Soil & Soul

Affordable housing and homelessness

South LA City of Los Angeles (select only if your project has a citywide benefit)

Pilot or new project, program, or initiative (testing or implementing a new idea)

Los Angeles County has been in a state of emergency with over 75,000 individuals currently experiencing homelessness, including 45,252 in the city. As we navigate the city streets, we see many living in tents, making shift shelters, or with nothing, trying to secure basic needs: shelter, food, water, and rest. About 21% in Los Angeles experience chronic patterns of homelessness. As housing costs rise, affordable homes become inaccessible with people needing to make 2.9 times the minimum wage to afford rent. As a result, incomes compete with food cost and healthcare. The lack of affordable stable housing and homelessness harms mental and physical health. Homelessness leads to poor nutrition, hygiene issues, and higher mortality rates. Access to stable housing is vital in creating sustainable solutions that support the stability and self-sufficiency in the community.

Vermont Galaxy proposes a mobile gardening program targeting South Los Angeles to address homeless and affordable housing, while also addressing green space access, income inequality, health needs, and adult literacy. The program offers skill building, therapeutic gardening, and community opportunities with flexible, accessible engagement in neighborhoods.
Participants gain hands-on skills in soil prep, planting, maintenance, harvesting, and plant care through workshops and activities. The program builds work readiness skills like time management, problem solving, planning, teamwork, and explores economic opportunities such as selling produce. It aims to reduce living costs, increase financial independence, and support housing security.
Mental, emotional, and physical well-being are emphasized through mindfulness-based gardening activities, fostering emotional regulation and social connectedness. Literacy is integrated through reading seed packets, guides, recipes, and educational materials, improving reading and comprehension in a supportive setting.
By combining urban agriculture, therapeutic support, and skill development, Vermont Galaxy promotes education, empowerment, and environmental transformation for lasting community impact.

The vision of success for the mobile gardening program is to empower underserved and housing-insecure individuals with the skills, confidence, and resources needed to achieve greater stability, purpose, and self-sufficiency. The program's short term goals include increasing knowledge in sustainable urban agriculture, improving reading and communication abilities, the development of essential job skills, and enhanced mental well-being through a hands-on approach to connecting with oneself, nature and community. Long term the project aims to expand the mobile garden across South Los Angeles, create productive environments where food is grown and knowledge is shared. The program will have fostered new community bonds, strengthened environmental awareness, and reduced social isolation among participants and residents alike. Ultimately, LA will be recognized as a transformative community asset that bridges the gap between survival and sustainability.