Farm with tiny homes for unhoused people opens in Temple

TEMPLE, Texas (KWTX) - A new community for unhoused people to live and work opened its doors on Saturday. It’s called Elizabeth Farm, named after Elizabeth from the Bible who taught her son, John the Baptist, to give back to others.

The cut of a ribbon symbolizes a new start for Shawn Hadley.

”You know it hasn’t hit me yet, but tonight I’ll probably be bawling my eyes out,” Hadley said.

After four years of being unhoused, he now has a tiny home to call his own.

“I’m thanking the Lord a lot and just all of the community being here today, it’s really mind blowing,” Hadley said.

At a special ceremony Hadley got the keys for a home built entirely by Temple High School students.

”We have designed and built everything besides the blueprints, which we outsourced, but everything else we made in house,” Temple High School junior Logan Meeks said.

The students spent the last two and a half years working on the project and learned skills beyond construction through the experience.

”It really helped with communication and allowed me to thoroughly express my ideas and my wants and my needs whenever I need to get something done,” Temple High School junior Jesse Tipton said.

The tiny home is the first of three that will go on Feed My Sheep’s Elizabeth Farm, a new resource for unhoused people in Temple.

”Part of the goal is that if they desire to get permanent housing they can come out here, stay an amount of time and show that they’re making steps and we’ll do whatever we can to get them in permanent housing,” Elizabeth Farm director Zach Behr said.

The unhoused people who live onsite will be responsible for taking care of the produce garden and tending to the farm animals.

”There’s just something about working outside and working on a farm that is just fulfilling and it’s just something we can use to fulfill our vision,” Behr said.

Part of the produce from the garden will be used in meals at Feed My Sheep’s soup kitchen.

Elizabeth Farm is looking for volunteers to assist with daily operations. Anyone interested in lending a hand can put in an application here.