Camden Trailer Park Given 30 days To Clean Up or be Condemned
CAMDEN, Tenn. – 40 residents are terrified they may soon no longer have a home, because some people feel the Stigall Trailer Park in Camden is an eyesore. Patricia Jackson just moved to the area from New Jersey. She said she thought this move would be her last. Now she is worried. “I’m on a monthly income. I can’t afford much else and I’m so scared of being on the streets,” Jackson said. Camden Mayor Elvin Johnson gave the trailer park 30 days to improve its appearance or be condemned. Johnson said he believes no one should live in these conditions. Lisa Roney has lived next door to the park for years and agrees. “It wouldn’t hurt my feelings if they shut it down. It’s been like this since I lived here its been an eye sore,” she said. Those who live in some of the newly renovated mobile homes disagree. “The outside of the trailers do need painting. But they’re not that bad. Not that bad to the point of shutting down the trailer park,” said Ernest Stone, who lives at the park. The trailer park has 14 homes, and more than 30 tenants, many of them are children. “I’ll be very sad and mad at the mayor if we have to move,” David Jackson, 12, said. Residents said it may not be much, but it is home. It is a place their children play and their family comes together. “I don’t think God would be pleased with this. And I’m a God-fearing woman,” Patricia Jackson said. Tenants said the 30-day time period is setting them up to fail. They said they are trying to make efforts to improve the appearance but fear it is not enough time. “I don’t know where anybody would go about looking for a place to live,” Jackson said. The tenants have until the end of August to improve the appearance of their homes. The mobile home park does have a manager but many of the residents have taken it upon themselves to begin painting, for fear of losing their home.
