively preserve, grow and serve
a bountiful harvest. Open to the public, lectures feature local farmers and sustainability experts. Upcoming classes will be posted on FaceBook and the Transitions website. The store also participates in downtown Art After Dark series on the first Friday of each month in San Luis Obispo.
“One of the most fulfilling aspects of working at the store is the opportunity to educate customers, clients, staff and volunteers about sustainability issues,” explains Christine Story, manager of the Growing Grounds Downtown Store. “As an example, Cal Poly students are eager to learn about greening their backyards and caring for container plants which they can take with them when they move,” she adds.
One of the most memorable experiences for Christine was when a Transitions client working at the store mentioned that she really got to see a part of nature there. It opened her eyes to the natural world and she gained a greater awareness of the environment around her. This in itself is considered a success story to Christine and her staff.
Additional key locations promoting Transitions-Mental Health Association’s on-site work programs are the two Growing Grounds Farms, located in San Luis Obispo and Santa Maria. These two locations also focus on sustainability in many capacities.
Since 1984, the Growing Grounds Farm and Wholesale Nursery in San Luis Obispo has been offering horticultural therapy and vocational training to adults with mental illness. Employees are paid and are involved in each aspect of production including propagation and seeding, preparation of orders and delivery to customers. It also acts as an educational venue to teach about native and drought tolerant plants.
“The most rewarding aspect of working at the farm is knowing each day as I leave, that the efforts of our staff and myself have had a positive impact on the lives of others,” explains Craig Wilson, Program Manager for the Growing Grounds Farm in San Luis Obispo.
“Our focus is on climate-appropriate landscape plants that reduce the requirement for additional water above what we receive naturally. We partner with many local non-profit agencies as both also uses water saving technologies wherever possible and derives a significant portion of its electricity from an on-site solar power array,” he adds.
Further south, the Growing Grounds Farm in Santa Maria grows and harvests flowers, vegetables and starter plants for those wishing to grow their own food. With a farm stand open to the public on Thursdays from 12 p.m. until dusk, cut flowers and a wide assortment of vegetables are available and sold on a self-service, honor system. Depending on the season, a wide assortment of vegetables including but not limited to lettuce, tomatoes, basil, cilantro, chard and kale are grown. This venue is also a therapeutic, employment venue for Transitions clients year-round.
“Creating the program here at the farm and building it up with organic methods, starting from scratch, has been very gratifying,” explains Ariela Gottschalk, manager of the farm. “We use only organic methods of growing and offer a local food source for those in our community. We also sell starter plants to encourage people to grow their own food.”
Located at the corner of Foster and California Boulevards in Santa Maria, many of the farm’s products are also sold at the Growing Grounds Downtown store in San Luis Obispo.
All of these interrelated Growing Grounds businesses serve as a link for the agency’s Supported Employment Program and its client participants seeking employment within the community. The Growing Grounds Farms and Store offer a variety of work experiences where participants develop jobs skills while building self esteem.
The Supported Employment Program helps adults with mental illness find competitive employment working in jobs they prefer and with the level of professional support they need. Along with financial independence, it offers Transitions clients meaningful participation in our community.
Transitions-Mental Health Association (TMHA) is a nonprofit organization committed to reducing the stigma of mental illnesses, maximizing personal potential and providing innovative mental health services to individuals and families in need. Offering a full spectrum of programs in both San Luis Obispo and Northern Santa Barbara Counties, their mission is to help children and adults live, work and grow.
How can you help?
To learn more about Transitions Mental Health Association and the Growing Grounds Farms and Downtown Store, you can visit the website at http://www.t-mha.org/. Come shop at the Growing Grounds Downtown Store to help support a great community cause and its locally produced bounty. You’ll help sustain hope for those who need it the most while supporting sustainability within our community.
Leslie Jones is a Vocational Specialist for the Supported Employment Program at Transitions-Mental Health Association as well as a freelance writer for Edible San Luis Obispo.
