Tiny home community more than a roof overhead, a project of hope
A project that has been in the works for a little over a decade will come to life in fall 2023 at the Farm at Penny Lane. It is a project aimed to bridge the gap between affordable housing and mental health.
Farm Director Thava Mahadevan realized the crucial connection between the two when he was forced to flee from his native country, Sri Lanka.
“Our home was attacked by a mob,” he says. “We managed to escape by jumping from the second story.”
After his experiences, and seeing firsthand the consequences of not having housing, Mahadevan knew he had to do something about it.
His solution: a tiny homes village for people with mental health illness.
He said, “What we are hoping to do is create this amazing public-private partnership with the university and the community nonprofits, and also faith-based groups and other groups in the community to be able to build 15 tiny homes at the Farm at Penny Lane.”
Amy Blank Wilson, co-director of Tiny Homes Village and an associate professor of social work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, agrees that this is a pertinent issue within communities and believes this project is giving people more than just a roof over their head.
“I feel the hope that this project brings to people and, and it's contagious," she said.
The project is more than just a business proposition for Mahadevan. “To me, this is life changing. It's clearly transformational for people," he said.
Out of the 15 new homes that will be available in the fall, five will be reserved for veterans.
Lauren Lennon, senior studying broadcast journalism at the University of Miami, contributed this story as part of the 2023 CBC-UNC Diversity Fellowship.
