INDIANAPOLIS — The community is rallying to help members of a local mobile home community who were told they would have to leave and a lawmaker is calling for new legislation to prevent it from happening to others.
Residents of the I-70 Mobile Home Park are getting assistance with resources after multiple organizations decided they needed to step in after watching RTV6.
"I'm glad. I'm glad the people are listening. The people are taking note," Tonia Clark said.
After starting each day of the past two weeks with an uncertain future, the residents of the I-70 Mobile Home Park can breathe a little easier thanks to a free resource fair hosted in hopes of assisting and preparing 70 families to move from their mobile homes after the land owner opted to close the mobile home park instead of fixing $100,000 in water pipes.
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"We have the health department here today," Lisa Laflin said. "We actually have a moving company that is offering deep discounts on their services. Two different legal entities and affordable housing provides."
The wide-ranging resources organized will help point Clark and her neighbors in the direction of their next moves. For some, it could be filing lawsuits. For others, it's about finding a place to lay their heads. But now that task is a little less stressful.
"I didn't have any anxiety last night, knowing that I was coming to this resource fair, knowing that we have to be out by Oct. 15, Clark said. "There was no anxiety there because I knew I had assistance. I knew I had people that had my back."
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Among those people is State Rep. Justin Moed (D-Indianapolis). He said he is considering legislation that would offer more protections for mobile home owners in Indiana after watching RTV6's story uncovering the little notice residents in mobile homes are offered before being forced out of a place they own.
"These folks are going to have to figure out how to move their home, an entire house," Moed said. "And we need to make sure that state law provides them with an adequate time to be notified that this is coming and make sure the property owner has given adequate time for the residents to move on."
