5 trailers to become apartments for 25 homeless people in Saint John neighbourhood

Saint John's Crescent Valley neighbourhood will see five trailers arrive this fall as housing for about 25 people who otherwise would be homeless.

The mobile trailers will have 18 self-contained units similar to bachelor apartments, each with a small bed, desk, dresser, electricity, a television and a small bathroom with running water. One trailer will be used as a communal kitchen and clinical space.

The trailers are part of a pilot project called the Somerset ACRES Initiative that a local non-profit group, Fresh Start Services for Women, will operate. The ACRES stands for Advancing Community with Respect, Empowerment and Support.

Melanie Vautour, the executive director, says the pilot project, which is expected to last two years, came from a need for immediate solutions to the city's housing crisis while more conventional housing is developed.

"Traditional development can take two to three years," she said. "So we were looking at a quicker way to be able to have housing. We went with modified trailers that have been turned into apartments."

Vautour said the project, led by the Department of Social Development, came out of advocacy efforts from Saint John residents and front-line groups, such as Fresh Start, after the death of Evan McArthur in a homeless encampment fire.

"Residents in the community of Saint John really came out and really said this is unacceptable, people should not be living in tents," Vautour said. "They shouldn't be trying to survive outside and in Atlantic Canada winters.

"This is absolutely in response to the residents of Saint John who say, 'We want this to be better.'"

The site will be a fenced-off area on Somerset Street near the Regional YMCA on Churchill Boulevard, according to the project page on the municipal website Shape Your City.

Vautour said the site will be staffed day every day, day and night, and have support services.

"So things like financial literacy, problem solving, conflict resolution, you know, all of those soft skills, to build those up," she said.

"And then specific tenancy skills, like taking out the garbage, help with cleaning, access to health, whether it's physical health, mental health, addiction and rehabilitation services, are provided and also opportunities to be engaged in community."

'Shared myths and assumptions'

Vautour said that when the plan was presented to neighbours in a private meeting, there were concerns about public safety and drug use.

"I think a lot of the concerns … come from a lot of those shared myths and assumptions around individuals who are living unsheltered," she said.

"It's really important for us that we really educate, and we work with people to let them know that those fears are absolutely valid."

But the site is not an encampment, Vautour said. 

"This is housing — it's 18 apartments that individuals are moving into."

Social Development Minister Jill Green was not available for an interview and directed questions about the pilot's operations to Fresh Start. 

Vautour said she could not speak to the cost of the trailers or the two-year program. The subsidized rents mean the tenants won't be charged more than 30 per cent of their income. 

Moving the needle for other pilots

The pilot project is one of the items in Saint John's new Housing for All strategy.

Cara Coes, the city's senior manager in community support services, said success of the pilot could have implications for future projects included in the strategy.

The aim is to see "if we're able to move the needle forward a little bit and it gives us something to learn and expand on … with other potential pilots in the community," Coes said.

The pilot is meant to be a temporary solution, she said.

"There are various housing grants and housing projects that are happening in the community," she said. "It just doesn't happen as quickly as we need some of these units."

Vautour said the maximum number of people the pilot will house is based on manageability. 

"We know from our experience with outreach and working with individuals, there's a manageable number of support per staff for clients," she said.

"And so for us in one location having that single site … 25 is the maximum to work with to provide all of those support pieces for staff."

Vautour said participants will be chosen from the by-name list, which is managed by the city's Human Development Council.

The council's senior director, Greg Bishop, said in an email that recent data shows the city currently has 159 people who are considered chronically homeless.