Imperial County to help RV residents

Sleepy Hollow RV Park residents have less than a week before they are evicted from the park. The Imperial County Board of Supervisors is stepping in to assist the residents.

Mimmie Clark one of the residents living at the park for more than ten years says they do not have much time before the park literally shuts down. “August 31st is when everything stops,” says Clark. “No water, no electricity, no buses, no mail, no nothing. And anybody who is here is worried because how do you live.”

The Imperial County Board of Supervisors has created two new programs to assist more than 50 families currently staying at the park. Esperanza Colio Warren the Imperial County Community and Economic Development Manager says the programs were approved on the 23rd.”The Board of Supervisors approved a one-time 700 dollars stipend to assist the families who were affected at the Sleepy Hollow RV Park,” Warren says.

In addition to the 700 dollars, the board created a new county-wide program to assist residents living in unincorporated areas. Warren says, “the way that it works, is that it is actually providing a subsidy for eligible clients that meets the criteria for assistance with rental payments.” The program would last two years.

However, not everyone can sign up for the program and there are a limited number of spots available. “It’s very important to understand this is a county-wide program, none of the cities are included only for unincorporated areas. They have to be eligible and also they have to be a first come, first serve,” says Warren.

Clark says there is hope for the future, but what the county is offering will not be enough.”Me personally, I think it sucks. I think it’s terrible, I think it’s heartless that they would take our home away from us in two months notice,” says Clark.

The only other time Imperial County has intervened to help displaced residents was during the 2010 and 2012 earthquakes in Brawley.