Staff housing was identified as the number one barrier to growth by local operators during the Project’s initial public engagement activities, and following the results of a facilitated session on the topic at the 2022 Fundy Connects! Summit.

To begin the process of developing community-first solutions, the Partnership organized a Community Innovation Day in February 2024. It brought about 40 people together in Sussex for a day-long facilitated hackathon. The event was a short, focused ideation session that brought together people with the problem (lived experience, i.e, operators, residents, staff and local government officials) with people with technical expertise (i.e. builders, service providers, investors and regulators) to develop potential prototypes.

The session was co-facilitated by Lisa Hrabluk and Dan Doiron, professor of business innovation at the University of New Brunswick Saint John, and co-founder of New Brunswick’s Venture Validation Program for early-stage entrepreneurs.

Following the results of the Innovation Day, the Partnership connected with Mylene Vincent, the newly appointed executive director of New Brunswick’s Housing Hub. The Partnership arranged for a guided tour of housing challenges and opportunities in Fundy-Albert, including underutilized housing stock owned by Parks Canada, available municipal land, and local proponents actively involved in seeking innovative approaches to the region’s housing crisis.

This included meeting with Patrick Kemp, executive director of Forest Dale, a nursing home in Riverside-Albert, who intended to build non-profit housing for nursing staff. This work led to the creation of the Fundy Albert Housing Association to further develop non-profit housing options.