'We could fill 200 houses,' says tiny home community founder

It's been just over a year since the first people moved into the 12 Neighbours Community, a tiny home development in Fredericton, and founder Marcel LeBrun says it's now grown to 44 units and 45 members.

That includes seven people who arrived in thenorth-side community in recent days.

Forty-two of the units are occupied as of this week, he said. Three have double occupancy.

Tiny home No. 45 is expected to be delivered Thursday.

Many residents have been living in the tiny home communityfor months now, said LeBrun, and are having success staying housed, getting socially connected and working on personal goals.

Some residents already working

"We've had people who went from living outside to housed and employed within a year," he said.

"It's just really powerful to see what people are working on and the capabilities people have once they no longer are fighting for warmth and safety."

Two people have moved into apartments, he said, including one who got a job managing a building.Some have gotten off social assistance but have chosen to stay and give back to the community.

There's no prescribed timeline, said LeBrun. People are welcome to stay as long as they wish.

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By offering people these homes, the 12 Neighbours community has helped people get off social assistance and find work.

"It can be their house for life," he said. "That's really important. You can hang up the pictures, and you're not worried that the train is going to stop in 30 days, and you're going to end up back in crisis."

Melissa Armstrong, who spoke to CBCNews shortly after moving in last winter, is now one of the leaders on the welcoming committee, said LeBrun.

That's a function that has been handed over to residents, he said. New tenants get a welcome card, someone assigned to introduce them to neighbours and, often, a lasagna made by Armstrong.

Healthy social relationships are forming, he said.

"Community is a healing agent," said LeBrun. "We work hard to build that."

Another "huge" success story, he said, is a community member who is working on the tiny home construction crew, he said, who was able to get off of social assistance and buy a new car.

Other residents are now working at a screen printing business, he said, selling T-shirts through the 12-Neighbours website.

It's been a rich learning experience, he said.

"We're working through the intricacies of screen printing and building a brand and designing shirts. It's great."

Working on 'progressive employment'

The aim is to create "patient and progressive employment," said LeBrun.

People can start by working a couple of hours per day and may have steps forward and backward and "that's OK," he said.

The 12 Neighbours Community has definitely found a niche in the housing market, serving people who have been "chronically" homeless, but it's nowhere near meeting the total need.

"The demand is incredible," said LeBrun."We could fill 200 houses if we had them right away."

New tenants are chosen for 12 Neighbours by a committee through the Department of Social Development.

First focus on getting along

They use the "co-ordinated access system," also known as the by-name list of people who are unhoused. It's compiled by community agencies including shelters.

Most residents have come from living outside or in the shelter system or have been "bouncing around" or couch surfing, LeBrunsaid.

"We try to be as low-barrier as possible."

LeBrun said the focus when people first move in is on getting along with neighbours, paying rent and keeping their place clean.

Thenthey move on to expanding social connections.

And finally, people can start to work toward personal goals and paths to employment, he said.

Community members can opt in to a program that offers a financial incentive if they take part in three activities per month and work toward a goal with a group of mentors, he said.

A crew of 15 carpenters, including two community members, are building one tiny home per week in a former building supply warehouse on Clark Street now owned by Christ Central Church.

"Whatever the weather, we can keep rolling," said LeBrun.

They've come a long way toward streamlining the process, since the first tiny home was built in his backyard over a period of three months.

The builders work 10 hours a day on a four-day, rotating schedule, he said. Three homes are under construction at a time. Every four days, one new house is started and one new house is finished.

Two other people work on site doing the skirting and trimming.

Plans for commercial building

They are planning to build 48 homes this year.

Water and sewerage is currently in place for 54 homes, LeBrun said. Work is about to begin with excavators to prepare more.

Construction is also starting on a commercial building for classrooms, a caf and retail businesses, said LeBrun, adding it should be ready in about nine months, giving the general public greater access to the community.

Meanwhile, public tours are given once a month, said LeBrun, often guided by community members.