There are over 800 mobile parks in Colorado that thousands of Latinos and call home. Unfortunately, many do not have access to basic services such as clean water. Many more don’t have a solid understanding of their rights as mobile home park residents.
As part of our mission, Voces Unidas has been working to change that. Whether through passing legislation to strengthen the rights of mobile home park residents with the Mobile Home Park Act as we did in 2020, working to pass legislation to provide mobile home park residents with clean drinking water as we are in the current legislative session, or working directly with mobile home park residents to help educate people about those rights, we have been busy looking after the interests of mobile home park residents in the past, present and future.
Earlier this month, Voces Unidas de las Montañas hosted a “Conozca Sus Derechos” or “Know Your Rights” Day for mobile home park residents in Glenwood Springs. Over the course of the day, more than 50 residents of mobile home parks from across the central mountains joined in to learn more about their rights as tenants. By sharing our experiences and developing a better understanding of the law, we were able to bond over a shared sense of community and begin building toward a future that ensures residents’ voices are heard and their legal rights are protected.
We were fortunate to work with Colorado Poverty Law Project, Thistle ROC, and Alpine Legal Services to bring this day of training together. Colorado Poverty Law Project hosted a workshop explaining the Mobile Home Park Act and provided answers to the many questions participants had. Thistle ROC provided training on how to form a resident-owned community (ROC). Alpine Legal Services offered a local perspective and guidance on how mobile home park residents should approach legal actions or protections.
Voces Unidas also held a “Guided Conversation” session where residents of the same park were able to discuss the needs for their park and what the next steps toward achieving them should include. Resident meetings to discuss forming an ROC and future conversations with key stakeholders like town councils and county administrators have already been placed on the calendar.
Voces Unidas will provide support at all of these meetings to help the residents build collective power for themselves in order to work toward creating change. Not only was our community educated on what their current rights are as mobile home park residents, but community members also engaged in meaningful and impactful conversations that will help drive change in mobile home parks in the weeks and years ahead.
Keep an eye on our events calendar for forthcoming Conozca Sus Derechos events and make plans to join us for the next one. We look forward to working with you!
