I got a $20,000 grant to build a tiny home on my property. It was expensive to start, but I feel secure in my old age now.

• Jean Lowell, 75, needed a more accessible house and her daughter needed an affordable one.
• After getting a grant and refinancing her home, she built a $130,000 backyard tiny home to live in.
• Her daughter moved into the main home and Lowell is able to age in place on her property in Vermont.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Jean Lowell, 75, a Montpelier, Vermont, resident who in 2020 built an accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, in her backyard after receiving a grant from Vermont Housing Improvement Program. The conversation was edited for length and clarity.

I didn't even know what an ADU was.