Wasatch Community Gardens

"Started in 2016, [Wasatch Community Gardens'] Green Phoenix Farm is a 1.38 acre urban farm located in west downtown Salt Lake City, and an integral part of the Wasatch Community Gardens network. Aside from being a fully functioning certified organic urban farm, the Green Phoenix Farm offers a job training program providing employment, mentorship, and advocacy for women facing homelessness. The women in the program, comprising the Green Team, work on the farm five days a week...under the leadership of James Loomis. Leveraging the naturally therapeutic environment of a garden, the job training program supports women in crisis to recover an internal state of calm and groundedness as they work each day. Throughout the farm season, the women rediscover a sense of personal power and a boosted feeling of self-worth. As the program progresses, they work with mentors and advocates to set goals and create an action plan to become housed and into long-term employment by the time they graduate from the program. Nearly 60 women have graduated from the program since its inception, with around 75-80% of graduates obtaining jobs and housing upon completing the program. And they continue to be housed and employed over time. That kind of success is not only staggering and impressive—it’s a meaningful solution to homelessness, which Salt Lake City desperately needs." Click here to read the full article, "Green Phoenix Farm Helps Homeless Women in Salt Lake Get Back on Their Feet through Gardening," in Utah Stories.