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Executive Summary
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ORGANIZING
TENANTS: ALL PARKS ALLIANCE FOR CHANGE
All Parks Alliance for Change
(APAC) in Minnesota is a non-profit organization for manufactured home
park residents that works to protect the rights of park residents and
improve park conditions. APAC was started in 1980 by residents of a mobile
home park in Anoka, Minnesota. It expanded from the original park to others
in the county, and then to the greater Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area.
Today their hotline answers calls from across the state.
APAC has a staff of three, plus an AmeriCorps volunteer, and has been
grant-funded since shortly after its founding. Today, its funding comes
from several Minnesota community foundations supporting affordable housing
and community building initiatives. Its board is composed entirely of
residents or former residents of manufactured home communities.
APACs primary services include a hotline for manufactured home park residents
and assistance for park residents organizing their parks. APAC is currently
running active campaigns in five parks. For example, in Lexington they
provide workshops to residents who are experiencing problems under new
management. In APAC workshops, residents learn about their rights under
the law.
APAC often coordinates activities by other groups. For example, they work
with the Minnesota Legal Services Advocacy Project to make gains for park
residents through the legislative process, and with the Northcountry Coop
Development Fund to encourage co-op conversions of for-profit parks. The
group supports proposals to protect the equity in older homes by a prohibiting
eviction based solely on the age or architectural style of a home. To
date, APAC has also organized residents from eleven metro area cities
to pass ordinances requiring park owners to pay relocation compensation
to residents in the event of a park closing.
Lessons learned:
- Organized tenants can both
assert their rights and improve their living condition.
- There is a clear need among
park residents for education and assistance.
- Organizing tenants can
help advance their rights through the political process.
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