Sporting a pair of gardening boots, Wendy, a Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health resident, carefully placed potted succulents by Goleta’s Stow House on Friday morning.
Those plants, sorted in vibrant handmade crates, will be at the center of Goleta’s Dam Dinner on Saturday, an annual gathering for city public officials and community members at Lake Los Carneros. A handful of Devereux residents delivered around 50 succulents as part of its greenhouse pre-vocational program for adults with intellectual disabilities and cognitive challenges.
Devereux requested the News-Press not use residents’ last names to protect their identities.
“I like getting close to nature and visiting the community,” said Robert, another Devereux resident who delivered the succulents.
Wendy, who has been at Devereux for more than 40 years, said her favorite part about the program was putting the soil in the pots and giving the plants the nutrients they need. The residents call themselves “the Greenhouse Team” and spend around six weeks preparing the succulents.
While preparing the plants, listening to the 99.9 FM radio station—which features classic rock artists such as AC/DC and Led Zeppelin—was another highlight for Wendy.
“That’s my favorite station,” she said.
The Devereux residents make everything from scratch, said Michele La Grange, direct support professional and clinical case manager for Devereux’s Adult Day Program. Devereux buys the wood for the crates, then the residents sand it down, cut it into pieces, drill the holes and nail it together.
They also do arts and crafts year-round, including painting the boxes and making ornaments as whimsical decorations, La Grange said.
“Everyone that works with us does something,” she said. “We listen to music while we’re doing it, and we take breaks and have snacks together. It’s just a really enriched kind of environment.”
Indra Strong, manager of marketing and admissions for Devereux, said this year’s program was particularly meaningful because it helped residents find solace in each other after the greenhouse’s senior staff member died earlier this year.
“Everyone has stepped in and helped run the greenhouse,” Strong said. “It’s been a bittersweet process and healing process too, for the individuals to work on the succulents and carry on the tradition.”
The program began when Goleta Mayor Paula Perotte, who served a three-year term on the Devereux Board, saw the succulents in the greenhouse herself, said Kelly Hoover, the city of Goleta’s community relations manager.
“She put in the request, made it happen and the rest is history,” she said.
Hoover said the succulents add a special touch to the Dam Dinner. A lucky few who attend the event will be able to bring some of the Devereux residents’ succulents home, she said.
Devereux’s greenhouse program, Strong said, makes an impact because its mission is clear.
“These are local plants, and done by and chosen and arranged and propagated by people who live locally and who are served locally,” Strong said. “Altogether, that’s a celebration of who we are and where we live—and of community.”
