Colorado community rallies around residents of Wikiup mobile home park facing evictions
Several families at the Wikiup Manufactured Home Community in Henderson, located in unincorporated Adams County, are facing evictions due to allegedly not following common guidelines.
Less than a month ago, CBS Colorado shared Tomasa Hernandez's story. She was asked to remove her fence surrounding her home -- a fence she says was there before she even started renting there -- among other requests.
The issue is she says she doesn't speak English, she did not understand the demands from management and the lease is under her husband's name who is currently sick. She has expressed new management has refused to speak to her on various occasions due to her name not being on the lease. So when she did not comply, Hernandez and her husband received a court summons, which she also did not fully understand. After missing a court date, she was served an eviction notice. Her eviction was set for Sept. 27, and that's when the community rallied to help keep her in her home.
Joanna Saenz, CEO of Joanna Saenz Enterprises, runs a nonprofit that focuses on educating and advocating for families who need to get their voice heard but have a language barrier. She says she was able to get in contact with RHP Properties President Joel Brown to try to get an extension date for Hernandez.
"I was able to get a hold of RHP Properties president and I asked him to put a hold on that. However, we have come back from their attorneys who sent over a stipulation and we are in the middle of litigating that to make sure Tomasa is going to be fine," said Saenz.
In a statement to CBS Colorado the owner RHP properties said:
The Wikiup Manufactured Home Community strives to provide a well-maintained community for our residents. The Community's rules and regulations are in place to benefit all residents. When issues arise, we make every effort to collaborate with our residents and have a track record of successful resolution. In this instance, our attorney is working closely with the resident's attorney to come up with a satisfactory resolution to allow the resident to maintain residency in the community. We remain committed to providing a property that ensures the stability of the entire community.
-Molly Boyle, RHP properties
Tomasa is just one of many families with a similar story. According to Saenz, a number of other families are dealing with eviction notices stemming from similar violations, but like Hernandez are struggling with language barriers.
"I have more than 100 residents that have spoken to me, but everybody is really worried about retaliation, but when a community comes together they are able to put a pause on things like this."
Adams County Commissioner Steve O'Dorisio says they are working to get residents in contact with resources like the Colorado Poverty Law Project and Colorado Legal Services.
