Not everything therapeutic is called therapy. The Farm at Penny Lane (Carrboro, NC) uses a holistic and sustainable approach to enhance the quality of life of individuals with severe and persistent mental illness. At the farm, I facilitated wellness and cooking classes - and enjoyed participating in gardening education programs. The farm's magic was its community: people with mental illness, clinicians, students, and volunteers all learning side by side, without labels. It revealed how well-being is sustained by daily life conditions: access to healthy food, stability, and spaces that foster belonging, agency, and purpose.
