Canada/Saint-Jean supports a project for small houses for the homeless
On Monday evening, the municipal council of Saint John, New Brunswick, unanimously approved the second reading of a zoning change for a tiny house construction project. A third reading is still required for final approval.
Named Sunnyside, this future small community will include 75 to 80 homes near Fernhill Cemetery and the East Point business district.
The United Way of the Maritimes is leading this project, announced in September. The non-profit organization also runs another small-home community in Sackville.
Alexya Heelis, Director of the United Way of Central and Southeastern Ontario, is grateful to the municipal council.
What it reinforces is that councillors see and understand that we have a major challenge in our town," she says.
They're interested in solutions and are willing to vote for those solutions, because we have to find a lot of different solutions in this community to help people get housed. So it's very good to have a unanimous vote," adds Ms. Heelis.
The tiny homes are intended for homeless people. Their rent will be limited to 30% of their income. The neighborhood will be gated. Nursing and social worker services will be offered, among other services, according to Ms. Heelis.
In December, the non-profit Human Development Council counted 242 homeless people in Saint John.
Neighborhood concern
Tanya Scribbans, a resident of the Westmorland Heights neighborhood, was one of ten people who expressed concern about the project to City Council.
She said she supports the construction of housing, but wanted to know more about how future tenants would manage drug use. United Way representatives failed to reassure her.
They kept comparing them to apartments, but if I'm very noisy in the apartment or very destructive to the people around me, I won't be able to stay in that apartment," lamented Tanya Scribbans.
Sara Napier, CEO of United Way Maritimes, explained to councillors that there was no intention of making this a drug-free community, because we want tenants to live as they please, just like in any other neighbourhood.
Through our selection process, we will support these people and ensure that they are well housed and integrate well into the Sunnyside community," she continued.
Alexya Heelis pointed out that this community will be managed and regulated, and that not all tenants will be drug users. I think that's a common misunderstanding.
Some of them will have this difficulty and we want to help them. We can't help people out if they don't have any housing. The first thing to do is to give them the opportunity to stabilize their daily lives in a supportive environment," she added.
Source: ici.radio-canada.ca/
