Courtest of Marcel LeBrun
It's been nearly two years since 12Neighbours, a tiny-home village in Canada, welcomed its first resident.
The micro-home community in Fredericton, New Brunswick, was founded by Marcel LeBrun, a former tech industry executive who sold his social-media listening startup to Salesforce for about $340 million in 2011.
LeBrun said he wanted to revolutionize how communities approach housing assistance.
Courtesy of Marcel LeBrun
"I thought carefully about what would really help versus what I, a rich white guy, thought was in the best interest of this community," LeBrun told Insider. "Could I build something unique that makes the city better and actually helps people move on, not be stuck in subsidized housing for the rest of their life?"
The village's 46 staff members work to provide affordable, permanent housing and developmental assistance to individuals who have experienced chronic homelessness.
The village is currently home to 77 residents — ranging in age from 18 to 71 — who pay as little as $200 a month for housing and utilities. As of November, the community contains 78 tiny homes, with LeBrun intending to increase the count to 99 by May 2024.
The village currently has a waiting list of 700 people, LeBrun said.
Residents have access to addiction and mental health counseling, medical services, and employment opportunities.
A province in southeastern Canada just north across the border from Maine, New Brunswick is known for its rugged coastline, unspoiled wilderness, and maritime industries including fishing and lobstering. Despite a relatively strong economy, the Fraser Institute think tank found that a considerable number of New Brunswick residents earn less than people living in other parts of Canada.
To help residents progress financially, a significant portion of the community is employed in 12Neighbours' own carpentry program or print shop, earning compensation that surpasses New Brunswick's minimum wage of $14.75 an hour.
"We may look like an affordable housing organization, but we really see ourselves as a community of developers of people," LeBrun said. "Our focus is to help people overcome barriers so they can experience full and independent lives."
Take a look inside the 12Neighbours tiny-home village.
Courtesy of Marcel LeBrun
LeBrun, who purchased the land for $500,000 in 2021, said he initially had to convince local officials to support his tiny-home project.
"It was kind of a yes and a no: 'Hey, what you're doing is really cool, but you can't do it here,'" he said of the government's response. "I got them to support rezoning the area in a custom way that allowed me to build on the land."
Courtesy of Marcel LeBrun
Every four days a new tiny home is built, LeBrun said, and each unit costs about $50,000 to build and furnish.
Residents at 12Neighbours benefit from subsidized rent, making it more feasible for them to afford housing in a costly real-estate market. According to Canadian personal finance website WOWA, the country's median home price is $288,050, as of September 2023.
"The housing market in New Brunswick is overpriced," LeBrun added. "It's a seller's market for sure. Everything is going above asking prices."
Courtesy of Marcel LeBrun
The homes are constructed on site by 12Neighbours' building team, which includes both independently hired staff members and residents of the community. Of the village's 20 carpenters, three are community members.
"My original plan was to outsource to a number of different contractors," LeBrun said. "But then I decided to build a small team. Ultimately, we built our own little factory."
Courtesy of Marcel LeBrun
When residents move into their units, they receive a starter kit, which includes bedding, bath towels, shower curtains, cutlery, cleaning supplies, and more.
One resident, Randy, went from living in his car to living in the village and also building tiny homes for others.
Courtesy of Marcel LeBrun
"I have almost 300 kilowatts of solar across all the homes," LeBrun said. "It brings the utility cost down."
Marcel LeBrun
Village resident Mark Osborne didn't finish high school, but he now lives in one of the tiny homes and is studying for his GED, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Company.
Courtesy of Marcel LeBrun
Samantha Seymour, who is in recovery for drug and alcohol addiction and was formerly homeless, moved into 12Neighbours in October 2022, according to the CBC. She received a pumpkin as a housewarming present.
"I have a great support system around me," she told the CBC, "and I'm doing the work necessary every day to stay there."
Courtesy of Marcel LeBrun
12Neighbours does not keep an internal housing waiting list but instead takes referrals from the New Brunswick Housing waiting list via the department of social development, which oversees housing support in the province.
"The qualifications generally are individuals who've been struggling with chronic homelessness," LeBrun said. "No one's disqualified, but the only two criteria we have are that people need to be able to live independently, and then secondly is safety."
Courtesy of Marcel LeBrun
The print shop sells branded apparel which includes T-shirts, sweatshirts, and totes. The designs are made by the shop's employees.
"We want to get them as far along as they can, so that we're not just meeting more needs, but we're actually helping to reintegrate these people back into the economy and community," LeBrun said.
Seymour, the resident recovering from alcohol and drug addiction, is the "print lead," according to the CBC, putting silk-screen designs on tote bags and T-shirts.
Courtesy of Marcel LeBrun
LeBrun said the center will feature a café and a retail store that showcases merchandise produced by the screen-printing business.
"It will be a place where people can come to order a coffee and meet people they may not necessarily talk to every day," he said.