Latest news with #MarcelLeBrun
CTV News
21-05-2025
- Business
- CTV News
12 Neighbours planning to build communities in Saint John
12 Homes Neighbours founder Marcel LeBrun announces 'Neighbourly Homes' are coming to Saint John. (Source: Avery MacRae/CTV News Atlantic)
CBC
19-05-2025
- General
- CBC
What's driving Marcel LeBrun's mission to eliminate homelessness in N.B.
Marcel LeBrun, founder of the 12 Neighbours tiny home community, wants to eliminate homelessness in New Brunswick, starting with Fredericton. But for his new project, Neighbourly Homes, to succeed, he needs municipalities and communities to get on board.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Wealthy CEO builds village of tiny homes in effort help solve pressing issue: 'How you treat people is key'
Software tycoon Marcel LeBrun is getting to the heart of what it means to be a philanthropist with 12 Neighbors — a nonprofit focused on achieving "lasting transformation in reducing poverty and homelessness," including through its tiny home village in Canada. All around the world, people are adopting tiny homes for a variety of reasons, from desiring a lower cost of living to an increased sense of well-being associated with a more minimalist and eco-friendly lifestyle. LeBrun, who sold Radian6 to Salesforce in 2011 for almost $350 million in cash and stocks, told the University of New Brunswick's Alumni News Magazine that his research into how to best assist people out of poverty and his values informed the launch of his nonprofit in 2021. "The word 'philanthropy' is often interpreted as someone who gives money," he shared. "But the Greek roots of the word 'philos' and 'anthropos' mean to love humans. What I have discovered is spending money is the easy thing, spending yourself is the hard thing." Each of the 99 tiny homes in the nonprofit's village has a front porch, where people like to sit and chat, and is outfitted with solar panels, which provide low-cost, non-polluting energy. Residents put 30% of their income toward rent, with utilities and internet included. The community also features a community garden to promote sound nutrition and alleviate the financial burden of shopping at grocery stores. Designed to have a "low barrier to entry," per Maclean's, the village doesn't mandate sobriety, but it has security and offers substance-use recovery counseling and educational opportunities for residents building self-sufficiency. "How you treat people is key to them being able to rewrite their identity narrative," LeBrun told the alumni magazine. "We are optimizing for that dignified experience where they can say, 'This is my own place, and I can come and go as I please.' That is a key thing." All in all, the nonprofit village prioritizes health and connection at every turn. "Building community and being in community is inherently rewarding," LeBrun told Green Matters in an email. Do you think America is in a housing crisis? Definitely Not sure No way Only in some cities Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. "Getting to know so many amazing and resilient people, who have carried and overcome so much, who have incredible strengths, is rewarding," he added. "I don't rescue or transform anybody. But we can create a community where transformation happens." Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more and waste less, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
CBC
15-04-2025
- Business
- CBC
12 Neighbours founder wants to build 'rapidly deployable' transitional housing
Social Sharing Marcel LeBrun wants to eliminate homelessness in Fredericton, and he thinks he has the right model to make it happen. "We want to eliminate chronic homelessness," LeBrun said Tuesday. "And we want to inspire other communities and support other communities in the Maritimes to do the same thing." LeBrun is the founder of 12 Neighbours in Fredericton, which has been providing stable, permanent housing through tiny homes over the past three years to people living rough. Now he's looking to expand with transitional housing through Neighbourly Homes. LeBrun describes the new model as a "rapidly deployable, courtyard-style housing model" made up of 14 individual units with communal bathrooms and showers. Wrap-around services and community support are also integral to his vision, as LeBrun looks to house the nearly 200 people living rough in Fredericton. It's important that the units be "ultra-low barrier," he said. WATCH | Marcel LeBrun explains transitional housing service: Founder of 12 Neighbours wants to do more to end homelessness 18 minutes ago Duration 2:24 "You take away all the reasons why people choose to stay outside. There's no curfew, you have a private space that's lockable, you don't have to leave during the daytime. "This fills a gap in our housing for people with complex challenges and helps them to have a safe, warm place from which we can help them build up the capacity to fund housing that's permanent." Current estimates put the homeless population in New Brunswick at about 2,500 people. Susan Hallet, who lives in 12 Neighbours and works in the factory constructing the new units, will also serve on the advisory board for the new project. The new communities, Hallet said, will be a key piece of stability for those who are spending all of their time just struggling to survive. "It's easier to start a stable life on a firm foundation — that's what it's all about," she said. "This is the perfect stepping stone to start your life off. They just need to have somewhere that's safe, secure and warm." The launch is supported by a $1.5 million donation from Dave and Paula O'Leary and Marcel and Sheila LeBrun. That donation will finance the first 200 units, some of which are likely to be in Fredericton. Others will be in communities across the province. Construction on the units will begin immediately, and LeBrun said the factory can produce a unit a day for about $7,500. The average price for a new affordable housing unit is about $350,000, he said. A site hasn't been selected for the first of the new Neighbourly Home communities, but LeBrun said he's hoping to work with the provincial and municipal governments to find temporary locations and to secure operational funding to run them. "We're trying to remove the barriers to rapidly deploying housing," LeBrun said.
