A Canadian millionaire has dedicated himself to building tiny homes to end homelessness in the New Brunswick city of Fredericton.
According to the Good News Network, Marcel LeBrun ran a successful social media monitoring company and sold it for eight figures. To put that money to good use, he started the 12 Neighbors community.
This houses 99 tiny homes and is specifically designed to offer the town’s estimated 1,600 homeless population a second chance.
LeBrun told CBC News the homes are pre-fabricated and built “every four business days.”
He noted that giving people a home is the easiest part. He stated, “How do you achieve and maintain housing stability? For some, that’s really easy. For others that’s a big shift in their lifestyle.”
He admitted this has caused some issues. A few squatters have created some confusion.
LeBrun noted, “[The resident] moves into a house and then other people show up and say, ‘Hey, you owe me this, you owe me that,’ and they kind of take over things and they have to learn, what does it mean to have a space where you are actually the manager of that space, and you control it … and you choose who you invite in and out? So, that’s a challenge.”
In a few rare instances, they have had to evict unsafe residents, but they have added a security gate to the community to help the previously homeless residents gain more control over their safety.
According to a CBC News video, the current neighborhood comes with a community center that houses a coffee bar for residents to work. There is a “teaching center” and silk screening printing business designed to help the residents help themselves.
LeBrun has pumped $4 million into this project. He noted his hopes for the future stating, “Really what we’re doing here isn’t just building a little community, but building little communities in our city.”