Livening Beyond Homeless Inc. Outdoor Space
Senior Environmental Fellows Practicum
What is Beyond Homeless Inc?
Located on 309 E Franklin St, Greencastle, IN 46135
- What is Beyond Homeless?
- Women's and children's shelter providing food, clothing, and shelter assistance in Putnam County, Indiana.
- Over the past few years, Beyond Homeless has worked to educate the community about the causes and repercussions of homelessness on the overall community.
- Program oriented - meaning that each resident is expected to abide by the chore and work schedule while living at the shelter.
- My Involvement:
- My fourth year as staff, working 10 hours weekly
- Bonner service site placement
- Experience and interpersonal relations have taught me so much about privilege, access, health rights and humility
Donna and Taylor
My first year working at Beyond Homeless, I was introduced to Donna and Taylor, a mother-daughter duo who lived in the shelter.
Taylor 12 years old, and her mother, 48, quickly became friends of mine and opened up their lives to me. I began watching Taylor, so that Donna could go to work without leaving her alone.
One afternoon, Donna was late to return to Taylor and I because she walked to work and needed to pick up some groceries on her way home. Donna did not have access to a car, and without public transportation in Putnam County, she shopped at the only store available to her: Dollar General.
Identifying the Issue
Because Donna resorted to shopping for all necessities at Dollar General, she admitted to her concern of nutrition for herself and Taylor.
Without a car, Donna was unable to collect many fresh or nutrient abundant foods, nor was she able to purchase a significant amount due to walking.
I quickly offered her my car, and allowed her to visit farther stores for additional food options and convenience.
But the issue remained, and only continued to affect other residents at the shelter, and their families.
Food and transportation deserts are also not exclusive to Greencastle, IN. The city of Indianapolis 208,000 live in a food desert, and 10,500 live without access to a car or bus to reach grocery stores. The issue is larger than our small town, but how can I make improvements?
Indianapolis Community Food Access Coalition. “Food Deserts, Why It’s Important, and How Indianapolis Is Working to Solve It!” Indy Food Policy ICFAC, 9 Mar. 2022,
How Can I Make an Impact?
After Donna and Taylor moved out of the shelter, I noticed other women struggling with the same inaccessibility.
- Lack of fresh food access
- Lack of transportation
- Lack of nutritional education
After gathering a positive consensus from the residents living in the shelter about a personal garden next to their building, I agreed to take on the responsibility of general contractor, and help them bridge the gap between nutrition and accessibility.
- Walkable food access
- Sense of Community
- Increased Local Food Production
- Environmental Benefits
Birth of the Practicum
While my main goal was to focus on nutrition access for the residents and their children, the project evolved into something more.
The garden project construction sparked inspiration for additional improvements to the shelter’s outdoor spaces. Made in collaboration with the DePauw Bonner Scholar Program, we designed a mural that would not only brighten and liven up the space, but also highlight nutritional eating and clean food accessibility.
Beyond Homeless Inc. location as compared to popular grocery stores
Outlining the Project
- With the two key elements of my projects defined (Garden and Mural), I collaborated with the shelter’s residents to establish and outline a collective set of goals and broader implications of my two projects.
- I started with goals and implications followed by consistent feedback
Goals & Implications
- A practicum that will survive beyond my years at DePauw
- Create a vibrant, welcoming space for residents
- Listen to the needs of the shelter and its inhabitants
- Cost effective & affordable
- Gathering sustainable resources from the community
- Planting the right crops for the right seasons
- Reasonable garden maintenance
- Nutrient Abundent - Greens: spinach, kale, asparagus
Flyers hung up inside of Beyond Homeless to ensure any feedback or recommendations were heard from the residents.
The Mural Process
While the garden was the initial idea of the project, the mural became the first phase in the practicum fruition. Painting the mural before the installation of the garden became more logical, since working along the side of the shed could result in trampling of the newly formed garden.
In order to create the best canvas for the mural, a couple volunteers and I pulled weeds, cleaned the shed, primed, and then painted it white for a design.
Brainstormed a design digitally after receiving feedback from residents before making our final design decision.
We decided on a navy blue for the background and began by outlining the shapes and then filling them in. Jacob, in the first photo, (6 yo), lives at Beyond Homeless and was always an eager and enthusiastic helper!
When everything was colorful and vibrant, we sealed the mural for longevity.
The Gardening Process
- Dimensions: two 4 x6 ft. boards
- Pingelton White Oak Wood
- Professor Dan Gurnon and Pete Crary helped me cut and assemble the parameter of the beds
White oak wooden beds installed into place and ready for soil
Landscaping fabric laid out to create a base layer for soil and future growth. The landscaping fabric will help flatten and kill the grass below as well as hold future vegetable and other plants in place in the spring.
After pouring in bags of organic soil, we spread and flattened it out across the beds. More soil and plants will likely be planted in the spring so that harvesting is most fruitful, and to avoid climate challenges as temperatures get colder.
Other previously existing beds were also touched up, replanted and watered so some crops could be picked and eaten for the rest of the fall season. There is lettuce, basil, & tomatoes.
Food Pantry & Maintenance
In alignment with the project’s goals, flyers and educational materials were prepared and posted at the shelter. These materials were provided to help educate current and future users about the garden and the associated food pantry once I graduate.
- Printed out and hung up in the shelter by the kitchen sink and by the door
- New gardening gloves, mini rakes, and watering cans purchased for the shelter with the help of the Bonner Scholar Program
- Help the garden and mural with longevity after I graduate
- Covers frequently asked questions, what is growing in the garden, and other supportive information
- Can help a future Environmental Fellow or Bonner Scholar Student take over my position and manage the garden post graduation.
- Today, the shelter still houses the food pantry. Although the vegetable and fruits are primarily intended for use by the shelter’s residents and their children, the excess produce is available to the community.
Takeaways
I had the opportunity to re-connect with Donna and Taylor through this project to discuss its inspiration and impact. Together we talked about life both at the homeless shelter and afterwards, as well as food and housing insecurities in putnam county and more about their experience in the community. We baked and decorated Halloween cookies and agreed we are collectively grateful for Beyond Homeless Inc.
My time at Beyond Homeless has provided me with lessons I will carry my whole life. While I served at the homeless shelter as my volunteer placement for a scholarship, and found a canvas for environmental impact for my practicum, Beyond Homeless is far more than an assignment to me. While serving the homeless shelter, I attended a private University just two blocks away and straddled two vastly different worlds weekly. I found myself facing the complications between different socioeconomic statuses, privileges, experiences and aspirations. Beyond Homeless supplemented my DePauw education with real life -- outside of my classroom, away from my greek house, and off campus. The opportunity to interact and support a community of women struggling with housing and food insecurity has transformed me as an individual and granted me incredible perspective. Developing a relationship with the shelter and the women that came and went has taught me invaluable lessons about systematic inequality, positivity during hardship, the work of child-care, and womanhood as a whole. From every fun existential conversation to the warm lunch they would bring to me in the office, I received love from these women in many forms. Although my time with Beyond Homeless is limited, I am undoubtedly grateful for the love, stories and exposure I recieved. It was a privilege to serve and know such people.
Additional Information
309 East Franklin Street
How to Support Beyond Homeless
- Keep up to date! Facebook: BeyondHomelessIncorportated
- Donations, Volunteer Opportunities, & Events beyondhomelessinc.org
- Shop at Beyond Homeless's Thrift Shop and Boutique at 309 East Franklin Street
Special Thanks
Environmental Fellows Practicum Staff Mentor: Professor Ken Brown
Assistant Director of the Environmental Fellows Program: Amber Hecko
Director of Bonner Scholar Program: Valerie Rudolph
Volunteers: Omar Hassan, Kyle Lillwitz, Emmanuel Duah, Ryan Miller, Ella Riley, Katrina Stanger, Professor Daniel Gurnon, Peter Crary
Alumna Lily Jennings
Beth Wilkerson
Gobin Church
