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Homeless men tend a garden and their futures

Project at Gettysburg Gateway Shelter teaches skills and provides fresh produce.

Photos: Homeless men's urban garden

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By Anthony Gottschlich, Staff Writer Updated 12:10 AM Sunday, June 20, 2010

DAYTON — At the Gettysburg Gateway Shelter for Men, three homeless men work under the hot sun to create an urban farm for the homeless and others while laying the groundwork for a brighter future.

For four hours each day, the men working at the Gettysburg Gateway Micro-Farm tend to tomatoes, cabbage, cantaloupe and other crops while earning a paycheck, learning some skills and searching for a job and home with the help of the shelter’s case managers.

“It’s wonderful, it’s therapeutic,” said Melvin Pinkard, 43, as sweat poured from his face Friday, June 18.

“It’s hot,” added Alvin Grubb, 45. “I’ve never done stuff like this before.”

Growing jobs,  food supply

The Micro-Farm is the brainchild of The Other Place, which provides case management for homeless men at the Gettysburg shelter and for homeless families at St. Vincent Hotel at 120 W. Apple St. It’s in partnership with the TransPlant Project, another local nonprofit that works primarily with ex-offenders to cultivate organic fruits and vegetables on vacant lots in urban settings.

The idea is to teach hard-to-employ workers some skills that can help them become productive and self-sufficient, said TransPlant founder Howard Solganik, a former restaurateur, consultant to grocery chains and member of the Miami Valley Ex-Offender Task Force.

“Our mission is to create both transitional and full-time jobs for transitional workers and ex- offenders in agriculture, from growing food to distribution to use,” said Solganik, vice chairman of Miami Valley Grown, a Montgomery County-based group that tries to connect local food producers with local consumers. “We see an opportunity to create a local foods infrastructure that could create hundreds of jobs in Dayton.”

The Micro-Farm’s produce will supply local shelters, but it also will be sold through the Farm2ForkFresh CSA (Community Supported Agriculture), a collaboration of local farmers who offer fresh produce boxes to its members with pick-up points available throughout Dayton. Some might be sold from a stand to nearby residents in West Dayton, too.

“There’s no grocery store out here anymore,” said Jenny Lesniak, director of Gateway Services for The Other Place. “Our goal is to have something out here for the community to be able to purchase fruits and vegetables.”

‘Good guys’

Opened last fall at 1921 S. Gettysburg Ave., the men’s shelter sits on five acres and houses roughly 200 a day in the former Dayton Rehabilitation Center, which was commonly known as the workhouse. Tina Patterson, executive director of The Other Place, said she thought of a micro-farm as she wondered what to do with the wide swath of land that separates the shelter from the state-run Dayton Correctional Institution and Montgomery (County) Education and Pre-Release Center.

The farming started in early May and has grown to 30 64-square-foot raised-bed gardens today toward a goal of 200 this year, said project manager Jonathan Stephens, who works for TransPlant.

Each garden is contained within a wooden frame made from lumber from the Deconstruction Depot, the St. Vincent de Paul store that sells building materials salvaged from razed Dayton homes. Each garden is built with the “lasagna” technique, using layers of organic material, including newspaper, mulch, compost and top soil.

“I’m learning a lot about it,” said Pinkard, preparing a bed for green peppers, cabbage and okra donated by the Warren Correctional Institute in Lebanon. “I thought you just dug a hole and dropped ’em in.”

The Other Place hopes to one day employ 20 to 60 workers on the farm and create partnerships with nurseries, farmers and others who could keep the men employed once they’ve found housing. The workers earn minimum wage, $7.35 an hour, through a grant from Goodwill Easter Seals Miami Valley, which also works with the men on building job and life skills and finding regular employment.

“Our guys are good guys,” Lesniak said. “They’re here for a reason, circumstances brought them here. But they all want jobs and they all want housing.”

Tyrone Morgan, the farm’s first employee, said the work has built his self-confidence and self-esteem, his desire to work and turn his life around. “It’s been hard to find a job because of my failings,” he said.

The Middletown native, 47, ended his six-week stay at the shelter Friday and moved into his own place off Salem Avenue. He’ll continue working at the farm for now, until he finds another job, and he’s glad about that.

“It gives me peace of mind out there, too,” he said.

For more on TransPlant, visit www.farm2forkfresh.com.

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I became so happy when I read about how these three homeless men do their utmost to help other homeless people. Recently I've seen several examples of how gardening really can help people in many ways. Recently, on my own blog, I wrote about how some nice people in England arranges flower parties to help raise money for ill children. That's really wonderful and very encouraging.

Best,
Anette the Gardener

Anette the Gardener
11:02 AM, 6/22/2010

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They do have a gardening program for urban youth.

http://www.daytondailynews.com/blog...

Sam
9:42 AM, 6/21/2010

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This a great thing for our community. It helps those who need help to learn new skills and provide locally grown foods. I am all for it. Now we need to support it!

Lucas
11:19 PM, 6/20/2010

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Another great idea to reduce the poverty and crime going on in the community.
They should have a program for juveniles to take
part in also.
Between growing food and cleaning up the neighborhoods that could change the overall vibe of the city the long run.

Peter Slaughter
12:56 PM, 6/20/2010

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