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12 Neighbours closer to goal of building 99 tiny homes — but not without growing
pains | CBC News Loaded
New Brunswick
12 NEIGHBOURS CLOSER TO GOAL OF BUILDING 99 TINY HOMES — BUT NOT WITHOUT GROWING
PAINS
Samantha Seymour still remembers that first night in her new tiny home at 12
Neighbours. She had come from living at a shelter, and was given a pumpkin as a
housewarming gift.
SECURITY GATES WERE INSTALLED TO KEEP THE GROWING COMMUNITY SAFE
Jeanne Armstrong · CBC News · Posted: Sep 25, 2023 2:30 AM PDT | Last Updated:
September 25, 2023
Samantha Seymour is one of several previously homeless Frederictonians who now
call 12 Neighbours home. (Jeanne Armstrong/CBC)
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Samantha Seymour still remembers that first night in her new tiny home at 12
Neighbours. She had come from living at a shelter, and was given a pumpkin as a
housewarming gift.
"I put it on my front step. I was like, 'Is it going to get stolen?' That was my
first thought. 'Do I leave it outside?' I left it outside. I woke up the next
morning, and the pumpkin was still there."
It will be one year this October since Seymour first put that pumpkin on her
porch. She's one of several previously homeless Frederictonians who now call 12
Neighbours home.
Even now, Seymour still has her guard up. She said people she used to hang out
with on the streets have tried to worm their way back into her life and she's
had to shut them out and forge her own path.
12 Neighbours founder Marcel LeBrun says there’s a new tiny home built and ready
for move-in 'every four business days.' (Jeanne Armstrong/CBC)
Setting boundaries and leaving a life on the streets behind is one of the
biggest challenges for residents at Fredericton's tiny home community. It has
led to squatters, security gates and arguments with neighbours — and questions
around whether a concentrated community of vulnerable people is the best housing
model.
MORE THAN 70 TINY HOMES BUILT IN TWO YEARS
In September 2021, Marcel LeBrun built a tiny home in his Fredericton backyard.
Two years and more than 70 tiny homes later, he's built a community from the
ground up.
The homes sit on a 24-hectare plot of land which is ever-changing. A large
social enterprise building is being constructed, a new community garden just
went in, and fresh sod is replacing patches of gravel.
The homes are built at a quick clip — LeBrun said there's a new tiny home built
and ready for move-in "every four business days." They plan to cap the project
at 99 homes.
LeBrun said handing someone a fresh set of house keys is the easy part.
A worker sweeps the warehouse where a couple of tiny homes can be seen at
various stages of completion. Lebrun says the plan is to cap the project at 99
homes. (Submitted by Marcel LeBrun)
"How do you achieve and maintain housing stability? For some, that's really
easy. For others that's a big shift in their lifestyle," LeBrun said.
It has led to some residents being taken advantage of — and instances of
squatting, he said.
"[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."
LeBrun said in a handful of cases they've had to evict tenants who can't
maintain control of their housing, or who make other residents feel unsafe.
> We wanted to make a dent in the challenge that we have here in Fredericton.…
> If we want to actually make a meaningful difference, we have to build some
> houses.— Marcel LeBrun, 12 Neighbours founder
They've also had to install security gates at the entrances of the property. The
gates are open during the day and closed overnight.
Samantha Seymour said the new security measures have made a "big difference" in
helping people feel safe.
"I live right behind the security gates. There were cars coming in all the time,
at three o'clock in the morning, waking me up.… The gates have set boundaries."
CLOSE-KNIT HOUSING VS. DECENTRALIZED UNITS
Not everyone agrees with LeBrun's approach. Warren Maddox is the executive
director of Fredericton Homeless Shelters, and said he spoke to LeBrun when the
project was still in its infancy.
"My advice to him was stop at 50 [homes] and take a breath," Maddox said.
"It's a huge concentration [of people]. You've got people that have paranoia, or
that have come through some really massive trauma, where they need to be sort of
away from that population."
Maddox said his preference is a more decentralized approach, where units are
scattered around the city and you avoid a large concentration of people living
in close proximity.
LeBrun has heard the criticism, and said the 12 Neighbours approach has so far
been a success.
Warren Maddox, executive director of Fredericton Homeless Shelters, says his
preference is a more decentralized approach, where units are scattered around
the city to avoid a large concentration of people living in close proximity.
(Jeanne Armstrong/CBC)
He said his community is "actively managed" with wrap-around supports, including
personal development plans, resident support workers, and addiction recovery
programs. He said it is also conveniently located near groceries, amenities and
bus routes.
Logistically, LeBrun said his approach makes affordable housing faster to build
and easier to scale up.
* 'We could fill 200 houses,' says tiny home community founder
* Tiny homes community lays foundation for café, retail space
"It's just as hard to go build four homes, in terms of all the hoops you have to
run through, as it is to build 10 or 20, and we wanted to make a dent in the
challenge that we have here in Fredericton.… If we want to actually make a
meaningful difference, we have to build some houses," LeBrun said.
And while he understands the appeal of a decentralized approach,
LeBrun said it's difficult to build community that way.
"Let's say I take someone who's been living outside, and say, 'OK, I'm going to
put you in 10-years-free rent in the highest end apartment in the city.' Are
they going to succeed? That is not their community. That is not the context
they're used to living in," LeBrun said.
A NEW CAREER IN SILK SCREEN PRINTING
While it might not be for everybody, Samantha Seymour said 12 Neighbours is a
good fit for her.
"For me, living in an apartment building would not work for me. I'm an
isolator.… People wouldn't see me coming and going. Here, people knock on my
door. I go knock on people's doors."
She said people "watch out for each other" in the community. She lovingly calls
one neighbour her adopted son, and another her sister.
* Tiny home community launches first social enterprise making picnic tables
* First residents move into Fredericton tiny homes development
There are nicknames, too: Hat Rack, Bobo, and Nightgown.
(The latter is Seymour's nickname for reasons she herself wasn't clear on.)
While there's lots of support and camaraderie, she doesn't get along with all
her neighbours.
"It's an imperfect world. I don't get along with myself most days," Seymour said
with a laugh.
The tiny home community has had to install security gates at the entrances of
the property. The gates are open during the day and closed overnight. (Jeanne
Armstrong/CBC)
Seymour is currently in recovery for a drug and alcohol addiction. Despite the
fact that many of her neighbours struggle with substance use disorder, she
said it hasn't been a bad influence on her.
"I have a great support system around me, and I'm doing the work necessary every
day to stay there," she said.
She recently started learning a new trade: silk screening. She's the print lead
for the 12 Neighbours print shop, where she silk screens tote bags and T-shirts
by hand.
It's a departure from her initial career plans — to go back to school to be an
outreach worker to "help people help themselves."
"But I don't need to go to school for that, right? I can just do that as a human
being."
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Jeanne Armstrong
Host
Jeanne Armstrong is the host of Information Morning Fredericton on CBC Radio.
She is a former producer with As It Happens and has worked as a producer and
reporter with CBC Ottawa. You can reach her at jeanne.armstrong@cbc.ca.
CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News
Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|Report error
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