Before a full room at the Fresno County Board of Supervisors’ meeting on Tuesday, March 8, FIRM received the vote for approval of its Therapeutic Horticultural Project grant from the Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health. Many of FIRM’s current gardeners were on hand to support this project, which will continue to develop three additional garden sites for multiple underserved Slavic, Hmong, Lao, Cambodian, Hispanic, and African American populations.
FIRM’s existing two garden sites, at Memorial United Methodist Church in Clovis and at Mennonite Community Church, will receive support to expand the impact of their work, and three new sites will begin development. New garden sites will be located in West Fresno, in Central Fresno (on the FIRM office grounds), and in southeast Fresno adjacent to the House of the Gospel Slavic Baptist Church. The West Fresno site will be run by FIRM’s project partner, West Fresno Health Care Coalition.
The American Therapeutic therapy Association recognizes that “gardening can be used to instill respect, duty, and connection to life…and becomes a useful tool in helping people cope with mental illness, trauma, or behavior difficulties. For refuges, immigrants, and others from war torn and conflicted environments, the gardens will provide a critical “point of access” for family support resources, and will help communities support health and well being through culturally appropriate practices.
Persons interested in supporting the gardens with drip lines, tools, or garden mentoring are invited to contact Dr. Sharon Stanley. You just might receive some great, home grown vegetables in return!