Tiny homes, big ideas: Fredericton non-for-profit builds tiny homes to address affordable housing shortage
With so many struggling to find affordable housing, a Fredericton entrepreneur thinks tiny homes may be a big part of the solution.
Software engineer Marcel LeBrun started ’12 Neighbours’ a non-for profit with tiny plans for a big plot of land.
"A tiny home community in particular came about as a goal to optimize for dignity the idea of giving someone their own four walls, their own door they can lock, and something that they can call their own, their own space is really important to create the most dignified experience for people," explains LeBrun.
LeBrun and his team are building what they call a ‘social-enterprise community’ of 96 tiny homes for those who can’t afford their home.
He says he researched the best ingredients that go into a successful community.
"As a community we tend to be good all throughout North America at relief so we help people with their circumstance but you come back later and not really much changes, whether its giving someone emergency food or shelter for a night but how do you actually help people transform,” says LeBrun.
The homes will be 10 by 24 feet in size and the community was designed based on consultations with some of the people who need them.
"I've spent the whole summer actually engaging in conversation with people who are housing insecure or living rough currently,” says LeBrun.
The project is all about making housing affordable.
"People will be assessed and be charged about a third of their income so if someone's on social assistance then they might be paying $200 a month, and be reassessed every year based on that.”
The community will also have social supports through community managers.
"They know not only everyone’s name but everyone's goals and dreams so that they can help facilitate and walk beside people hope to achieve their goals," says LeBrun.
And he says, rounding out the community will be a social-enterprise center with businesses and programs for the community's occupants.
"That will have a cafe, retail, an art store, and tiny home manufacturing so we'll be using them as training businesses to help people develop skills."
LeBrun is hoping to have the first block of homes ready for this winter.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
'I was scared': Ontario man's car repossessed after missing two repair loan payments
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
First court appearance for boy and girl charged in death of Halifax 16-year-old
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.