KETCHUM, Idaho — Dozens of people in Ketchum are facing eviction with no contingency plan to find them housing.
In November 2021, 19 properties at the J&J trailer park were giving six months to vacate their properties. Now with less than a month left, 11 of those families are still searching for affordable housing and don't know what awaits the May 31 deadline.
All of the residents have actively searched for new housing since the notice was sent but rising living costs have caused issues for families looking for a new place to live.
Aid has come to support the displaced families in order to help them relocate. Herbert Romero is the founder of the Hispanic Latin U.S. Leadership Task Force. He says that these residents were not given ample time to find new homes.
“It could have happened a year ago, two years ago and gave them notice so there was more wiggle room, more time for families to really in a very realistic way plan and do the transition of moving,” he said.
Romero feels as though these people are not being treated like a priority in this housing development.
“Ya know, this is not just a vacant lot with vacant homes, we still have got families and children here,” he said.
Families in the trailer park have even considered leaving everything behind. Romero translated for Aurturo Mariles Palomera as he expressed his struggles with finding somewhere for he and his wife to live.
“He’s so frustrated that he wants to move out of the country and go back to his country. It’s to that point. Families are being split, but it's not by choice. It's by pressure. Literally families are splitting,” said Romero for Palomera.
In an article by the Idaho Statesman, Rock Rolling properties owner Khris Dondero said "Finding affordable housing for the current tenants is a huge concern of mine."
For access to the Idaho Statesman article, click here.
