Tiny Home Community Offers Safe, Affordable Homes With Mental Health Support

The Farm at Penny Lane, a tiny home community near Pittsboro, N.C., is a pioneering effort to provide horticultural therapy and affordable housing for individuals suffering from mental illness. Developed in partnership with the University of North Carolina's School of Social Work and home builder Garman Homes, the initiative aims to address the risk of homelessness among those with mental health challenges while providing a replicable solution for building affordable housing.

The community includes 15 tiny homes alongside an organic farm and animal therapy facilities, while also offering mental health services. UNC's School of Social Work will study the project to explore possibilities for replication across the country in a wider effort to help other communities address this critical need, according to UNC.

It starts with a colorful front door, which opens up into 416 square feet of home.

“The colors on the doors are kind of our signature,” said Alaina Money-Garman, CEO of Garman Homes. “It is a small space, but it is packed with thought and love and envisioning someone getting a lot better inside this space.”

Welcome to the Farm at Penny Lane: More than just a collection of tiny homes, it’s a community built upon mental health services near Pittsboro, North Carolina.

“Having a safe, affordable place to call home — it’s so paramount,” said Thava Mahadevan, director of the nonprofit XDS or Cross Disability Services and part of the faculty of the University of North Carolina’s School of Medicine.

“To me, this is very personal. I am a refugee from Sri Lanka, one of the lucky ones to get out alive, and experienced some housing insecurity,” Mahadevan said.

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