Thanks to Home Suite Home, St. Marys youth has her first affordable home

Paige Noel, a 20-year-old St. Marys-native, holds the key to her new affordable tiny home, courtesy of Home Suite Home, a Perth County based non-profit.

CONNOR LUCZKA, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

With rental prices continuing to skyrocket, Paige Noel, a 20-year-old St. Marys-native, was doubtful she would be able to stay in or near the town she grew up in.

Now, thanks to Home Suite Home and the wider community, Noel is doubtful no more.

On Oct. 3, Noel picked up the keys to her brand-new tiny home from Vicky Devocht, executive director of Home Suite Home. The plot of land is 10 by 10 metres and the whole building is six by six, complete with a kitchenette, living room, bedroom and full bathroom – and a porch sitting area to boot.

As Noel said, it was a surreal moment.

“I could never imagine having a place like this for myself,” noel said. “I could never do it on my own and I'm so grateful for everybody who's put the work in to make this happen for me. … I'm so happy that I get to stay in St Marys. … A lot of people end up going to these bigger places. But even in bigger places, it doesn't make it more affordable. Finding affordable housing like this is – it's hard.”

Noel’s new home is the first tiny home built by the non-profit Home Suite Home. Construction finished just a little more than a year after the organization had announced its intention to build affordable tiny homes for the community across Perth County, including in Stratford.

“The community stepped up,” Devocht said at the key-handing ceremony. “From day one, we said, ‘Let's rally the community.’ … And that's what got the ball rolling so quickly. We were able to do this (in) just a little over a year.”

Devocht explained that the reason this home was the first to be built was simple. The family which owned the property, Noel’s family, was the first to reach out.

The family explained their situation, which involves multiple families living under one roof and not enough bedrooms to house everyone. It was so cramped that Noel’s mother was sleeping on the couch, having given up her bedroom for her family. Devocht said that once they heard of the predicament, that Noel was working but still couldn’t afford the high cost of an apartment, they knew it was a project Home Suite Home should get involved in.

They leveraged partnerships with various organizations, contractors and advisors – such as Teahen Construction Ltd., Hive Design Co., Zelinka Priamo Ltd., Project Tiny Hope and the Ontario Building Officials Association – to permit and build the home, creating a 10-year lease agreement from the property owners for only a dollar. They rent the home to Noel for only $500 a month, which recoups some of the cost it takes to keep the home.

“This isn't feasible without the community,” Devocht said. “For example, it costs a lot for insurance. You think it's a tiny home and you wouldn't have to pay all this insurance, but you do. We don't make that much money, but, you know, it's helping somebody else. We feel through our fundraising initiatives and the community stepping up, doing monthly donations, all that, it's working.”

Devocht, along with general manager Jeff Murton, thanked their collaborators for making the home a reality.

“It’s not about Jeff and I, really,” Devocht said. “We are the facilitators of this all, yes, but it’s the community … Home Suite Home is the community.”

Noel’s situation is not unlike other young people in the region and abroad. Brogan Aylward, the deputy mayor of St. Marys, is also in his 20s. He told those that gathered for the key-handing ceremony the Town of St. Marys has worked with the province to make sure that the housing crisis is being properly addressed locally, which means making it easier for creative solutions like tiny homes. He also highlighted that he is in the same boat as many of his peers.

“I’m the deputy mayor out of my mom’s basement,” Aylward said before addressing the tiny home he stood in front of. “I think it’s a fantastic thing … I can’t wait to see more of this in the future.”

Stratford Mayor Martin Ritsma agreed.

“We know that housing, affordable, attainable housing, comes in many shapes and sizes and through many different ways and means,” Ritsma said.

Tiny homes may be on the horizon for Stratford. Adam Betteridge, the city's director of building and planning, said there are no policies preventing this type of dwelling.

"The Ontario government now permits backyard suites on a permanent, as-of-right basis.," Betteridge said. "This means any property that meets certain criteria – including being outside of a regulated floodplain and containing a single-detached, semi-detached or townhouse dwelling – is eligible to have both a basement/interior unit and a backyard suite."

Devocht advised the community to visit Home Suite Home’s website at https://homesuitehome.org/ for more information – and for updates on upcoming projects. She noted that its next project will be an “agri-village” of four tiny homes on a rural property in the county. Construction is expected to start in the spring of 2026.