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Davis Farmhouse Provides Work, Relief For Adults With Mental Illnesses

DAVIS (CBS13) — A 12-acre property in Yolo County provides a place to live, a job, and even some therapy for adults who have mental illness.

There's a lot going on at the Farmhouse in Davis. On any given day, you can find goats, chickens and even a pig.

You can also find Kundeel Diaz, who goes by KC, one of many who tend to the land.

"It's hard work, but it's good for me," he said.

But he's not your average farmer, and this isn't your average farm.

"It keeps my mind off the voices in my head," he said.

KC suffers from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. He lives at Farmhouse, a long-term residential treatment facility for adults with mental illness.

"It's taught me how to manage my medication and it's taught me to work hard and persevere at everything," he said.

Farm-to-Mouth, a farm and garden work detail is the latest addition to the Farmhouse facility.

Anna Ruth Crittenden is the coordinator for the program that provides part-time work and a paycheck to not only those who live at the facility, but others as well. The new program also teaches them responsibility, but most importantly provides them with a therapeutic activity.

"Often times, it'll be like 'Wow, I've never done that before,' or 'Wow look this is growing!'" she said.

And now the program is getting a huge upgrade, with a greenhouse courtesy of a $2,000 donation and free labor provided by the Northern California Construction Training.

The group is donating about 40 hours of its time, equaling about $4,000 to $5,000 in labor.

"The people that are out here get to see how these people are doing and strive to improve and be better like them," NCCT instructor Brian Bartch said.

That means more opportunities to dig in and get dirty on the farm so folks like KC can continue on a new and clean path.

"Recently I started talking to my mom and stepdad again, and they're really proud of me," KC said.

For more information on how to donate to the program, head to http://y3c.org.

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