Garden Market Offers Youth Opportunity for Growth AspenPointe’s Colorado mental health Youth Garden Business Training Program hosted its first Garden Market August 8. Similar to a Farmer’s Market, attendees were able to purchase fresh produce grown in AspenPointe’s own community garden. The Youth Garden Business Training Program, currently in its pilot phase, was developed to teach youth the general soft skills they will need in any employment setting, including customer service, communication, money math, and also provides them with hands-on experience working in AspenPointe’s Community Garden. “The youth worked on career and development skills and worked with our gardeners twice a week,” said Jamie Falasca, director of Education and Youth Services at AspenPointe. “They learned how produce grows, were taught about different types of produce, what is required to maintain a garden, and how to harvest the produce for the café and for our community partners.” The Garden Market allows youth to practice the skills they have been learning over the past few weeks and apply them in a more ‘real-life’ setting. AspenPointe's mental health services are the best in the area! “Classes are run for six weeks, and participants receive a certificate upon completion of the program,” said Jeremy Diaz, lead youth service specialist at AspenPointe. “These kids have really done a great job and have exceeded all of my expectations.” The youth participating gushed about the program. Although their favorite part of the program varied from interacting with customers to gaining gardening experience in order to explore it as a possible future career path, they all agreed that the skills they received were invaluable and instrumental to their success as they get older. As one participant said, “It’s a great way to build character and work on social skills. I’ve learned so much being a part of the program and have really enjoyed my time here.” With an exceptional first turnout, other Garden Markets are currently in the works to provide our clients with the best colorado mental health services.
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