Lower Sackville tiny homes will rent to unhoused people

The new tiny home village in Lower Sackville will rent units to people on their path to housing security.

These homes provide more permanent places to live, unlike other temporary shelters around the city, which don’t have amenities like showers and kitchens.

Joe Rudderham, the executive director of the Atlantic Community Shelters Society (ACSS), said this is extremely important for people who don’t know where they’ll sleep each night or where they’ll find their next meal.

“Our position on this is that we’re here to help people move on with their lives and to take care of some of the very basic needs, so they can focus on what it is that they’re going to do in their futures,” said Rudderham.

The province said the first residents will move in early next month. A total of 26 single and double homes for couples will be available, accommodating 34 people in total.

They won’t immediately fill all those spots, said Rudderham, because it takes time to get through the applications for the homes and interview eligible people.

The province hopes to open another 29 units in December to accommodate 35 people, according to a news release.

Rudderham said his organization provides the programming for the tiny homes, organizing the 24/7 staff, nighttime security. They also will help connect people to resources that would help them for a variety of things: mental health and addictions support, employment resources, or other things like counselling, or teaching people how to cook, shop, or budget.

Different than shelters

These tiny homes are different than other shelters because those are more transitional, Rudderham said.

“If there are issues, we’ll deal with them, right? And that’s what you would expect. If I lived across the street, I would have no problem this being here,” he said.

To apply for these homes, people have to be on the city’s by-name list of homeless people, and they’ll be referred by the Community Services Department or other shelters.

And they’ll pay up to 30 per cent of their income to rent the homes.

United Way Maritimes is the property manager, the owner and operator, taking care of maintenance and making sure it’s a safe and supporting environment, according to Sue LaPierre, the senior executive director of the affordable housing division.

LaPierre said people can stay there as long as the wrap around supports are still beneficial to them, but the goal is to get them into a tiny home so they can work toward moving into affordable housing.

“I think it’s a beautiful community. I think it’s dignified living that people deserve. It’s safe. It’s supportive. It’s warm, and it’s also a sense of community,” said LaPierre.

“It’s an opportunity not just to live safely but to build relationships with neighbours.”

She said they want to make the homes as welcoming as they can, but there will be rules to make sure living in the village works for everybody, she said.

‘Hope to do more’

It was also a big day for Suzanne Ley, the executive director of employment supports and income assistance with the Department of Community Services.

She said the department is excited to open their first tiny home village, a new solution to homelessness.

The government spent $9.4 million on construction costs in the fall of 2023 and committed $935,000 annually to the operating costs of the homes.

The Shaw Group also said they would build 21 units in the first phase of the project, but they actually made 31.

“As we continue to build plans and look into the future, it will be one of the things we hope to do more of, once this one gets up and running and we can demonstrate its success,” said Ley.

Here’s what the tiny homes look like on the inside:

These next three photos show off an accessible tiny home for a couple, complete with a living room/kitchen, bathroom and bedroom.