Blog

The birds are back in town, so that means blooms are just around the corner.

Early member registration is open. Follow this link to sign up today!

It’s almost our favorite time of year here on the farm! If you’ve ever had the chance to visit our farm, you know it’s pretty magical. Holding space for survivors to heal and grow with nature means the world to us. And it brings us joy to share a bit of the transformation happening in the fields with you. Our Summer Flower CSA provides this opportunity.

“Over the last few weeks I have dealt with a lot of serious emotion. When I work on the farm it seems like all my problems are gone.” Survivor reflection from the farm.

When you become a member of our Summer Flower CSA, you’re supporting nature-based healing for survivors of intimate partner abuse.

Every membership is an investment in the lives of courageous survivors, each on their own journey of safety, healing, and stability. But before we get too far along, let’s start with the basics. You may be wondering, what exactly is a CSA?  

CSA is the abbreviation for community-supported agriculture. This phrase means both the farmer and member share in the benefits and risks of agricultural production. We’re in this together. It’s us against the unbridled seasons here in the Bluegrass. Thankfully, our local chemical-free flowers love Kentucky as much as we do. 

In the CSA model, farmers like us commit to keeping members informed about successes and challenges on the farm with a monthly member newsletter. Members like you accept that a few bug nibbles on leaves are beautifully natural, and shares could be sparse if a windstorm pushes through the farm.

“Worry and flashback decrease because I’m able to see the fast growth of these amazing plants, knowing that I feel validated that one day I will grow with time, my mind will get through these trials. I feel like I can breathe.”

If you are interested in joining the Summer Flower CSA, early member registration opens on Friday, February 28. 

But you’ll want to move fast. CSA memberships sold out the past two years. Although we plan to grow more flowers to welcome new members this year, even more people have expressed interest in a share of the beautiful blooms.

Speaking of blooms, let’s talk about the types of beautiful flowers grown here on the farm. While the colors and varieties change throughout the summer, you’ll receive a seasonal variety of stems in your flower shares. These are the most prolific on our farm: 

• June flowers include Bachelors Buttons, Calendula, Snapdragons, Ageratum, Rudbeckia, Celosia, Zinnia, Basils, Sweet Peas, Bells of Ireland, Nigella, and Queen Anne’s Lace.
• July flowers include Zinnia, Celosia, Ageratum, Basils, Sunflowers, Marigold, Rudbeckia, Gomphrena, Coneflower, Globe Thistle, and Queen Anne’s Lace.
• August flowers include Zinnia, Celosia, Amaranthus, Ageratum, Basils, Marigold, Sunflowers, Gomphrena, Sweet Annie, and Dahlias.
• September flowers include Zinnia, Celosia, Ageratum, Marigold, Basils, Sunflowers, Gomphrena, and Dahlias.

With the support of our amazing community partners, we offer pickup from several locations in downtown Lexington. This year, our wonderful community partner pickup sites include:  

• Third Street Stuff  
• Good Foods Co-op  
• Bak 4 More Studio   
• The Barn at Fritz Farm at The Summit 
  
• The Plantory

Limited delivery for an additional weekly fee is available to homes and companies with a Lexington address.

Early member registration is open. Follow this link to sign up today!

As we embark on our healing journey, love must be at the center.

Love is what unifies all of us, but our understanding of love varies. Often, we are taught how to love others way before we are taught to love ourselves. As a result, a lot of us turn to trying to find love in things outside of ourselves. For many people who’ve never practiced self-love, it can feel overwhelming and, at times, a bit narcissistic. The difference is that loving yourself is not selfish. It’s a radical act of self-preservation.

Hollywood never tells us that every Julia Robert’s love story is really about self-love.

We grow flowers on the farm that surrounds our emergency shelter, so flower metaphors are one of our favorite things. Often when survivors are on the farm, they see parallels between themselves and the flowers that they are tending to. These flowers, like us, are designed to thrive, but sometimes the conditions surrounding them just aren’t conducive to growth. Even in good conditions, every flower eventually needs water to nurture their full bloom. Thich Nhat Hanh, a monk and peace activist, often refers to the action of expressing love as watering flowers. In the context of self-love, this means we must know how to water our own flowers.

Sometimes we aren’t able to practice self-love because we don’t feel worthy of love at all.

This is one of the most vulnerable truths that we can acknowledge. You’re not alone, and it’s not your fault. It’s easy to forget we are worthy of being loved. Messages from family, intimate partners, and social media can make feeling worthy even more difficult. This is why the practice of self-love is so valuable. When we water our own flowers, we’re less likely to accept unhealthy love that comes our way.

Whether you’re single or partnered, take time to water your own flowers this Valentine’s Day – you deserve it! 

Not sure where to start? No need to worry, we’ve got you covered.  Be courageous and vulnerable – and check out this list of ways to practice self-love.

1. Write your future self a love letter. And wait until next Valentine’s Day to open it. Your future self will appreciate it!
2. Make yourself your favorite meal.  Need some good ideas. Check out this list from One Dish Kitchen.
3. Plant some flower seeds and help them grow. Now is the perfect time to begin seeding Snapdragons.
4. Host an evening with friends. Keep it small and easy. Enjoy each other’s company.
5. Do something for someone else. The quickest way to feel love is by showing it to others.
6. Get all dressed up just for you. 
7. Put on your favorite song and move your beautiful body during a solo dance party.
8. Go play outside. No matter how old we are, we all have an inner child within that loves to get out and play.
9. Make a list of things you’re grateful for.  
10. Create a vision board. There is nothing more nourishing that knowing what you want and speaking it out to the universe.
11. Make yourself some chocolates from scratch. This Betty Crocker recipe for truffles is a good one.
12. Start that book you’ve been wanting to read, or consider a few of these suggestions.
13. Take a day trip. Doesn’t have to be far. Check out this list from Visit Lex for staycation ideas in central Kentucky.
14. Unplug and disconnect for the day. Take the day to not answer calls, respond to emails, or scroll on social media.

We are proud to announce the launch of Project Rise at our emergency shelter.

Getting and staying sober takes courage and support, especially when the substance use co-occurred with intimate partner abuse. Research finds many survivors begin using to numb the physical and emotional pain of abuse, while others were forced to drink and drug by their abuser.

Project Rise will address these challenges by co-locating a Certified Peer Support Specialist working at our emergency shelter to serve survivors struggling with substance use while healing from intimate partner abuse.

Peer Support Specialists use their lived experience of recovery from addiction and/or mental health, plus skills learned in formal training, to deliver services in social service and health settings to promote mind-body recovery and resiliency.  Services will include screening and service referrals, as well as regularly scheduled group sessions.

The project is made possible through a partnership with ZeroV, Kentucky united against domestic violence, New Vista: Mental Health & Substance Use Services, Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services (CHFS) Adult Division of Substance Abuse, and KORE (Kentucky Opioid Response Effort).

We believe a sober, violence-free future is possible with healthy coping, peer support, strength, and courage.

By Ryan Koch, Program Manager

How do you know when you’re home?  And how do you know when you are at work? 

These questions have been bubbling up for me since I started working at shelter. Learning this job is like learning a language. It is humbling, a little overwhelming. I am not yet conversant. I have lots to learn, and even more to unlearn. I hardly know how to describe the spirit of this place. One linguistic shortcut is to say that I work in a place that is the home of our residents.

And I thought that and said it quite a few times before I saw it animated.

One resident recently had some special guests. I did not know this resident’s name, or her story, but when I observed her kind young guests and how they were thrilled to be with her, I knew what was going on. Then, as she pulled together a meal for them, as she doted on them, my theory was confirmed: this woman was hosting her grandchildren.

It was an archetypal expression of love made possible by the existence of a home. Something utterly timeless and loving was underway. Surely this woman who was offering welcome was doing so in her home.

So much about this place looks familiar: meals; laundry; children; chores; laughter. And when this home is a place of hospitality, when it feels safe, nurturing and open, residents can heal and grow. They can access their inner wholeness.

Or as John O’Donohue says: “When one is at home in oneself, one is integrated and enjoys a sense of balance and poise. In a sense that is exactly what spirituality is: the art of homecoming.”

Our new monthly Soap Club subscription makes a wonderful holiday gift for someone special!

Q: What makes the new Soap Club special?
A: Subscribers will receive a monthly bar of Handmade by Survivors soap, and each month’s soap will be different. Subscriptions are available for 3, 6, or 12 months, and every month’s soap ships for free. Staff and survivors on our handmade team are developing new soaps and even testing shampoo and lotion bars. We’re looking forward to sharing these new formulas with club members first.

Q: What will each month’s shipment include?
A: You’ll receive a small padded envelope in the mail. Inside you’ll find that month’s bar of soap, note card with details about the fragrance and ingredients, and a reminder about how many months remain in your subscription. All this will be packaged in a cute organza bag that can be reused to store jewelry or other little trinkets, or even filled with dried flowers to make little sachet packets.

Q: Will the first month’s soap arrive in time for the holidays?
A: If your subscription order is received by Friday, December 20 at 12 noon EST, the first month’s soap will be shipped to arrive before December 25. Future month’s soaps will ship the first Monday after the 15th of each month.

Q: Can I purchase a subscription as a gift for someone?
A: Absolutely. If you’re purchasing the subscription as a gift for someone, just let us know during the online checkout process. Use your address for billing, and the gift recipient’s address for shipping. There’s also a space to provide a short note for the gift recipient, and we’ll hand write your message on a card to be included with the recipient’s first soap shipment.

Q: Can I renew my subscription after the last month?
A: Yes, we’ll send you an email the month before your subscription ends with a link to renew.

Q: How does my Soap Club subscription benefit services for survivors of intimate partner abuse?
A. All proceeds from the sales of Handmade by Survivors products are reinvested in the effort. Our farm-based programming supports survivors as they establish safety and heal from the physical and emotional wounds of abuse. Making products has a special connection to our mission. The process provides collaborative work experience for survivors, while also generating resources for our organization. Every bar of soap is made in our commercial kitchen on the backside of the farm property that surrounds our emergency shelter.

Q: Anything else?
A. Subscription gifts have become really popular this year. I think it’s probably because it’s so much fun to come home, check the mail, and find a gift there waiting for you. And every bar of soap we make is Kentucky Proud.

My favorite days at shelter are those in which creativity is palpable. In and outside of the art world, what constitutes art is always up for debate. Yet to me, the way in which my brain processes the visual information relayed by my eyes is by default creative and almost always a form of art—Say, my shadow, as it lays across a snow-speckled patch of grass, or the coffee stains on my predilect mug. 

Our 40-acre farm and shelter are imbued with art and creativity everywhere you look. Whether a herd of children comes running into your office searching for empty boxes to construct makeshift guitars or an ingenious resident borrows your office stapler to masterfully craft a rug, each day at GreenHouse17 is a colorful surprise. 

As soon as you walk into our commercial kitchen, senses are stimulated by the scent of dried flowers, marble-like patterns appear as essential oils are mixed into soap batches, and beautifully designed labels are carefully placed on each and every handmade by survivors product. 

As I move into my second quarter of service here at GreenHouse17, I am taking a moment to acknowledge the exuberant moments I’ve been a part of. Today, I am grateful for the opportunity to spend a year in community with survivors and advocates, children and adults, who despite having their own pain to deal with, continuously support one another without hesitation. 

Domestic Violence Awareness Month. #GivingTuesday. Good Giving Challenge. Holiday Mailing. Holiday Gift Drives. Holiday Store. It is a busy time of year for us, and really, all nonprofits are feeling it. On average, 30% of a nonprofit’s annual budget is donated in November and December! Most nonprofits begin planning their year-end strategy in October. Us included! Which coincides nicely with our primary month to raise as much awareness as possible about domestic violence and the services we provide. It is full steam ahead!  

But just like how many of us go from Halloween straight to Christmas – I’m talking to you Hallmark Channel and local radio stations – without truly stopping for Thanksgiving, those in the nonprofit world can easily skip, or more like postpone, the season of gratitude until January. It is also when I think of those working in the retail industry, having to work through the chaos of Black Friday (which starts on Thanksgiving for many stores!) through Christmas. We could all take time to breathe in gratitude this Thanksgiving season.  

So I took a moment away from the chaos, from the to do lists, from the toll of doing this meaningful work and wandered around shelter, asking folks what they are thankful for… 

“Working for a place like [GreenHouse17]” – Chris, Crisis Advocate 

“Caring, non-judgmental and compassionate people.” – Survivor 

“A warm bed to sleep in on cold nights.” – Mary, Development Manager 

“Health Insurance.” – Kristin, Shelter Living Specialist 

“The grace of God for answering my prayers. Being here [at GreenHouse17] which is one of my answered prayers. And other places that help those in need. The kind people in the world. And of course, my son.” – Survivor 

“My family.” – Nate, Youth Advocate 

“Boone, the neighboring farm dog.” – Manuela, Americorps VISTA 

“The fulfillment and purpose that my job gives me.” – Tiffany, Shelter Living Specialist 

“That I’m at peace and my health is good.” – Mike, Maintenace Specialist 

“GreenHouse17 and the work they do. It changes lives and it’s changed my perspective on life.” – Heather, Finance & Administration Assistant 

“Not having to sleep with one eye open.” – Survivor 

“The classes and groups that GreenHouse17 offers.” – Survivor 

“Modern medicine.” – Aimee, Finance & Administration Assistant 

And for me, what am I thankful for? I am thankful that I can come to work every day to a 40-acre farm that looks just as peaceful covered in snow as it does covered in beautiful flowers. I am thankful to work in a place full of beautiful people that get excited for morning dance class and afternoon crafting group. I am thankful to watch kids and moms grow throughout their time here and offer more laughter and light into the world. I am thankful to be a part of a community that cares for each other and provides safety from a harsh world.  

Now I encourage you to take the time over the next couple weeks to deeply think about what it is in life that you are thankful for. Because everyone has something. And a little more gratitude might make these cold nights a little warmer! 

Happy Thanksgiving y’all!!