Mobile Homes for Homeless

How ironic. The City of Los Angeles has purchased mobile homes to accommodate those facing eviction from the “homeless campground,” (Metro, Sept. 12). At the same time, throughout Los Angeles County, residents of mobile-home parks face an increasing likelihood they will be displaced from their homes.

I represent the residents of one such park in Hawthorne. Their park is being closed to make way for commercial development. Through no fault of their own, the residents--families, seniors, the working poor--must move--but where? Many have lived in the park for years, renting spaces for the coaches they own. Their rents--approximately $200 per month--are among the most affordable in the county. Once the park closes though, because of the extreme scarcity of available mobile-home space, they must give up their coaches and will face rents three to four times higher than they currently pay.

They are entitled to relocation assistance, but the amount is so small it is inadequate to defray the permanent increase in their housing costs. Despite my clients’ best efforts, and after months of searching, many of them can literally find no place to go: A working father of four can only afford a one-bedroom apartment at today’s rents--but landlords are loath to accept a family of six in a one-bedroom apartment; a senior has been searching unsuccessfully for a unit that would accept him along with his pet dog; a single mother (a refugee) cannot afford to live near her children’s school.

My clients are terrified of becoming homeless, but from all indications some of them soon will be. While we must focus attention on the already homeless, it is crucial to consider the impending homeless--to prevent homelessness whenever possible. Planning decisions, like the ones that encourage the closure of mobile-home parks, must be viewed from the perspective of their impact on housing needs of the community as a whole. We must save the affordable housing we have, by preventing deterioration and demolition of units, and generating new housing that all segments of the population can afford. Although temporary shelter and transitional housing are critical to the homeless, adequate permanent housing is the only permanent solution.

My clients have always wanted to stay in their mobile homes. It may well be that once their park is closed and they become homeless, they will make it back into mobile homes after all.

MARY M. LEE

Staff Attorney

Western Center on Law & Poverty

Los Angeles