GRAYS HARBOR COUNTY, Wash. – An apprentice program at a Grays Harbor County farm gives former inmates and addicts an opportunity to turn their lives around.
Nita Cross spent hours in the dirt on a hotter than usual spring day planting potatoes and running a tractor, but Cross had no complaints.
“I absolutely love my job,” said Cross. “I’ve never had a job before.”
One year ago, Cross, 28, said she was homeless and addicted to meth.
“I actually pay rent now. I pay for my Comcast,” said Cross. “I absolutely adore it.”
She said she’s been able to support herself thanks to the Harbor Roots Farm just outside of Montesano.
Cross is one of four apprentices hired to work the fields by Reverend Sarah Monroe, an Episcopal pastor at Chaplains on the Harbor in Westport. The church started leasing the three-acre farm in March. Monroe's apprentices all have histories of drug use, homelessness, and criminal records.
Selling shares of the produce generates the funding to pay the apprentices' salaries.
Leftover vegetables will be used to feed the hungry in Grays Harbor County.
Monroe said the program is working.
“What I’ve seen over and over is so much hope, so much courage,” said Monroe.
“This job has changed my life,” said Cross, who said getting a paycheck and having a place to work every day keeps her out of trouble.
“I wasn’t the greatest homeless person,” said Cross.
