Evicted families struggle to find housing as Vista RV Park deadline hits

VISTA, Calif. (FOX 5/KUSI) -- As of Saturday night, an eviction deadline was just hours away for dozens of families living at an RV park in Vista, with residents scrambling to find new housing. 

After 9 years in this tight-knit community, resident LaRen Reed and her family are preparing to say their goodbyes. "My heart is broken right now," said Reed.

They are one of nearly three dozen families living at an RV park inside Green Oak Ranch who received eviction notices earlier this month. Tenants must be out by Dec. 1, but Reed and her family are staying put -- for now.

"We’re still looking, we’re looking everyday," she told FOX 5/KUSI. "We have a tiny home that we bought here on property and we need a place where it has full hookups that can accommodate 40-feet and somewhere safe for our kids.”

Reed also explained that they are part of a civil lawsuit against the property owner. The site is managed by Green Oak Ranch ministries, which also offers substance abuse recovery programs on location.

Starting in January, however, the nonprofit Solutions for Change is taking over the lease.

"I still can’t wrap my mind around how a homeless organization prides itself on helping homeless families, yet they’re making 70 people homeless right before Christmas,” Reed expressed.

She said the San Diego Rescue Mission is offering to help with relocation but moving her tiny home will cost $10,000.

For the past few weeks, the city has been trying to help connect residents with resources.

"We’ve helped some families move their vehicles. We bought tires for some families. We’re providing moving assistance dollars and resources," said Vista Mayor John Franklin. "And we now have all -- but two families out of 25 -- have a resolution that has been identified.”

The mayor continued, saying it's an unfortunate situation that is out of the city’s control. "The new lease of the property knew that there were some code deficiencies that would have to be remedied as they pulled new building permits,” he stated.

Franklin also said the city doesn’t have specifics from Solutions for Change about exact plans for the property. 

In a previous statement, a representative said the nonprofit is interested operating an RV park at the site in the future, “but cannot and will not operate services outside of the law or at the expense of our core programs.”

Meanwhile, Reed and her family are hoping to stay local near loved ones. "The option to move to New Mexico or Pennsylvania just isn’t home," she explained.

FOX 5/KUSI reached out to Green Oak Ranch Ministries and the nonprofit Solutions for Change for comment did not hear back at the time of publication.