A nonprofit broke ground on Thursday in Graham for North Carolina's first tiny home community for formerly incarcerated women. Benevolence Farm provides women with transitional housing and job training after they get out of jail or prison - no matter what they were convicted of.
The about $1.1 million tiny home project was mostly funded through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency. First Lady Anna Stein was among those at the groundbreaking.
“These tiny homes will provide a strong foundation for formerly incarcerated women to begin their reentry journeys, to get back on their feet and to get the resources they need for success,” she said.
Benevolence Farm’s new tiny homes will include a full bedroom, full bath, and kitchen, as well as a washer, dryer, and a small living space. A few former incarcerated women, who used the nonprofit's services, were able to help with the design process for the tiny homes.
Mona Evans, a former resident of Benevolence Farm and the nonprofit’s community director, was a part of the group of women who gave input on the design.
“We said no loft with beds, because it reminded us of bunks and jails and prisons,” she said. “We didn't want to climb up ladders.”
Evans added that the tiny homes will provide a space to practice budgeting day-to-day and affordable rent.
Linda Cayton, another formerly incarcerated woman, attended Thursday’s groundbreaking. Cayton is a former resident of the nonprofit and now a peer support professional for Alamance County. She said the tiny homes will help women worry less about having privacy.
“These individual spaces mean we no longer will be sharing showers with 23 other women, and we don't have to worry about guards walking by and looking at us while we're sitting on our toilets,” she said, during a press conference at the groundbreaking.
Other input from the women included open and airy spaces with a lot of windows.
Women wanting to live in the tiny home neighborhood must first be eligible. Benevolence Farm’s Executive Director, Kristen Powers, said the women must meet some requirements, and then they can apply.
“The biggest adjustment to move to the tiny homes is just making sure folks understand that it will be independent living, where they are responsible for a small, affordable rent, but also responsible for their own items, like toiletries, cookware,” said Powers.
“We're trying to treat this like you're moving to your own place. So some people might need to save up a bit of money before they do that, or they might want to practice a little bit more living independently.”
A ribbon-cutting ceremony for the tiny home neighborhood is expected in early fall of next year.
