- Kathy Smith
"A DECENT HOME" came to Golden!
Updated: Aug 2, 2022
Golden was on the 2022 Colorado screening tour for the award-winning documentary A DECENT HOME, a film by Sara Terry. The Golden screening was on Tuesday, July 19 at Jefferson Unitarian Church at 5:30 pm.
Please see the article in the Golden Transcript:
New documentary on mobile home parks screens in Golden
Sponsors:
More About A DECENT HOME
A DECENT HOME (www.adecenthomefilm.com), an award-winning film by Sara Terry, is the first feature-length documentary ever made about mobile home parks. This thought-provoking documentary tells the story of the struggles of mobile home park residents for stable housing. Watch the Trailer
A Decent Home website https://www.adecenthomefilm.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/adecenthomefilm Instagram https://www.instagram.com/adecenthomefilm/
Director Sara Terry, a Sundance Documentary Fellow, spent nearly seven years making this film, which examines a national crisis at the community level, including Colorado. Her footage has been used on the John Oliver show and she has been widely interviewed about these stories, including on 1A, a national public radio program.
CPR News: Award-winning film that uses mobile home parks to take on class and economic inequality coming back to Colorado Denver Post: The fight to save Denver Meadows: New documentary delves into America’s affordable housing crisis
About Mobile Home Communities in Golden
There are 19 mobile home parks in Jefferson County, with nearly 1,800 housing units that comprise essential naturally occurring affordable housing in Jeffco. Over half of the mobile homes in Jeffco are in the Golden area. There are two parks in Golden's city limit, Golden Hills and Golden Terrace (which includes Golden Terrace, Golden Terrace West, and Golden Terrace South). Just outside the city limits are Mountainside Estates, Pleasant View, and Mountain View. About 8% of housing units in the City of Golden are mobile homes.
Mobile homes make up the largest source of naturally occurring, unsubsidized affordable housing, with residents being hard-working families, older adults, people with disabilities, immigrant families, and veterans. Many residents are on fixed incomes. Mobile home parks have a unique business model in that most residents own their homes but lease the land (lot) under their homes. Most mobile homes are not movable so if a park owner pursues redevelopment of the park, mobile home owners are at risk of losing their homes and their investment. About 66% of Colorado’s mobile home parks are now controlled by corporate, multi-state owners.
There have been several pieces of statewide legislation over the past 3-4 years designed to protect the rights of mobile home park residents (see Mobile Home Park Oversight Program). During the most recent legislative session, there was a bill that created a loan fund and grant programs specifically for mobile home parks and an extensive bill that provides a variety of protections and opportunities for residents of mobile home communities.
Colorado Politics: Rights for mobile home residents pass legislature after more weakening amendments