Our plan is to align forces with local veterans and educational organizations to provide job training, therapy and housing for homeless veterans suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Research shows that agriculture can work wonders for helping veterans combat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) -- and while many programs are being started in other states, no such programs exist in the Cleveland area, despite Cleveland's position as a world-leader in both urban farming and in medicine and therapeutic care.
We want to begin such a program at Community Greenhouse Partners, working with the Veterans Administration, Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans Sustainable Agriculture Training Program, Neighborhood Leadership for Environmental Health, Inc., and other related groups to start serving the needs of veterans in Northeast Ohio.
To do this, CGP would provide housing for homeless veterans. During a year-long residency, we would train our residents in urban farming, with an emphasis on Permaculture and Organic Food Production. The VA and DAV would work with our clients guiding their therapy and psychiatric and physical care. NLEH would help each client produce a business plan to start their own urban farming venture. We would work with area government officials to identify available vacant land, particularly in areas where foreclosed homes are also available for renovation. The veterans would then move into these homes with neighboring vacant lots after completion of the program, and turn their vacant lots into urban farms, where they could work and earn an income while continuing the therapy they began at CGP.
But to do so, we need to make some significant upgrades to the farm house. We need to upgrade plumbing in two bathrooms, upgrade electrical in the whole house, upgrade our heating system, and add insulation to the roof and walls of the house. Your donation will greatly assist us in accomplishing these goals, in order to provide a safe and comfortable environment for them to live while they are in training.