DALLAS — With the creation of the Bonton Tiny House Village, Bonton Farms hopes to not only put a roof over people’s heads but also set a new standard for providing affordable housing options to those who need them. As of now, two out of three 339-square-foot tiny houses sit on the farm waiting to be turned into homes.

“Unfortunately, Dallas was built to attract people with wealth,” said Daron Babcock, executive director and founder of Bonton Farms. “So, we haven’t really innovated housing solutions that are beautiful and dignified for people that maybe find themselves in the bottom of the socioeconomic platform.”

Babcock and his staff see people of all walks of life come through the farm, whether it’s those dealing with homelessness, addiction, formerly incarcerated or trying to leave a life of domestic abuse and human trafficking behind.

“One of the big things that is a barrier to people stabilizing is not having a place to live that feels enough like home to where they can get adequate rest,” he said. “If they’re in a shelter, what we’ve learned is that they were able to come back and forth here. But, the work that we would do here to help them grow was almost neutralized or would go negative by what they experienced when they went home at night.”

Knowing that, the team at Bonton Farms began brainstorming solutions to the problem. The outcome: a micro-community in the Bonton Tiny House Village.

“How do you expect someone to go forward when they’re suffering at nighttime when they go home?,” Babcock said. “So, we needed to get involved in housing solutions that allow people to continue the healing process when they went home after a hard day’s work.”

Like most impoverished areas of Dallas, Babcock says the average rent for those living in Bonton is too high for residents. He went on to say that the base rent for a studio apartment in the area is nearly $900/month.

“So, how does somebody who just makes $14 an hour have a roof over their head?” Babcock asked. “Those options just aren’t available. There’s some places, like extended stay hotels, rundown apartments that they can stay in. But, they’re likely to lose their life there. Everything they’re trying to overcome is in those places.”

In a 2020 report released by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the median family income for the Dallas area is $86,200.

“Unfortunately, in the City of Dallas, we use terminology that’s really bad for our community,” Babcock said. “We use wording around affordable housing that’s tied to AMI (area median income).That’s not affordable housing. That’s middle-class housing today.”

As of now, tiny houses are prohibited in Dallas. But, Babcock hopes that the Bonton Tiny House Village will be the model that changes the narrative of affordable housing for Dallas and other cities. He says the micro-community will only consist of three tiny houses as of now where tenants will pay for rent and utilities. The grey houses with white trim sit next to each other, hoping to foster a community of strength that Babcock says will help its owners when times potentially get tough.

“No one pays rent in excess of 30% of their income,” he said. “We try to keep it below 20% because we really encourage people to save. Most of the people we are working with have nothing to start with and so how do you build up, if all of your bills take everything you have?”

“When they’re in a micro-community of people who has a neighbor by them who is fighting for the same thing, they usually lean on each other,” he said.

Babcock has made it his life’s mission to help those who others call “irredeemable.”

“I’m so passionate about this, because I’m one of them,” he said. “I’m an addict in recovery. I had given up on life. I had screwed up everything up you could screw up. I had no place to turn. But I had a core group of people who didn’t quit on me and they provided me with what I needed.”

Babcock insists that he’s here now as a testament to his past and he’s using it to inspire others to turn their lives around.

“Honestly, in that journey, God wrecked my life in a good way and I started to view myself and others as His special creation,” he said. “So, my faith is a big part of it to me and I believe everybody is created in His image — that’s what I subscribe to. And life happens. Things don’t always work according to plan, but it doesn’t mean that it’s not redeemable.”

More than an urban farm, Bonton Farms has worked to address barriers preventing the people of Bonton from living a life less than they deserve. From providing jobs to those formerly incarcerated to feeding the community through its Farmers Market, Bonton Farms works to transform lives.

“Language like ‘people deserve a second chance’ isn’t helpful, because they probably didn’t have a chance in the first place,” he said. “Most of the people I serve never had a chance. The fact that they have a heartbeat and air going through their lungs is a miracle. What they’ve never had is the chance at having the right opportunity with the right tools to build a life with.”

Through rehabilitation, Bonton Farms has given people looking to start over a platform to do so.

“Almost 80% of the people who come through here make it to being employed for more than a year,” he said. It sticks. It’s not something we help them get to a certain place. They’re there awhile and then relapse back to their old ways.”

The village is a start. Babcock maintains more has to be done to provide affordable housing in and around Dallas.

“We’ve got to try to innovate and create safe places that allow people to have homes where they can afford, they have the dignity of paying their own rent and that they’re safe and that they’re beautiful,” he said. “And it feels enough like home that they’re able to build a life from.”