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‘A Lifesaver’: Ribbon Cut On Inmate-Built Tiny Home At Century Prison
April 9, 2025
“A lifesaver” — that’s how one inmate described the tiny home construction program at Century Correctional Institution during a ribbon cutting event Tuesday morning.
Just under a year ago, a groundbreaking ceremony was held inside the prison on Tedder Road for the program, the first of its kind in the state. The program is operated under the watchful eye of the Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) by PRIDE Enterprises — PRIDE stands for Prison Rehabilitative Industries and Diversified Enterprises. PRIDE is a not-for-profit corporation created by the Florida Legislature in 1981. It receives no state appropriations.
Tuesday, a ribbon was cut to officially mark the completion of the program’s first tiny home, which PRIDE donated back to Century CI. It will be used for staff housing adjacent to the prison for a correctional officer. Future builds will be sold as affordable housing.
In the program, inmates gain experience, complete classroom courses and gain industry certifications they can leverage to find employment once they are released.
One of the program’s first inmate participants was Robert Bassett, Jr. of Cantonment. Now 48, he is serving a six-year, three-month and nine-day sentence for battery and aggravated stalking convictions. He is scheduled to be released two days before Thanksgiving.
He joined the tiny home class in October 2023 when the PRIDE facility was nothing more than an open field within the confines of the prison fence.
“I’m proud. I’m proud,” he said about seeing the ribbon cutting for the program’s first complete tiny home. “It was dirt. We had problems, and we got through it together. I’ve grown a lot.”
Bassett said he believes the tiny house program will lead him towards success when he is released in November.
“The housing market is pretty bad right now. They are deporting everybody. There’s got to be some work for me somewhere.” He hopes to find a job in finishing because he likes sheetrock and painting.
The best part of the program to Bassett?
“The escape. The reality of being perfect is because we’re out here 10 hours a day. That’s 10 hours a day I’m not in there watching somebody getting stabbed, watching somebody smoke dope, do something crazy. It’s been a lifesaver, really.”
Former state senator Doug Broxson, who was instrumental in establishing the program in Century CI, said the program will be a lifesaver for inmates rejoining society after their release.
“They will be full-fledged citizens working in our community,” Broxson said of the inmates in the program, many of whom will soon be released in the coming weeks and months.
Dignitaries who attended Tuesday morning’s ribbon cutting inside Century CI including Broxson, FDC Secretary Ricky Dixon, former Century CI warden and current FDC Deputy Secretary Richard Comerford, PRIDE President Blake Crown, and PRIDE Board of Directors Chair James Reeves.
NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.
Comments
4 Responses to “‘A Lifesaver’: Ribbon Cut On Inmate-Built Tiny Home At Century Prison”
Can an individual purchase one of these tiny homes? If so, who do you contact?
Wonderful story. All positive.
Wonderful use of resources and skill building…a WIN-WIN SITUATION all the way!
Good on all involved, this answers a question that is as old as the first prison, “What can a felon do after being released that society will let them do?”