Growing Home provides job training for hard to employ people, most of whom have criminal backgrounds. Most of the people we work with have committed drug-related offenses, and have served their sentences that the courts handed down, only to be snubbed and thwarted at every turn.

When they come to us they are ready to work; they are ready to change their lives. They work and train with Growing Home for six months, learning all about organic agriculture and many other marketable skills.

When I was hired as Growing Home’s executive director in October 2002, the idea of combining organic agriculture and job training was often seen as entirely outlandish. At meetings, people might nod their heads in agreement, but it was easy to see that they didn’t entirely understand what Growing Home was trying to do.