Green bean seeds sprinkle down from Joseph Rogers' hands into the dry soil in front of him.
It’s a sunny Friday afternoon in the Fountain Square Community Garden as “Step by Step” plays from his speaker. Rogers dances to the music, gloved hands in the air.
“When I play music it makes the plants grow faster,” he said.
Most Southeast Neighborhood Development (SEND) programs, a community development non-profit founded by the city's south and southeast residents, are focused on affordable housing, commercial renovation, economic and small business support and improving green and public spaces.
Their gardening program, started this year, works with young adults who have been formerly incarcerated or involved with the justice system to offer them employment opportunities while also cultivating community gardens.
The harvest from this garden, including watermelon, strawberries, broccoli and a variety of other fruits and vegetables go to Fountain View senior living apartments and the Elaine, a food pantry.
Bryant Washington and Devonte Lawson planted with Rogers this summer as part of the ReGrowth program.
South and southeast Indy residents wanted to improve food systems, said Alex Hughes, the Community Builder for SEND, which is how ReGrowth was born. ReGrowth participants worked five hours a day, five days a week, for $16 an hour.
“We shouldn’t have so many barriers around employment,” Hughes said. “But there are for that population.”
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