Fredericton's 12 Neighbours community welcomes final house

The final tiny home has been placed in the Fredericton community of 12 Neighbours.

On Tuesday, home number 96 was trucked in and installed as part of the project to give homeless people in Fredericton places to call their own.

"Today is a milestone day," said Marcel LeBrun, the man behind the concept and creation of the 12 Neighbours community.

"Two years ago, this was just a bunch of trees and vacant land."

Marcel LeBrun stands at the entrance of the final tiny home installed in the community of 12 Neighbours. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

Since September 2021, LeBrun has been working on building a community on the city's north side, where people who have been living on the streets or in the woods can reside safely.

"It just felt like yesterday that we started," said LeBrun. "So, exciting day today, to bring house 96 on the property."

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That final house, civic No. 93, represents the fulfilment of a dream for LeBrun.

The former computer engineer and software entrepreneur sold his social media monitoring company in 2011. He said he's since put about $13 million into creating 12 Neighbours Community Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to getting vulnerable people into affordable homes.

LeBrun started building the first tiny home in his own backyard. Cleaning up building supplies recently with his son, that modest beginning hit home.

"I was, like, 'Look, this is where it started,'" said LeBrun. "It was really neat to be in that space and say, 'This is where we built the first house.

"In fact, I laid out the community in my backyard with little stakes ... going 'OK, is this distance good? How does this look?'"

A new path

Those crude backyard plans have become a life-changing reality for those now living at 12 Neighbours.

Melissa Armstrong and her husband were the first to move into the community more than two years ago. She's lived in the first house on the site since February 2022. Prior to that, the couple had spent about 10 months living in a tent, taking sponge baths in the woods behind a lumber yard.

Melissa Armstrong and her husband were the first to move into 12 Neighbours. It gave them 'hope ... to start a new journey, to start a new chapter.' (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

Next week, she'll graduate from the New Brunswick Community College, where she studied to become a chef. She credits LeBrun and the 12 Neighbours program for giving her a second chance.

"A better life, a better future too, yeah, I'm going to start crying," said Armstrong. "It gives us hope for life, to start a new journey, to start a new chapter."

She already has a job lined up, at the café being built on the 12 Neighbours' property, a part of LeBrun's plan to give residents a purpose and a place to be proud of.

Growing community

Al Smith, dubbed the mayor of 12 Neighbours, lives in No. 3. He said he and his wife were homeless for five years. But two years and two months ago, he moved into 12 Neighbours and has since watched the community sprawl out in front of him, as nearly every week crews brought a new tiny home past his own and into the community.

"It's amazing and fast," said Smith. "It feels like yesterday I got here."

Al Smith, the self-described mayor of 12 Neighbours, has watched the community swell from three homes to 96 during the little more than two years he's lived there. (Shane Fowler/CBC News)

Smith said at one point he knew everyone living in 12 Neighbours, but he can no longer keep up with the new faces.

"Not everybody," said Smith. "I know some, but not everybody. It's a pretty big community."

Not finished yet

LeBrun said this is the final home in the community, at least for now, but there's still lots of work to be done.

That includes completing the community centre and café, as well as landscaping every one of the 96 properties. He's also constantly fielding requests from across Canada and other countries about the success of 12 Neighours and how it could be replicated elsewhere.

But for now, he says it's a good feeling being able to see that final home in place.

"You know, there's going to be all sorts of challenges and hurdles and roadblocks along the way. So to get here, we're not done, we still have lots of challenges ahead, but we're done the construction piece. It feels great."