Homespace Corporation Collaborates with Grassroots Gardens of WNY

Over the past several months, Homespace Corporation has collaborated with Grassroots Gardens to apply for a $40,000 grant through the Garman Foundation to support the creation of Therapeutic Gardens in the Buffalo community. Homespace was recently informed that we will be awarded $8,000 from this grant as one of three pilot sites in our community responsible for creating and caring for a Therapeutic Garden. This garden will be installed this spring at Homespace SILP, located at 1030 Ellicott Street.

Why a Therapeutic Garden?

“GGWNY has access to land and community members throughout the cities of Buffalo & Niagara Falls. Our gardens naturally promote physical health and emotional well-being. We believe that many of the same people who utilize our gardens to meet food security needs may also have histories of adverse events and trauma in their lives. Our goal with this new initiative to is bring together our most vulnerable populations and access to behavioral health interventions on site in multiple community gardens through the establishment of an effective therapeutic gardening program. Short term outcomes in 2019-2020 include providing seasonal, on-site behavioral health intervention with identified vulnerable populations in our community gardens, creating a therapeutic gardening curriculum, and hosting a working group and/or symposium on therapeutic community gardening to provide training to clinicians and other community partners who may want to expand our initial efforts. We expect program participants will report reduction in levels of anxiety, depression and other mental health concerns, increased physical activity, increased food security, increased community connection, and increased self-sufficiency.”

Homespace is looking forward to incorporating our new Behavioral Health Services within the garden. Programming will include support groups, counseling, play coaching, meditation, yoga, and more.  This will be a safe space for youth and their children to enjoy nature and engage with therapeutic services. Garden installation is expected to begin in early May of 2020.