PC: Benevolence Farm
The agency contributed $1.1 million towards the development, according to its chair, Adam Abram.
The project aims to help residents manage a household and rebuild their lives after incarceration, with support from peers, according to Benevolence Farm. Her request became the starting point for the Tiny Home Community, according to Benevolence Farm. The organisation says the homes will let residents practise managing a single household while having supportive peers nearby. The farm described the homes as an alternative to traditional congregate reentry housing, which it said often replicates conditions and trauma associated with incarceration.
The organisation is building the homes on its property in Graham, giving residents individual spaces and a community around them with supportive peers. The idea came from Deb, and dozens of alumni helped co-design the project. Dozens of the farm’s alumni have helped co-design the project. The idea is to make independent living possible without leaving residents isolated from a community they can rely on for support. The development would include seven individual homes on Benevolence Farm’s property in Graham, North Carolina. The organisation describes it as a first-of-its-kind tiny home community created for and by formerly incarcerated women and gender-expansive people. Each resident will have a private home rather than living in a shared group setting. The community is intended to help residents practise independent living while remaining part of a supportive network. The homes are being designed around trauma-informed principles, with private, dignified living space for residents as they work towards rebuilding their lives after prison. North Carolina First Lady Anna Stein delivered keynote remarks at the ceremony, which brought together state housing officials, community leaders, farm alumni and supporters. Representatives of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency also attended. Mona Evans, the farm’s Community Advocacy Director, and Linda Cayton, a farm alumna and local Certified Peer Support Specialist, spoke at the event about the importance of independent housing for successful reentry after prison.
