At Blooming Health Farms, we often say we’re more than just a farm—we’re a place of new beginnings, especially for the young people who come through our gates seeking a fresh start. One such story is about a 14-year-old girl who found herself at a crossroads in life, and a simple fence post became a symbol of something much bigger.

One day, she called me to find a place to do community service, expecting nothing more than another place to check off her hours. I could tell in her voice she felt lost, angry, and unsure. But she showed up as scheduled to our farm site on the north end of Greeley. I gave her grandmother a brief introduction, and then it was up to me to help this young girl. Something shifted inside her as she picked up trash along F Street, collected eggs from the chicken coop, and helped set fence posts under the hot Colorado sun.

This young girl grew up navigating the chaos of the foster care system. She bounced between homes while grappling with the painful reality of her parents’ alcoholism. She was forced to be an adult from a young age, shouldering burdens no child should ever bear.

Sound familiar?

By the time she reached her early teenage years, the scars of her past were already etched deep. She started making unhealthy choices, putting her in the wrong crowd. It wasn’t long before the courts got involved, and she was ordered to complete community service—a task she saw as another punishment.

Her greatest battle wasn’t with the courts or the system but with herself. A reoccurring theme among those we help...

Years of trauma and self-doubt had convinced her that she wasn’t capable of much. She often felt like she was fighting against an invisible force that kept pulling her back into the same destructive patterns. The pain of her parents’ absence, the instability of foster care, and the weight of her own mistakes hung over her like a storm cloud.

But Blooming Health Farms offered her something she didn’t expect: a chance to rebuild, one small task at a time. She learned that community service could be more than just paying a debt to society—it could be a way to reconnect with herself and her potential. The repetitive rhythm of farm work—picking up trash, tending to chickens, hammering in fence posts—became a form of therapy. Each completed task was a small victory, a step toward proving to herself that she could be dependable, valuable, and capable.

Through this journey, she had a simple yet powerful realization: community service could be meaningful. It wasn’t about ticking off hours; it was about learning skills, connecting with others, and feeling pride in a well-done job. The farm became a safe space where she wasn’t just a “problem” to be fixed but a person to be valued and nurtured.

With every fence post set and every egg collected, she felt a growing sense of pride and purpose. She realized that she wasn’t defined by her past or her mistakes. Her work at Blooming Health Farms was a tangible testament to her ability to change and grow. She began to see herself not as a lost cause but as someone with the potential and the power to shape her future. By the time her service hours were up, she had found something even more valuable—a belief in herself that no one could take away.

The fence posts she helped set still stand tall, much like her spirit, a testament to what can happen when you give a young person a chance to feel seen, heard, and valued. If you know any youth who need community service hours or could use a supportive space like ours, send them our way. Blooming Health Farms is more than just a place to work—it’s a place to grow.

​​Do you know any youth who needs hours? Have them fill out this Google Form.