Gardening for Mental Health
Tax deductible
The Farm Program at YCCC Farmhouse is a unique program which provides vocational training and therapeutic gardening experience to individuals receiving mental health services in Yolo County, CA.
Yolo Community Care Continuum (YCCC) is a non-profit agency that provides an array of community-based programs for people experiencing a psychiatric disability. YCCC has been providing services in Northern California since 1979. One of YCCC’s programs is The Farmhouse , a long-term residential treatment program for adults that offers a group living
environment. Residents live and work at the Farmhouse cooperatively, learning the skills necessary to transition from a highly structured treatment environment to a less structured independent living situation.
The Farmhouse, located on 10 acres in rural Davis, has a half acre dedicated to growing vegetables (through organic methods) which become part of residents’ daily meals. Three main things happen on the farm:
1) Vocational training: Residents, many of whom haven’t had a job in many years, work under the supervision of the Farm Manager, have the responsibility to show up and work or communicate otherwise, and have the opportunity to move into more longterm farm roles with added responsibilities and benefits (i.e. Animal Caretaker, Greenhouse Manager).
2) Therapeutic experience: The Farm provides an opportunity for residents to get out of the house and experience the joys and rewards of gardening. The garden is an opportunity for residents to create a deeper relationship to the food they eat by participating in growing it, and to productively engage in hands-on work that results in beauty, food, and transformation.
3) Farm to Mouth (F2M): Finally, the Farm provides a paid work day once a week, open to both residents and individuals from the larger Yolo County community who are receiving mental health services but living more independently, through a program called Farm to Mouth. In addition to offering vocational training and therapeutic experience, F2M provides employment - to individuals in need of income who are able to work in a limited way, but may not be ready or able to fully join the workforce.
The Farm at YCCC Farmhouse is a unique program in need of community support to continue operating and offering the opportunities they do, opportunities not currently available to people with an identified mental illness in Yolo County, and rarely available to mental health consumers nationwide.
The following areas are in need of ongoing funding:
1) Paying F2M employee wages
2) Seed and fertilizers for the vegetable garden
3) Perennial herbs and plants to enhance both the landscaping around the house and the vegetable garden itself, attracting pollinators and increasing the therapeutic environment
4) Construction projects - tables, benches, gazebo - to increase residents’ motivation to spend time outside and in the garden
Your donations will go directly toward one of these areas of our program, helping a unique and loved program in Yolo County to thrive and expand.
Thank you for your support!
Gratefully,
Sonya Ekstrom
Farm Manager and Program Coordinator
YCCC Farmhouse and Farm to Mouth
Yolo Community Care Continuum (YCCC) is a non-profit agency that provides an array of community-based programs for people experiencing a psychiatric disability. YCCC has been providing services in Northern California since 1979. One of YCCC’s programs is The Farmhouse , a long-term residential treatment program for adults that offers a group living
environment. Residents live and work at the Farmhouse cooperatively, learning the skills necessary to transition from a highly structured treatment environment to a less structured independent living situation.
The Farmhouse, located on 10 acres in rural Davis, has a half acre dedicated to growing vegetables (through organic methods) which become part of residents’ daily meals. Three main things happen on the farm:
1) Vocational training: Residents, many of whom haven’t had a job in many years, work under the supervision of the Farm Manager, have the responsibility to show up and work or communicate otherwise, and have the opportunity to move into more longterm farm roles with added responsibilities and benefits (i.e. Animal Caretaker, Greenhouse Manager).
2) Therapeutic experience: The Farm provides an opportunity for residents to get out of the house and experience the joys and rewards of gardening. The garden is an opportunity for residents to create a deeper relationship to the food they eat by participating in growing it, and to productively engage in hands-on work that results in beauty, food, and transformation.
3) Farm to Mouth (F2M): Finally, the Farm provides a paid work day once a week, open to both residents and individuals from the larger Yolo County community who are receiving mental health services but living more independently, through a program called Farm to Mouth. In addition to offering vocational training and therapeutic experience, F2M provides employment - to individuals in need of income who are able to work in a limited way, but may not be ready or able to fully join the workforce.
The Farm at YCCC Farmhouse is a unique program in need of community support to continue operating and offering the opportunities they do, opportunities not currently available to people with an identified mental illness in Yolo County, and rarely available to mental health consumers nationwide.
The following areas are in need of ongoing funding:
1) Paying F2M employee wages
2) Seed and fertilizers for the vegetable garden
3) Perennial herbs and plants to enhance both the landscaping around the house and the vegetable garden itself, attracting pollinators and increasing the therapeutic environment
4) Construction projects - tables, benches, gazebo - to increase residents’ motivation to spend time outside and in the garden
Your donations will go directly toward one of these areas of our program, helping a unique and loved program in Yolo County to thrive and expand.
Thank you for your support!
Gratefully,
Sonya Ekstrom
Farm Manager and Program Coordinator
YCCC Farmhouse and Farm to Mouth
Organizer
Sonya Ekstrom
Organizer
Davis, CA
Yolo Community Care Continuum
Registered nonprofit
Donations are typically 100% tax deductible in the US.
