Nature-Based Ecotherapy for Homeless Shelter Community

Housing and Homelessness

South LA

Expand existing project, program, or initiative

More than 80% of homeless individuals report having experienced life-altering trauma at some point in their lives, leading to a high percentage who have experienced symptoms of PTSD, substance-use disorders, disconnection from family and friends, depression, and unemployment. As such, it is critical that we provide a holistic and integrated approach to healing for individuals who are experiencing homelessness. This approach is oftentimes only available through very costly private healthcare. Using our 1.5 acre farm, GrowGood has developed an ecotherapy program that is specifically designed for individuals who are experiencing homelessness, are in recovery, and/or have co-occurring disorders (diagnosed & undiagnosed). There are a myriad of proven benefits of connecting with nature, including the reduction of anger and depression, and improvements to mood, self-confidence, and overall health. The programs teach mental health tools that are immediately beneficial to the participants.

The GrowGood Ecotherapy Wellness Program is the only ecotherapy program in the LA area with access to a purpose-built outdoor facility adjacent to a homeless shelter. Our program teaches nature-based mindfulness through meditation, movement, art, nutrition, & connection to nature to reduce stress, treat anxiety, and combat depression. All of our participants are enrolled in programs at The Salvation Army's Bell Shelter, including a Drug MediCal Residential Recovery Program, Permanent Supportive Housing, and Crisis & Transitional/Bridge Housing. The participants receive social services case management from the Bell Shelter, and our program is supplemental to provide additional mental health & healing support. In 2023, we anticipate providing 1,800 individual instructional hours of mindfulness-based programming. All of our programming is centered around connection to the natural world through engagement at our 1.5 acre-urban farm. To-date, we have developed a mind-body curriculum, and will soon be creating student handbooks for this class. In June 2023, we are launching our Art x Nature mindfulness classes, & will be developing a specific curriculum for this topic in partnership with a Community Health graduate student. With funding, we will also launch our first nutritional component by creating a "blender bike" program where participants can create their own grab & go smoothie using ingredients from the farm while also learning healthy eating habits.

We are working to further develop an evidence-based model of ecotherapy specific for individuals who are experiencing homelessness, and using urban farms as the nature-based connection. With funding, we will be able to pilot the different pillars of this unique mental health model, which include the following components: mind-body (meditation & movement), nutrition, art/creativity, and community. We have already created a teaching guidebook for our mind-body pillar, and are in the process of developing corresponding student handbooks. We also plan to use grant funds to further expand our outcome tracking using qualitative and quantitative methods, and toward this goal, as we pilot each additional pillar, we are working with academic experts to create an aligned framework and curricula. Additionally, it is our ultimate goal to be able to replicate our ecotherapy program at other homeless service sites.

The impact of our program is best said by one of our participants: "Just being outside here, away from the shelter, away from the cement everywhere, the helicopters, the gunshots - it's nice just to relax. During our meditation I looked up and I realized we're not alone. There's a tree here with us and it's a haven for hummingbirds. And there's a spider web up there. I realized that that web was made because that spider is hungry, just like we all need food. We're all alive and trying to get by. It made me think that I have my own cycle too." Quantitatively, we measure program effectiveness at introducing new preventative behaviors, as well as general mindset as a result of the program. Participants attend classes for varying amounts of times, so we have short-term and long-term outcomes that we are seeking, from immediate behavior change to the longer-term impacts on mental health & wellbeing. We are also working with academic institutions to improve on our program evaluations.