A forced goodbye in Sweetwater

To read this story in Spanish, click here.

The reflection of sunlight on the windshield of the U-Haul moving truck blinds Mercedes Silva. Her eyes fill with tears as she helps her twenty-something son Byron fill the truck with all the modest belongings from their home.

A lifetime of memories and possessions thrown into the back of the truck will end up in storage or thrown away. He quickly clarifies that he is not crying: “It’s just the sun,” he says between sighs, “but this is sad, I’m not going to lie to you.”

Like her neighbors, Mercedes Silva, one of the residents of the Li'l Abner mobile home park in Sweetwater, received a letter in mid-November warning that she would have to find another place to live. An entire community of more than 900 mobile homes and almost 3,000 people, according to Sweetwater Mayor José Díaz, will have to leave their homes before May 2025. Paradoxically, the owners justify the need to displace these people, mostly low-income, to build affordable housing.

Meanwhile, a class-action lawsuit filed by more than 121 property owners is slowly advancing in the 11th Circuit of Miami-Dade County Court. Only the city of Sweetwater has acknowledged receipt. The 20-day deadline for the city, county, and companies that own or are linked to the park to respond to the notification has not yet been met.

Insufficient incentives and obstacles to relocate

Most Li’l Abner residents own the mobile homes, but rent the land. The company CREI Holdings, owner of the park, has offered $14,000 to residents who leave before January 31, 2025. They can’t think about it too much. If they are late, the incentive is reduced. For example, those who wait until March 31 will receive $7,000, and if they stay until April 30, only $3,000.

Many tenants, like Silva, consider that both the term and the money offered by CREI are not enough. Homeowners complain that most of their houses cannot be moved. To further complicate matters, mobile home parks are becoming increasingly scarce.

In Florida, 1,500 mobile home parks were in danger, researcher Esther Sullivan of the University of Colorado revealed in 2017. Of these, at least 182 have closed in recent years, according to an analysis by the Tampa Bay Times based on records from the relocation organization and the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation.

The 60-year-old widow plans to accept the $14,000 and return to her native Nicaragua to live with her sister and her family.

“It’s not fair, but it is what it is, do you understand me? Everything is expensive here, and with how much it costs to move a house, many are going to be left with nothing. I am going to use that money to start over there, but I know that not everyone has that opportunity.”

Her son Byron lives in New Jersey, and he invited his mother, Silva, to move in with him, but she refused.

“I don’t like the cold there. Besides, he already has his life made up, why should I get in the way? I have about $6,000 saved and with what they say they are going to give us, I plan to return to Nicaragua, to Chinandega.”

The relocation incentives offered to park residents exceed Florida legal requirements. State mobile home law requires payments of $3,000 for single mobile homes and $6,000 for double homes to help offset moving expenses.

However, residents argue that the $14,000 is far from what is needed for a down payment on a new home.

Moving to another park, even if they manage to find one, can be prohibitively expensive. According to CostHelper.com, moving a mobile home within a 60-mile radius, including disconnection, transportation and reconnection, generally costs between $3,000 and $5,000 for a single unit, between $4,000 and $10,000 for a double and between $10,000 and $14,000 or more for a triple, depending on size and location.

For this reason, Melvin del Chiaro has decided to wait to leave his home until May, and then move to Orlando to live with his son. Florida law 723.0612 provides compensation to those who convey title to movable property to the owners of the land. Melvin considers this too low.  

“I remodeled my house, and now it's worth $180,000. And they want to give me only $2,750 to leave? Because I can't move my mobile home. This is a big business of capitalist people who only want money and are going to get rich.”

Progress that does not include everyone

For people like Silva, who came to the United States and worked for decades, Li’l Abner represented their piece of the American dream, one to which they now have to say goodbye.

“Look, I’ve been here for 23 years now. I came with my husband, who has since passed away, and my twelve-year-old son. This place was our refuge, our home. Now it’s time to say goodbye, although it hurts. It’s sad, you know. You get used to it, do you understand me? This was the only place I knew as my own in this country. But I’m already resigned. It seems there is no room for us here anymore. Look, they call it progress.”

The truth is that Li’l Abner Mobile Home Park has declined. It lost its green area and, recently, the community pool. CREI Holdings reduced these common spaces to build two eight-story apartment buildings. The third construction is currently looming over the mobile homes that will soon be vacated. 

“Yes, it's like they were making fun of us with that building there. Horrible,” said Silva.

Even so, rent prices for land have risen, and now reach $1,200 per month per mobile home.

Alvaro Zabaleta, the spokesperson for the city of Sweetwater, explained to Caplin News that they lack the authority to extend the eviction dates. 

“The city cannot get involved in private issues between property owners and tenants. The mayor is trying to help.” 

In a statement, without explaining services or other details, Mayor José “Pepe” Díaz announced the creation of a resource center in collaboration with the United States Social Security Administration, the Florida Department of Children and Families, Public Housing and Community Development of Miami-Dade, the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust, Catholic charities and Hermanos de la Calle.

Resignation and Uncertainty 

Silva stops loading the U-Haul, drinks water, and imagines addressing the people in charge of CREI Holdings. 

“I would tell them to think about us. That we are not just numbers, we are families, people who have worked a lifetime to have something. And now they are taking it away from us just like that. Can you believe it? That hurts. It's hard, but I've already accepted it. I never thought I would leave like this, but what are we going to do? This country gave me many things, but now I have no choice but to return to my land.”

Other residents of Li'l Abner, who have no place to go unlike Silva, fear they will not be able to find affordable accommodation and end up on the streets.

Enrique Bertran is a graduate student in the Spanish Language Journalism program, and a Spanish-television sports executive producer. 

Enrique Bertran es un estudiante de la maestría de periodismo en español, y productor-ejecutivo de deportes en la televisión en español. 

Carlos es un periodista con énfasis en periodismo deportivo. Actualmente se encuentra cursando una maestria en "mass communications" en Florida International University.

Patricia Varas Chong is originally from Lima, Peru and got her bachelor's degree in education at Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. When she moved to Boca Raton, she pursued a bachelor's degree in political science at Florida Atlantic University. She is currently in Miami, pursuing a master's in Spanish language journalism at Florida International University.