Rural farm an addiction recovery haven for Moncton's most vulnerable

Surrounded by sprawling pastures, Charlie Burrell explains his vision for transforming hundreds of acres of rural land into a place where people living on the streets can turn their lives around.

"It's a massive property," he said. "We have lots of room for expansion and to keep growing into the future."

On a quiet road in Little River, about 37 kilometres southwest of Moncton, there's no cell service and little noise beyond the occasional chirping of crickets, birdsand sounds from the farm's pigs and cows.

Next to a weathered barn, a cluster of 20 tiny houses will be built. In a large three-storey building, the walls are going up for small apartments. The goal is to get the first phase ready for vulnerable people to move in before winter hits.

Burrell said the calm environment is a good fit for the "therapeutic community" he plans to start in a month free from the sirens and traffic of Moncton's streets.

"It's away from the unhealthy environment of the city," he said.

"You need a place of solitude where you can gather your thoughts, you can have some time alone, you can sit and relax it's so peaceful out here. It's beautiful."

No 'cookie cutter' path to recovery

The Humanity Project, a Moncton non-profit that serves meals to people in need, has been working for several years to turn the 187-acre farm into a recovery centre. The project will focus on people who are not being served by existing shelters and services in the city.

It will operate as a full rehabilitation centre, where individuals will be offered housing, and mental health and addictions recovery services. The first phase of the project, building 20 single-unit houses this fall, recently received a $310,000 grant from the City of Moncton.

Social Development Minister Jill Green has committedto up to $1.2 million in funding for services at the farm. The facility plans tohave addictions and mental health professionals available on site.

WATCH | See the farm's first tiny house for people in recovery:

Take a tour of a recovery farm for Moncton's homeless

1 year ago

Duration 3:28

The Humanity Project is transforming hundreds of acres of rural land into a place where people can turn their lives around. Founder Charlie Burrell explains his vision.

The farm will only take people who want to recover and are no longer using substances when they arrive.

Burrell said the farm's staff will help guests with an individual path to recovery, recognizing that there's no "cookie cutter" approach to helping someone get back on their feet.

"Different people need to work on different skills," he said. "There's people that have been eating at our place for so long that you give them a box of Kraft dinner, they don't know how to cook it properly because they're so used to just taking peanut butter and putting it on bread."

People in recovery will start off living in the tiny-house units, which are similar to a private bedroom. The homes will be 8 feetx 8 feet with a bed, desk, closet, mini fridge, air conditioning and heat. They'll have access to a communal kitchen, living room and bathroom in a main building.

After developing skills, guests will be able to transition to a small apartment-style unit with a kitchenette or a full independent tiny home with a kitchen, living room and bathroom.

"The point and the plan is to move people ahead," Burrell said. "So when people are better and they're healthy, and they feel like moving off our farm and into town, having an apartment is not going to be so foreign to them.

"We inspire people to do better. And the only way to do that, is to help people that voluntarily want the help now."

'I can't wait to go'

At the Humanity Project's building on St. George Street in downtown Moncton, a hot supper is offered every evening. A few hundred people stop by to pick up a takeout container during the two hours the doors are open.

Jonah Gibson-Eagles is standing on the sidewalk with his meal. He said he's been homeless in Moncton for almost 20 years. For the past decade, he's been coming to the Humanity Project for food and shelter.

"It's been a struggle," he said.

"Since I've been homeless, there's definitely some mental damage there."

Gibson-Eagles, 39, said he's tried other shelters in the city and has stayed at Harvest House. Now, he's hoping to start recovery in Little River.

"I can't wait to go myself because it's a good seclusion," he said. "We're getting ourselves out of the old and kind of into something new.

"There's going to be many people wanting to be housed at the farm, especially once they see what good it does for the people of our city that need the help."

'I see a lot of need'

Outside the Humanity Project, John Renton is talking with some of the people who stopped by for a meal. He lives a few blocks away and walks the streets helping those struggling with homelessness, something he said he felt compelled to do after recovering from his own addiction.

"I see a lot of need for things that aren't cookie cutter, that aren't 'what you need is this," he said. "And if they're not tailored a little bit, then needs aren't metso they end up back on the streets."

Renton said there's a "phenomenal" number of people who can't go to any existing shelters because of the rules or risks. He estimates he sees about 250 individuals are currently staying outside.

"Charlie's upcoming farm is an ideal solution in my opinion," he said.

"Yes there are requirements, yes there are rules, of course that has to happen. But it's for the people that are wanting to change their lives and without a time limit."

Burrell said his staff are already doing street outreach to try toidentify the highest-risk people for the first spots in the tiny homes. He said those not allowed at existing shelters are at risk of dying this winter.

"That's the hardest part that weighs on my heart ... who do you take, and who do you leave behind."