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9 <br /> Exec !t:v !o i; r i. <br /> ��.. II t E Ira r, <br /> A survey was conducted of 8 mobile home parks in Orange County identified as high risk for <br /> displacement and/or because of an interest in general information about residents and living conditions. <br /> 96 surveys were conducted by Navigators from the Family Success Alliance. Almost all families were <br /> Hispanic, very low income, and own their own homes, but rent space from the mobile home park. Most <br /> of the families are satisfied living in their current mobile home and prefer not to move. Residents often <br /> look to their neighbors for assistance with child care,transportation, and other services. Many also rely <br /> on public transportation to get to medical appointments, work, and school. <br /> Although residents are generally satisfied, many residents also feel they don't have many options other <br /> than living in their mobile home; their low income limits their ability to move elsewhere, and they prefer <br /> not to move because of the schools, public transport, and proximity to services.The residents were also <br /> very clear that moving into an apartment complex is not a preferred option—they commented that in <br /> addition to the huge difference in cost,there's a lack of privacy and concern about limited places for <br /> children to play.Although not collected in the survey, documentation status was also an issue raised by <br /> many families as a significant obstacle in securing affordable housing. <br /> The biggest concerns residents had about the parks themselves were infrastructure in the mobile home <br /> parks and the age and condition of their mobile homes. Many of the homes are very old—the newest <br /> home was manufactured in 2002, and residents are concerned about limitations on moving their homes <br /> based on the age and condition of the home and the cost to move it. When it comes to management, <br /> residents commented that many of the mobile home parks need infrastructure maintenance, especially <br /> for roads and landscaping, e.g., filling in potholes with gravel, for dead trees to be cut down, fixing <br /> drainage issues. <br /> The Navigators,who administered the surveys, noted that residents often seemed proud of their homes <br /> and hoped to stay there long-term. Many residents also shared that they are carpenters, electricians, <br /> and construction workers and discussed their ability to contribute their extensive skills to the building or <br /> repairing of homes and the park. <br /> In summary, many of these mobile home parks consist of tight-knit communities of families with <br /> children, who are proud of their homes and where they live.They own their own homes and would like <br /> to own their land as well. Because of their documentation status and their income, many of these <br /> families feel they have no place to go—that they can't afford to move and are afraid that they won't <br /> qualify for assistance, if developers displace them. <br /> 1 <br />