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By all accounts, this was the best MHOAA convention ever! There were nearly 70 people, mostly residents, from about 20 states. There was a wide-ranging set of speakers and panels that all drew strong attendance and featured 31 presenters, again mostly residents. Everyone had a chance to pick up new information and form new relationships. Just as importantly, we left with a set of identified goals and actions, as well as the following strategic vision:
Some of the action steps identified to act on this vision during the next year, included:
Ultimately, this vision and these goals are only as meaningful as our follow through. It is important to ensure prompt, regular and consistent follow up to take advantage of this enthusiasm and momentum. Enclosed you will find information that should be of assistance in following up – or catching up, for those of you unable to attend – with various people and organizations. We have put together the contact information for all attendees, all other materials generated for and from the convention, and typed up the notes from the sessions.
Some of the follow up steps we could all take together include:
APAC is currently in the process of completing an organizing manual and training curriculum; covering topics such as establishing a shared vision, building a constituent base, developing leadership, forming homeowner associations, formulating strategies and tactics, developing messaging strategies, and advancing policy change. We anticipate releasing this book both online and in print in November 2007.
Thank-you again for attending the 2007 MHOAA national convention in Minnesota! We look forward to our continued work together for Mobile Justice!
[DISCLAIMER: The notes, which are available for download below, are simply what happened to be written down by a leader in any given session and are necessarily incomplete. We have included the speaker or panelists names for each session, please contact them for more complete information if you are interested in "de-coding" any particular subject. The convention book is available for download here.
More than 10 million American families live in manufactured homes and more than a third of them live in the nation’s 50,000 manufactured home parks. Two thirds of new affordable housing is manufactured, with comparable quality to traditional, stick-built homes and at half the cost. More people call parks home than all project-based subsidized housing and 90 percent are homeowners.
However, homeowners face a range of challenges to maintaining this housing option:
• Increasing land values and redevelopment pressures
• Lack of park owner reinvestment and deteriorating infrastructure
• Rising rents and home financing interest rates that reduce affordability
• Few resources dedicated to solving these problems and increasing homeowner rights
Around the country, there are homeowners, housing and consumer advocates, developers of affordable housing, policy makers, and others with solutions to share. Making these solutions a reality requires a base of strong, committed leaders. It requires a clear, shared vision rising from the homeowners. It requires strong local, state, and national homeowner associations and it means forging a nationwide movement for justice.