VetREST Victory Garden Party at Bybee Lakes Hope Center
Join us for the VetREST & Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers - Victory Garden Party at the Bybee Lakes Hope Center . . . WATCH VIDEO . . .
VetREST & Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers (two local 501C3 non-profits) have partnered to create a “Victory Garden” at their new Bybee Lakes Hope Center (BLHC) that will provide hope & healing for homeless veterans, families and single participants. Opened in October 2020, the BLHC transforms the never-occupied, 155,000 square foot Multnomah County - Wapato Corrections Facility into a trauma-informed, data-driven transitional housing facility. This extraordinary space offers participants the opportunity to share their stories (perhaps for the 1st time), create a transition plan with the center’s staff and reenter with a helping hand back into society. Our overall goal is to raise at least $450,000 (in cash and in-kind donations) to build out the 1.5 acre Victory Garden for immediate use and long-term service for an anticipated 4,900 annual participants, which is typically 10% veterans.
Our Story & Why Now
Homelessness across the nation, and throughout the Northwest, had reached record levels prior to 2020 and continues to rise. Our greater Portland metro community sits in a housing-homelessness crisis, amid a pandemic and veterans continue to be disproportionately impacted given existing conditions around post-traumatic stress (as evidenced by a 2020 Bob Woodruff Foundation report “Veterans and COVID-19: Projecting the Economic, Social, and Mental Health Needs of America’s Veterans”). Throughout 2019, Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers successfully served over 1,100 participants with 220 bed in 11 facilities, with approximately 10% being veterans. By the end of 2021, they will have another 300+ beds available at their new Bybee Lakes Hope Center (the former, never-opened Multnomah County Wapato Jail facility) and they estimate to serve 4,900 people per year — that’s 490 more veterans. While the needs of veterans have been organically met through their programs, they have identified a special commitment to veterans, given their prior service to country, and they desire deeper, dedicated services to further strengthen their path to success.
The VetREST “Victory Garden” project targets veterans inside their existing and proven methodology, while predicting exceptionally high outcomes and benefits across multiple high-need areas including, but not limited to, housing security, mental and physical healthcare, stable employment and education. The garden has 120 fruit bearing trees, 40 blueberry plants and 30 native trees and shurbs. It also includes garden beds, wherein all produce will be used to provide our participants access to fresh, local fruits & vegetables. There will be walking paths and benches for peaceful respite and a homeless memorial will be included to remember those who’ve lost their lives on the streets of Portland. VetREST (a national non-profit organization) will leverage this new “Victory Garden” to affirm a “place of peace” for deep healing with a therapeutic garden featuring a greenhouse and other garden space activities. The benefits of therapeutic gardens are well documented with significant adoption across the nation over the last few decades. Purposeful work and activities at the garden bring tangible, real-time life experiences to veterans to accelerate their trajectory to healing and success. Intentional and integrated services coupled with hands-on real-time achievement in and around the Victory Garden provides a pathway to sustainable, lasting change to properly meet veteran needs.
Helping Hands Reentry Outreach Centers provide data-driven, trauma-informed services to individuals & families experiencing homelessness. The first step in their program is emergency shelter, but their primary focus is on their long-term reentry program, designed to build self-sufficiency and create lasting change. The Victory Garden is a Therapeutic Garden with development based on evidence-based design and best practices from the American Horticultural Therapy Association (AHTA). We are creating a special space tailored to meet participant and staff needs, while integrating the Helping Hands “Individual Reentry Program” (IRP) systems to optimize veteran and community success. We will assign two dedicated staff, one from Helping Hands and one from VetREST, for fully integrated, thoughtful and comprehensive veteran care. In partnership with VetREST, the new space activates the healing power of nature and horticulture at our Victory Garden. It will provide a place for veterans to connect with themselves and other participants, and to break down barriers between them. Gardens have restorative powers that have no social, cultural, or ethnic boundaries. Veterans shall reestablish their self-confidence and skills, which ties directly to the ability to maintain housing. We expect physical and mental health benefits to flourish in the garden while learning valuable job skills, both in horticulture as well as the development of character traits supporting long-term stability such as dependably showing up for shifts, punctuality, working on a team, and more. Finally, the Victory Garden will provide ample opportunities for education, from garden-specific education to community education classes taught on site or in the greenhouse area.
Branded Sponsorships Items
(representative images of design intent; actual may vary)
The following items can be sponsored, wherein your name or organization logo will be
prominently displayed on the item, mentioned live at the event and throughout it’s lifetime in the garden.
$101,250 Greenhouse (30’ X 60’)
$43,200 Pergola w/ Solar Roof
$36,000 Garden Entry Arches
$23,490 Fitness Station
$21,650 Garden Fencing
$12,371 Garden Shed
$10,235 Trail Landscaping
$2,295 Small Water Feature
$1,500 Raised Beds (15 available)
$ 250 Small Animal Tractors (10 available)
Thanks to our Amazing Sponsors . . .
In collaboration with . . .
