Syringa Emergency Relocation Fund

There is less than one week remaining before residents of Syringa Mobile Home Park must vacate their homes and leave the property. As anyone who has moved before knows, it is often a difficult, time-consuming, and expensive process. 

Residents at Syringa have received some funds through the recent settlement with Magar E. Magar, yet around 20 families are still trying to figure out how to afford moving out of the park by June 5, 2018. Some federal funding is available to help with rapid rehousing and homelessness prevention, but many of the residents’ incomes disqualify them. And, even if a family qualifies for federal assistance, federal funds can only be used toward a limited set of expenses, like rent and short-term storage.

“Having worked with various community members in Syringa Mobile Home Park over the past three years, I have seen residents remain tough in the face of acute challenges. They have dealt with broken promises over the years, to the point that several households are still uncertain whether the park is really closing. Add to this emotional roller coaster, how difficult it is to find affordable housing that offers the degree of privacy and community belonging residents have experienced over the course of five, ten, twenty or so years in Syringa." – Leontina Hormel

This is an immediate need. Please give today to help make this difficult transition as easy as possible by extending a hand to these members of our community.

At this time, it is not possible to list out exactly what kind of donations or volunteer help might be needed. If you are interested in also contributing this way, please fill out this form and we may contact you around the move-out date:  https://goo.gl/forms/jc9UvtKVcHCSBdcP2

The funds will be managed by Sojourner's Alliance and will be available to residents on a needs basis, decided on by a committee of volunteers made up of:
Leontina Hormel, Professor, UI Sociology Department
Lysa Salsbury, Director, UI Women's Center
Anne Zabala as an unofficial representative from the City of Moscow
Steve Bonnar, Executive Director, Sojourner's Alliance

For transparency to donors: Leontina Hormel, Moscow resident and Professor of Sociology at University of Idaho is the main organizer. Leontina is working with 22 families in Syringa Park, who are the beneficiaries of this campaign. All proceeds, including funds raised from various events over the past several months, are part of a relocation fund, which will be distributed to families for the use of moving expenses (moving trucks, gas, storage sheds, deposits, overdue bills, hotel rooms) and future housing security (deposits, rents, construction materials), or other expenses tied to trying to move out of the park by June 5, 2018. The four individuals listed as committee members, above, monitor the distribution of these funds and ensure transparency of the process.