What's In A Name?
The name Poppy Farm was chosen because of the symbol and meaning to the founder, Amber. Poppies are known to be resilient as they can thrive in harsh conditions. They also symbolize hope and the enduring human spirit in the face of adversity.
Amber got her first tattoo in her mid-thirties. It is on the inside of her left wrist and is a red poppy. She got it as a visual representation of all of the pain she was going through and to remind herself of the hope and resilience her family could have. At that time, her son was in a residential setting (for the second time) after being hospitalized in the psychiatric ward at Children’s Hospital-also for the second time. Despite the love, hard work, and skills Amber had; it was not enough to help her son overcome the obstacles from his first few years of life. She had to accept that she was not enough and she had to accept the child she had-not the one she pictured during the adoption process. It took a village and round-the-clock care for years before he would get better and they could start to heal as a family. The first time Amber witnessed her son have a healthy relationship interaction was with a horse during a therapeutic activity the first time he was in residential treatment. A few years later he would also start developing skills such as frustration tolerance and perseverance through an outward-bound program in his day treatment setting. While his journey, and Amber’s, is not yet over it is the inspiration behind Poppy Farm.
Amber got her first tattoo in her mid-thirties. It is on the inside of her left wrist and is a red poppy. She got it as a visual representation of all of the pain she was going through and to remind herself of the hope and resilience her family could have. At that time, her son was in a residential setting (for the second time) after being hospitalized in the psychiatric ward at Children’s Hospital-also for the second time. Despite the love, hard work, and skills Amber had; it was not enough to help her son overcome the obstacles from his first few years of life. She had to accept that she was not enough and she had to accept the child she had-not the one she pictured during the adoption process. It took a village and round-the-clock care for years before he would get better and they could start to heal as a family. The first time Amber witnessed her son have a healthy relationship interaction was with a horse during a therapeutic activity the first time he was in residential treatment. A few years later he would also start developing skills such as frustration tolerance and perseverance through an outward-bound program in his day treatment setting. While his journey, and Amber’s, is not yet over it is the inspiration behind Poppy Farm.
Pure Happiness. His first healthy relationship.
Letting one of his younger sisters have a turn.
Amber believes that she and her family have endured these hardships to bring her to a place where they can give back by providing Poppy Farm to others who are struggling. Amber and her family know firsthand how expensive mental health intervention and support can be. They aim to remove this barrier by providing mental health services alongside animals and nature at no cost to families. This also enables them to provide services through a more equitable lens: all children will be considered despite their race, gender, religion, socio-economic status, etc.