GRAHAM, NC – Benevolence Farm has broken ground on North Carolina’s first independent transitional housing community specifically designed for formerly incarcerated women and gender-expansive people. First Lady of North Carolina Anna Stein delivered keynote remarks at the Thursday, November 20 ceremony.
The Tiny Home Community will provide seven individual housing units on Benevolence Farm’s property in Graham, offering an innovative alternative to traditional congregate reentry housing that often replicates the conditions and trauma of incarceration. Each unit will provide private, dignified living space designed with trauma-informed principles.
“These tiny homes will provide a strong foundation for formerly incarcerated women to begin their reentry journeys and obtain the resources they need for success,” said First Lady Anna Stein, one of the event’s speakers.
The ceremony brought together state housing officials, community leaders, Benevolence Farm alumni, and supporters who have made this project possible. Representatives from the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, a key partner in financing the development, joined the program.
“We are very pleased to offer $1.1 million toward this effort. Safe and sustainable housing for everyone in North Carolina is a goal of our organization,” said Adam Abram, chair of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.
In total, the Tiny Home Community will cost $1,792,202.00 to complete. Expenses include architectural design, engineering, site preparation, construction, landscaping, and furnishing.
Mona Evans, Community Advocacy Director at Benevolence Farm, and Linda Cayton, a Benevolence Farm alumna and local Certified Peer Support Specialist, shared perspectives on why independent housing is critical for successful reentry.
“We are proud to be part of the Tiny Home design process because people closest to the challenge should be closest to the solution. Every choice we made was about reclaiming what prison took from us: choice and dignity,” Evans said.
According to the Prison Policy Initiative, formerly incarcerated women face housing instability at significantly higher rates than the general population, with many cycling between housing insecurity, unstable housing arrangements, and reincarceration. Nationally, women’s incarceration has grown at 10 times the rate since 1970, and North Carolina has seen women’s prison populations outpace men’s growth in recent years.
The Tiny Home Community addresses a gap in North Carolina’s reentry infrastructure by providing stable, independent housing that supports women and gender-expansive individuals as they rebuild their lives after incarceration. Construction is expected to be completed in fall 2026.
The groundbreaking ceremony took place at Benevolence Farm in Graham, NC. Following the program, attendees toured the farm and learned more about Benevolence Farm’s holistic approach to supporting formerly incarcerated individuals.
