More than 10 families in mobile home park face evictions

By Jasmine Arenas

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    Colorado (KCNC) — More than 10 families living in the Wikiup mobile home park are being evicted. According to a spokesperson for the community, owned by RHP Properties, residents are not following the rules.

Tomasa Hernandez and her family are one of those families being asked to leave. She says this puts them in a bind since this is all they can afford.

The family adds they’ve always paid their rent on time, but now they’re being asked to leave by mid-September.

“I spend my time crying because I am always thinking, where am I going to go with my kids and my sick husband?” cried Hernandez.

To make ends meet, Hernandez sells fruit and vegetables on weekends at the Mile High Flea Market in Commerce City.

She’s the sole provider for her husband who is sick, her daughters, and grandchild.

This mobile home is all she can afford.

“I do not have anything; I don’t know why she wants to kick me out,” said Hernandez.

In the 12 years she’s lived at the Wikiup Mobile Homes, she’s never had a problem.

But that changed following a leak in her home earlier this year.

She claims management asked her to clean up the mess, and she did, but then received a court notice.

Now she’s being evicted for multiple reasons including missing a court date.

“When we realized we had a court date it was already too late, and they sent us an eviction notice, I think they want me to leave because I didn’t remove the fence, they said my curtains are ugly and they told me to clean outside because it was messy,” said Hernandez. She admits she did not remove the fence in front of her home when they asked her to.

n a statement sent to CBS News Colorado property management said the following:

“Our priority at Wikiup is to provide a safe, well-maintained, and affordable community for our residents. We work with residents when there are violations to the rules and regulations of the community that present health and safety concerns for them and other residents. If after repeated requests and notifications, residents fail to address those violations, for the sake of all residents, and as required under Colorado law, management, as a last resort, must take necessary legal steps to ensure compliance.”

Joanna Rosa-Saenz is helping the families facing eviction here through her nonprofit.

The nonprofit, Joanna Saenz Enterprise which focuses on education and advocacy for families is helping get these residents their voices heard.

“These families do not know how to send an email or send something in English I am there to help them,” added Rosa-Saenz.

But for residents like the Hernandez’s they don’t have much time. Hernandez is being asked to leave her home by the end of September.

About five residents attended a Commerce City council meeting where they voiced their concerns.

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.

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