Friend,
2024 wasted no time with introductions. It was ready to kick off here at Benevolence Farm.
We just finished a successful year-end campaign (thank you!) with the theme “Home for the Holidays.” And because of this community, five mothers and nine children celebrated together under the roof of their own home.
The Housing First Fund, launched in 2023, is our effort to provide financial support so that people can actually afford to get into housing after prison. We pay the security deposits, which are often doubled in amount due to the perceived risk of one’s criminal record, so that people can sign their lease and move on with their reentry process.
Well, the first week of January 2024, our Housing First Fund applications took off. We went from funding $5,000 worth in security deposits in 2023, to receiving a need of nearly $30,000 in the first few days of 2025. People from the following NC counties applied: Guilford, Beaufort, Cumberland, Brunswick, Alamance, Forsyth, Chatham, Johnston, Greene, Harnett, Sampson, Scotland, Washington, and Wilson.
The demand blew the roof off our capacity. Sadly, we had to close the form and start a waitlist, which is currently at about $10,000 worth of unmet need. We are searching for more grants to address this immediate gap.
In the future, it is our goal to meet with state and county government officials to show why formerly incarcerated people need financial support from their local and state government. We also invite those who invest and/or manage property to open a dialogue with us regarding the barriers that make it nearly impossible for formerly incarcerated people to make the most of their reentry experience.
This multi-paragraph intro was originally going to be me, Kristen, on a fired-up emedded video about this topic but, alas, I got sick with a cold and nobody needs to hear my voice right now. But I hope the passion and urgency in my writing comes through because this is truly a crisis our state faces.
Not only is Benevolence Farm addressing the urgent need of second chance housing in the community, but we are also in the process of trying to do so on our own land.
In the next week or so, you’ll receive another e-mail from me, inviting you to our Tiny Home Design Open House. Join us as we “show you around” the sketches of our proposal designed with and by BF alumni and residents. It is our hope to raise about $300,000 through sponsors and in-kind donations to make us competitive enough for the NC Housing Finance Agency’s Supportive Housing Development zero-interest loan application this year. More to come!
As always, if you’d like to discuss any of these topics in this newsletter, please don’t hesitate to reach out. My e-mail is kp@benevolencefarm.org.
Stay warm, y’all.
Kristen Powers (she/her/ella)
Executive Director
