Leaders of local nonprofits announced this month that they are successfully moving forward with relocation of the residents who have become homeless after exceeding their fundraising goals and raising $164,000 in relief funds to support residents of Spring Creek Mobile Park in Evergreen who will be evicted from the property in March.
NeighborWorks Montana, an organization that provides resources to trailer park renters, and the Whitefish Community Foundation partnered last spring to create a relocation fund after learning that the property’s new owners planned to evict the 26 households, many of which include the elderly, disabled and those on fixed incomes.
The funds have already helped cover the costs of rental deposits, sewer hookups and out-of-state relocation costs. So far, $25,000 has been disbursed to eight households.
More than 50 donors gave to the fund, including a $45,000 emergency assistance grant from the Whitefish Community Foundation, a $50,000 donation from Mike and Jamie Goguen, a $7,000 social assistance grant from the Montana Community Foundation and a $50,000 donation from an anonymous Flathead Valley donor.
The emergency relocation came after Spring Creek residents received a 180-day eviction notice on April 29, four months after former Performance Real Estate owner and local investor Brett Kelly purchased the property.
However, according to Danielle Maiden of NeighborWorks, Kelly recently extended the eviction deadline, giving residents until March to move out of the park, and has agreed to personally handle the disposal of homes that cannot be relocated.
“That was a big part of the stress,” Maiden said. “They would have to dispose of the houses and pay for it, but if they work with the park owner, he can dispose of them without going to court and they don’t have to be responsible for it.”
Although many families are looking for housing in the park, Maiden said the lack of affordable housing in Flathead has forced at least four families to consider moving out of state to far-flung areas such as New Mexico and Alaska. For some renters, however, moving out of the area is not an option because they need to stay in the area to keep their jobs and avoid interrupting their children’s education.
Maiden plans to stay in touch with residents over the next year to research the success of the relocation fund through a survey and create a case study. Depending on the results, she hopes the study can be used to create a statewide relocation fund.
“It’s cool to see everyone coming together,” Maiden said. “This isn’t something NeighborWorks does — we’ve never been able to do this before — but the whole community has come together and it’s been a huge relief.”
NeighborWorks and the Whitefish Community Foundation worked together last May after learning of the eviction. Foundation President and CEO Alan Davis decided to waive administrative fees and direct all funds to the relocation effort.
After the park was taken over by a new owner in December, the landlord began raising property fees and tenants feared they would no longer be able to afford the park before receiving eviction notices in April. Two more eviction notices followed by May, stating that the owners were “changing the use of the property from a trailer park with tenant-owned homes to a trailer park with landlord-owned homes.”
To donate to the Spring Creek Resident Relocation Fund, visit www.whitefishcommunityfoundation.org, call (406) 863-1781, or send a check to Whitefish Community Foundation, PO Box 1060, Whitefish MT 59937.
Click here to make a direct donation by credit card.
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