Local

Catholics for Housing to help East End Mobile Home Park residents keep their homes

Elizabeth A. Elliott | Catholic Herald Staff Writer

A mobile home sits in the East End Mobile Home Park in Manassas Oct 16. COURTESY

CROP_East-End-Mobile-1.jpg

For the past year, Catholics for
Housing has worked with the City of Manassas to purchase the East End Mobile
Home Park to save 59 families from eviction. The Manassas City Council voted
unanimously Oct. 16 to subordinate its contract with the current owner of the
property, making way for the nonprofit organization to purchase the mobile home
park for $1.4 million.

“We are thrilled that our skills, expertise, resources and
commitment to preserving housing opportunities will not only keep all of these
families in their homes, but also enhance their quality of life,” said Karen
DeVito, Catholics for Housing executive director, in a statement.

The Manassas City Council ended the city’s plan to purchase
the property for $1.86 million and repair the failing sewer system. The city
could revert to its original plans to purchase the park if the organization
does not meet certain requirements, including resolving the significant water,
sewer and management issues that have plagued residents for years. 

The Catholic organization provides housing opportunities in
21 counties to eligible applicants, helping them find affordable and
sustainable housing. They manage seven units in Arlington, two in Fairfax and nine
units in Fredericksburg.

DeVito said the nonprofit looks at this as a total project,
repairing the sewer and water, and bringing the city in to take the water
system from a private to a public system, where every resident will be a
customer of the city. Other improvements will include upgraded roads, manholes
and fire hydrants inside the park, and tree pruning.

Father Gerry Creedon, pastor of Holy Family Church in Dale
City and founder of Catholics for Housing, said the city council’s decision is
a tremendous step forward. “It is a sign of the church’s social mission that we
are providing an opportunity for people to enjoy the right to a decent home. We
as a church need to be a support for those without shelter and provide
shelter.”

Charlie Einsmann, vice president of the board for the
organization, said the needs of the East End Mobile Home Park residents were
brought to their attention when the City of Manassas had acquired it and moved
to evict the residents. Catholics for Housing was asked to help the residents
move somewhere else.

The recent decision of the Manassas City Council is one
step. “We have been through a roller coaster with this, so I’m excited at this
point,” said Einsmann. “The next step is closing the real estate part of the
transaction and getting bonded for the work.”

“We are replacing the entire infrastructure — sewer, water
and storm management system,” Einsmann said. “We are going to convert a
two-bedroom house in the middle of the park into a community center.”

Catholics for Housing will help run the trailer park and
bring trailers up to code.

Father Ramon Rodriguez, program director of the nearby Don
Bosco Center run by the Youth Apostles, helped the mobile home residents
spiritually this past year. “They bring a lot of assets to the community,”
Father Rodriguez said. “They are not just going to help the residents stay in
their homes, which was the immediate goal. They bring assets to help the
residents look ahead and position themselves for more success and know the
options they have for their own lives and for their children.”

Related Articles