REDFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. – Residents of Long’s Mobile Home Court on Plymouth Road are facing a tight deadline to find new housing after Redford Township — now owner of the property — says infrastructure failures and unsafe living conditions have made the site uninhabitable.
Township officials say residents have 30 to 45 days to leave following recent court action and eviction notices served to the park. For many residents who have called Long’s home for years, the news has been devastating.
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“Half of us haven’t even been sleeping. We don’t know what to do anymore,” said Lori Gauthier, a resident of the park. “You know I just started to get to know these people, so I still feel like I’m alone.”
Most residents are on fixed incomes and say they don’t have the financial resources to start over. Some are also questioning the accuracy of the eviction notices themselves.
“They don’t even put my name on here. They got me under a squatter somewhere. I’m so mad right now. I’m trying to read where I’m a squatter at,” said Brian Armstrong, a resident.
Township promises help, but residents say support is lacking
The township previously said it would assist with relocation by providing resources, but residents say that help has been largely nonexistent.
“We’re all just scared and we don’t know what to do. They claimed they were going to help us but they’re not,” said Holly Liller, a resident.
In response to questions about what support is being offered, Adam D. Bonarek, the township’s director of central operations, said in an email that each household received a list of resources when the eviction notice was posted and that public services plans to follow up the next week to remind residents of their options.
Residents, however, say that level of outreach falls far short of what’s needed.
“There’s a guy down there on oxygen, he has nowhere to go. He’s been here 12 years — all of us people here, we all own our homes,” Armstrong said. “It’s just a huge mess and I don’t know what everyone is going to do.”
Some residents moving, others still searching
The township says several residents who had court hearings recently have already made plans to move or have already left the park. But those who haven’t yet started the process of finding a new place say they feel mounting pressure with the clock ticking.
The township plans to eventually redevelop the site once residents have moved out.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services says it has already contacted residents at Long’s Mobile Home Court to connect them with housing assistance and other support services, adding that helping families find a safe place to live is a priority.