12 Neighbours founder wants to build 'rapidly deployable' transitional housing
An estimated 2,500 people are sleeping rough in New Brunswick
Marcel LeBrun wants to eliminate homelessness in Fredericton, and he thinks he has the right model to make it happen.
"We want to eliminate chronic homelessness," LeBrun said Tuesday.
"And we want to inspire other communities and support other communities in the Maritimes to do the same thing."
LeBrun is the founder of 12 Neighbours in Fredericton, which has been providing stable, permanent housing through tiny homes over the past three years to people living rough.
Now he's looking to expand with transitional housing through Neighbourly Homes.
LeBrun describes the new model as a "rapidly deployable, courtyard-style housing model" made up of 14 individual units with communal bathrooms and showers. Wrap-around services and community support are also integral to his vision, as LeBrun looks to house the nearly 200 people living rough in Fredericton.
It's important that the units be "ultra-low barrier," he said.
"You take away all the reasons why people choose to stay outside. There's no curfew, you have a private space that's lockable, you don't have to leave during the daytime.
"This fills a gap in our housing for people with complex challenges and helps them to have a safe, warm place from which we can help them build up the capacity to fund housing that's permanent."
Current estimates put the homeless population in New Brunswick at about 2,500 people.
Susan Hallet, who lives in 12 Neighbours and works in the factory constructing the new units, will also serve on the advisory board for the new project.
The new communities, Hallet said, will be a key piece of stability for those who are spending all of their time just struggling to survive.
"It's easier to start a stable life on a firm foundation — that's what it's all about," she said.
"This is the perfect stepping stone to start your life off. They just need to have somewhere that's safe, secure and warm."
The launch is supported by a $1.5 million donation from Dave and Paula O'Leary and Marcel and Sheila LeBrun. That donation will finance the first 200 units, some of which are likely to be in Fredericton. Others will be in communities across the province.
Construction on the units will begin immediately, and LeBrun said the factory can produce a unit a day for about $7,500. The average price for a new affordable housing unit is about $350,000, he said.
A site hasn't been selected for the first of the new Neighbourly Home communities, but LeBrun said he's hoping to work with the provincial and municipal governments to find temporary locations and to secure operational funding to run them.
Ultimately, LeBrun said, the goal is to bring a readily accessible solution, and expertise, to municipalities wondering how to deal with homelessness..
"We're trying to remove the barriers to rapidly deploying housing," LeBrun said.
"What we're offering with Neighbourly Homes is a fully managed service. We're going to build the houses, install the houses and operate the communities."
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