VCCF Visits Growing Works with Supervisor Linda Parks
by Nathan Hickling
As a hub for what is known as horticultural therapy, Growing Works stands apart as a quiet and serene place for community members experiencing homelessness to practice self-care, learn valuable skills, and look beyond the barriers so often encountered when navigating Ventura County’s social services network. VCCF staff and the Donor Peer Network took a tour of Growing Works’ Lewis Road facility in Camarillo, which sits adjacent to Casa Pacifica on land originally part of the now-closed Camarillo State Mental Hospital.
Community members engaged in Growing Works’ programs take courses on managing their diagnoses, learning job skills, and building a resume while also working with the organization’s wide collection of native plants, which eventually get sold at nurseries around the County like the Ventura Botanical Garden.
“They support each other,” Supervisor Linda Parks said of those volunteering or employed at the site. “That support network is just wonderful to see.”






