AmeriCorps Works To Create Sustainable Garden For Chicagoans With Disabilities

Chicago, IL (April 12, 2010) — A group of AmeriCorps members will work to improve the well-being of thousands of Chicago citizens with disabilities by building a sustainable, handicap-accessible garden during AmeriCorps Week 2010.

The members, who work with the AmeriCorps Safe Families Program, will create two large planters on May 11-13. The goal of the project, called Project Bloom, is to improve programs at Chicago’s Anixter Center by creating a source of healthy food and giving visibility to an oft-overlooked population.

Joanna Michelson, project coordinator for Project Bloom, said the project would not only allow Anixter’s clients to cook healthier meals but also let Chicagoans see what people with disabilities are capable of doing. She hopes others will take note and foster similar forms of accessibility.

“People with disabilities are often shunned from engaging in physical labor due to the preconception that they are unable to do certain tasks,” she said. “We aim to provide accommodations and involve them directly in the creation of their new outdoor oasis.”

The planters will be two feet tall to ensure accessibility for people in wheelchairs. The garden will host an array of fruits, vegetables and flowers, creating a healthy, sensory experience for Anixter’s clients.

“The cost of purchasing healthy food for the center will be decreased,” Michelson said, “and it is likely that improved nutrition will have a positive effect on those suffering from a variety of conditions.”

Most people who receive Anixter’s services have a significant disability – physical, intellectual, developmental, sensory, psychiatric, cognitive or HIV/AIDS-related. Many have more than one disability, and about 90 percent have low incomes. The agency serves more than 5,000 people each year, providing housing, health services, literacy education and employment programs.

The AmeriCorps members behind Project Bloom are volunteers with the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago. Anixter Center’s main office is located at 2032 N. Clybourn Ave. Project Bloom is currently taking monetary and material donations. Plants, gardening tools, kitchen items and arts and crafts materials are needed for the project. For more details about Project Bloom and how to help, contact Brian Lewis-Jones of the American Red Cross of Greater Chicago’s Safe Families Program.