Moncton council approves $310k grant for farm offering housing, rehab services

A Moncton non-profit is moving forward with a plan to offer housing, mental health and addictions services on a large farm after getting a start-up grant approved by city council.

The Humanity Project, which offers meals to Moncton's homeless, is working to turn a 187-acre property south of Salisbury into a place for the city's most vulnerable to find housing and recovery.

Moncton City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to approve a $310,000 grant for construction of 20 tiny houses at the farm in Little River. 

Charlie Burrell, the founder of the Humanity Project, said more than 82 people with "complex needs" are on a waiting list and ready to go as soon as there is space.

"I don't have people asking me to go to the farm anymore. I have people literally crying and begging me to go to the farm," he said.

The farm, also known as the JOSH Project, or Just Organizations Serving Humanity, will focus on people who are not being served by existing shelters and services in Moncton. It will operate as a full rehabilitation centre, where individuals are housed in single-unit tiny houses and offered mental health and addiction recovery services on-site. 

Each of the tiny house units will be 8' x 8', with a bed, desk, a closet, mini fridge, air conditioning and heat. They will serve as temporary housing, until people living there are able to move on to more permanent options.

The proposal included a letter from Social Development Minister Jill Green, committing to up to $1.2 million in funding for services at the farm.

'A beacon of hope'

Burrell took questions from council on Tuesday about the services he would offer. Before voting, several councillors spoke in favour of the farm and the need to offer more services for people on the streets.

Coun. Marty Kingston said the wait list for the farm is "astounding."

"People who have been refused entry to shelters have perished, some have actually perished, bouncing around from no, to no, to no in the area. That hit me hard," he said.

Coun. Bryan Butler said people facing homelessness because of financial difficulties, mental illness and addiction are currently all being sent to the same place.

"There's three different types of individuals that need different types of help, and we're putting them all into a shelter and think that's just going to work and it's not," he said.

Mayor Dawn Arnold said the city needs to manage expectations.

"This is a piece of the puzzle in our community. It won't solve everything. But it is definitely a beacon of hope right now, and I think we all need a bit of hope around this," she said.

Coun. Daniel Bourgeois asked what would happen if the project doesn't go as planned and the farm has to close.

"Would the city recuperate the money, or is that something that is off the table?" he said.

Burrell said he and his staff are committed to the farm, but if something were to happen their assets would be liquidated and given to other organizations.

Several councillors also raised concerns about the limited detox services in the city. Moncton's 10-bed detox centre closed temporarily this summer due to a staffing shortage.

Burrell said the limited service is a "problem" and he hopes to eventually offer detox services on-site at the farm, with special housing units and medical staff.

Plans to build this fall

After the unanimous vote, Burrell said he is "extremely happy." He said the farm will make a visible difference in the number of vulnerable people living on city streets.

The Humanity Project ran a new homeless shelter in Moncton last winter, after a last-minute search by the city to open it and find an operator.

"I think it might've opened some eyes of some of the people in political positions, to understand that we have a part of the solution here, and there's people out there who truly want the help," Burrell said.

Building costs for Phase One of the project include $13,260 for site prep and $295,820 for the custom-built tiny house shelters.

Future phases include plans to renovate existing farm buildings into communal living space.

The long-term goal is to build more than 100 tiny houses as part of an "independent living community."

The city's $310,000 grant funding will draw $200,000 from the operating budget for 2023 and $110,000 from the council contingency reserve fund.

In addition to funding from the City of Moncton and the Department of Social Development, The Humanity Project has also requested $291,662 from the Department of Health.

Burrell said he plans to break ground as soon as possible and the first guests are expected to move in to tiny houses by Nov. 1.