About Us

Aloha, my name is Diana Spruill, I created Fertile Ground Inc. in 2019 after fleeing an abusive marriage. Being a single mother was not as difficult as I thought, but it was hard. I saw the need for a connection of services. Just a network of women keeping the community updated with social services. March 3rd, 2020, I moved to Kauai Hawaii. I had two jobs and paid 1500 for a one bedroom. Every year after that my rent went up to 1700, 1900 and then finally 2100 in August of 2024. I had already put my name on waiting list for low income I did not make enough to pay “regular Kauai rent'". I was homeless living in my vehicle with my seven-year-old daughter for three months. Every day I went to KEO emergency shelter to see if there was any change on the wait list. And most days I would cry walking away. The day that KEO emergency called me was the best, I was ecstatic. We lived at the Shelter for six months before I got a rental from Hawaii Public Housing in Hanama’ulu.

Homelessness is spreading with each horrific event we experience; from floods to fires, people are being sent to the islands with nothing, adding to an already growing local community of those losing their homes that they lived in for five to ten years because the renter is selling the home. People that work on the island are becoming homeless because we don’t make enough to own.

Fertile Ground Inc. wants to a connecting network of services and a think tank to solve the problem of homelessness.