"It is our job to ask people with psychiatric disabilities what it is they want and need in order to grow and then to provide them with good soil in which a new life can secure its roots and grow." Patricia E. Deegan, Ph.D. Survivor of mental illness The philosophy of the Aloha Garden is to provide a supportive environment where our clients can develop their full potential. The garden is staffed by a psychiatric technician, a recreation therapist, a neurocognitive therapist, two social workers, and a psychosocial rehabilitation clinician. We have implemented the principles of the Recovery Model in creating individualized, meaningful activities that fosters physical, cognitive, social, and emotional growth. Clients chose from a variety of activities ranging from tilling the soil, planting seeds, watering and fertilizing the plants, weeding, harvesting produce, selling produce at the produce market, picking flowers and making leis, and cooking. Specific goals may include vocational training in the operation of garden equipment, learning cashier skills at the produce market, learning office management skills by ordering equipment and supplies or learning culinary skills. Other goals include developing leisure activities to compensate for aggressive behavior; increasing physical strength, endurance and coordination; improving cognition by providing reality-based, graded structured activities that range from increasing concentration and attention to problem solving in a real-life situation; and increasing social skills by providing opportunities for cooperative group work. In order to meet the needs of Hawaii's unique culture, we have developed a Hawaiian Garden class which helps our clients recover from the effects of substance use and mental illness through the learning of Hawaiian values. Emphasis is on malama pono; maintaining one's harmony through active participation in learning olelo noe'au (proverbs), mo'olelo (stories of old and new), and hana noe'au (skilled crafts).