A Canadian millionaire, Marcel Lebrun, financially contributes to the unhoused community by initiating a project for building 99 tiny homes. His ambition is to minimize homelessness in Canada. Lebrun is the former CEO of Radian6 and a former executive at Salesforce. This project, named 12 Neighbours, demonstrates Lebrun’s passion for resolving burning problems the local community of Canada faces, including homelessness and poverty.
In an interview with the Faytene Show on YouTube, he described how he came up with the idea of building 99 tiny homes. He had researched a lot about already-launched projects in Canada and the United States to find solutions for these issues. Considering all of them, he decided to initiate this project. The budget for this 12 Neighbours project is estimated to be $16 million. Lebrun funded 25% of it himself, and the government granted the rest. 75% of the project will complet by October 2023.
12 Neighbours Project
According to Good News Network, a tiny home includes a living room, kitchen, bathroom, and one bedroom. Each house is solar-powered. It takes about 4 days to finish building one house. The rent of a house is aimed to be 30% of the resident’s income. In Canada, the monthly social assistance incentive received by homeless individuals is $636. So, the monthly rent for a house which covers all utility and internet bills will be approximately $200, and that makes it more affordable for unhoused people.
While sharing his impressions about this project, Lebrun stated that his effort is not all about rescuing people from poverty and homelessness but also about appreciating and encouraging their strengths. Project 12 neighbours received a lot of support from society but some people still don’t accept it. One of them is Warren Maddox, the director of Fredericton Homeless Shelters. He explained that centralising formerly homeless people into one specific area of the city isolates them from other people. However, it is necessary to address this issue to make sure everybody owns a house.
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