Claude and Mary
Mary and Claude were born and raised in the Cochrane area. They met and
married almost 40 years ago. They moved into Cochrane more than 30 years ago
and purchased a mobile home in the park more than 25 years ago. Claude worked
full-time for a local business and Mary worked part-time outside the home
while she raised their two children. Shortly before he was due to retire
Claude contracted a chronic health condition. He was compelled to leave his
job and to live on a fixed disability pension. Mary continued to work until
the age of retirement. They continue to live in the original mobile home
(more than 30 years old) and have fixed, pension incomes of less than $1500.00
per month.
Given their ages and health status the location of where they live is very
important.
They own an old vehicle (more than 15 years) but use it only to go grocery
shopping in Cochrane, to visit friends and to attend medical appointments.
They realize the impossibility of relocating their present home to another
mobile home park, understanding that the rules in other parks do not allow for
older mobile homes and that rental costs may be prohibitive. If they could
find another location they do not have the money to move their current home.
Even the $400.00 rent they currently pay, together with paying Town taxes and
utilities, means a great deal of “scrimping and saving”.
Claude and Mary are working hard to find a possible solution to their
predicament. They do not want to give up their home or to be placed in an
apartment or condominium building, with its additional rules and much higher
costs. At present they are talking with friends who live in villages not too
far from Cochrane hoping that they can find someone who is willing to allow
them to park the trailer on private land. They are optimistic that they will
be successful in finding someone who will allow them to park the trailer. If
they are successful they will need help with both the costs and physical
energy needed to complete the move.
Lisa
Lisa lives with her two young children (ages 6 and 9 years) in a 20 year-old
mobile home that she purchased four years ago. She still owes friends more
than $15,000.00 (fifteen thousand dollars) that she borrowed to purchase the
mobile home. Lisa works part-time in a retail store in Cochrane and is at
home with her children as often as possible. She has a friend who cares for
the children when she is at work and they are not in school. She purchased
the mobile home to provide a stable home for herself and her children. She
had received a small financial settlement that allowed her to make the
purchase, with the assistance of friends. Apart from work and caring from her
children Lisa is an active participant in a local church.
She is concerned that her anxiety over the move has adversely affected the
children, who frequently ask questions about moving and not being able to
continue in the local school with their friends.
Financial security, independence and location are important to Lisa. She
thought that she had found a workable and stable solution for her family.
Lisa considered the location of where she lived to be important. Her children
are settled into a local elementary school, and have friends there. She has a
relatively good job in Cochrane, with prospects of becoming full-time once her
children are older. Her extended family lives out of province but she has a
close circle of friends in Cochrane.
Lisa is hoping to move her mobile home to another site – or even into storage,
so that she can sell it and recover some of her debt. If she can do that she
hopes to find a home that she can afford to rent in Cochrane. She is
concerned both about providing a safe and comfortable home for herself and her
children, and about being able to afford to pay rent and repay debts.
Dwayne
Dwayne is 67 years old. His wife died almost six years ago and he bought the
mobile home as an affordable and easy place to live. As a tradesman, Dwayne
has found it necessary to continue to work although he would like to retire.
He travels throughout the province to complete contract work. He bought the
mobile home with a loan from the bank and continues to pay down the loan.
He has located a site on another mobile home park within an hour of Cochrane
and is currently paying rent for that site in addition to the rent for his
site in Cochrane. His trailer is too old to move to the new site but he is
negotiating with another owner to take possession of their newer trailer. His
intent is to move the newer trailer to the site outside Cochrane and continue
to live there. He needs help with moving the trailer to the new site, getting
rid of his old trailer (he thinks it will need to be demolished if no-one
wants it), and help with setting up his trailer on the new site.
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Steve & Kate
Steve and Kate have lived on the mobile home park since 1992 when they
purchased a 30 year-old mobile home. They continue to pay a mortgage on the
mobile home in addition to the monthly lot rental of $400.00. Steve and Kate
have two children who attend local Junior High / High schools. Both Steve and
Kate work in a service business in Cochrane. Steve is employed full-time and
Kate part-time. Their combined incomes allow them to "pay most of the bills
most of the time" but they sometimes depend on additional government
assistance, and other mobile home community residents “help us out” from time
to time. Steve was born and raised in Cochrane and has some family still
living here. Kate moved to Cochrane after she married Steve, and they
purchased the mobile home as their home and to raise their children.
They recently endured a major catastrophic event when Kate was diagnosed with
cancer and underwent several weeks of chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
For several weeks neither was able to work – Kate was unwell and Steve stayed
at home to care for her. They depended on help from neighbors, social
services and the food bank for that entire period.
Their situation is particularly difficult. They hope to find a home in
Cochrane that they can afford to rent. Their mobile home is not moveable and
will need to be demolished. They need help with moving to a new home, with
the costs of the move, a damage deposit and down payment, and ongoing
assistance with paying rent.
Yvonne & Frank
Yvonne and Frank live with their five-year-old daughter in a trailer they
purchased three years ago. Frank works in the construction industry and
Yvonne works for a local First Nations community. The mobile home is only a
few years old and is movable.
Yvonne and Frank are hoping to move their mobile home closer to Yvonne’s
family on land owned by the First Nation’s community. They are applying for
permission from the community to move the mobile home.
The costs of moving and setting up the mobile home in a new location are
prohibitive to Yvonne and Frank. They are hoping the First Nation’s community
will help with some costs but believe that additional assistance from the
Cochrane community would ensure the success of their move.
Julie, Bob and Dawn
Julie is the thirty-six year old daughter of Bob & Dawn. She rents a mobile
home on the park so that she can live close to her parents – both of whom
suffer from ill-health. Her father is being treated for cancer and her
mother has chronic arthritis.
She works for a provincial utility company and has secure employment.
Bob and Dawn live in an older mobile home that they consider is not movable
and needs to be demolished. Bob has been unable to work for the past two
years, and Dawn manages to hold down a part-time position with a local
business.
Julie has planned to help her parents by purchasing a home that all three of
them share. She earns enough money to obtain a mortgage on a small house but
needs help both with negotiating a mortgage and in finding a down payment that
would satisfy a bank or mortgage company. |
