AmeriCorps workers, veterans plant #communitygarden, When two AmeriCorps VISTA workers first talked about planting a garden at Independence Hall, a residence for homeless veterans in the Heights, Director Billy Holder figured they were planning a fairly small garden plot.
Now, looking at a 70-by-50-foot garden teeming with vegetables, herbs and fruit trees and realizing it’s going to produce much more food than the 20 men living in Independence Hall will be able to eat, Holder admits, “They’ll use a lot, but they won’t be able to use it all."
But that’s OK: excess food will go to low-income senior citizens, homeless people and residents of the Women’s and Family Shelter. It’s all part of the mission of the Billings Metro VISTA Project run by the city’s Community Development Division in conjunction with the Mayor’s Committee on Homelessness. Its goal is to create or expand community-based projects and services that prevent homelessness or provide help to the homeless.
AmeriCorps workers Hanna Noel and Jill Bunge have been working on the project for the past year, and it was they who approached Independence Hall about planting a garden. They worked with the residents of the hall to install, plant and maintain the garden. Individuals, groups and businesses from all over the community helped.
