There are no Rs and Ds in my community

The evictions have started where I live at Midwest Country Estates in Waukee. The new owners, Havenpark Capital, have a business model devoid of any compassion or even a passing concern for the elderly and vulnerable in the mobile home park they purchased. They made a promise to the shareholders, and apparently there is no room for empathy when dividends are being maximized.

THE COMMUNITY

Midwest Country Estates is a community of 300 households. It is one of the last areas of Waukee where you can own your own home if you are low-income. Most of these folks have worked and lived in this community for many years. Arletta Swain has been here since 1969.

Some bad actors live here. I imagine you have a few in your neighborhood, no matter how gentrified it is.

But most folks on the older side of the park are low-income, seniors, and/or disabled. Some attach a stigma to living here, but the president of Waukee’s Parks and Rec committee is a proud resident. I am an activist and lobbyist. I live here.

Read more: https://www.bleedingheartland.com/2019/04/10/there-are-no-rs-and-ds-in-my-community/