Manufactured home communities (MHC) play an important role in meeting the need for affordable housing across the U. S., reports usda.gov. If they become a cooperative, the residents have a major responsibility to govern and manage their ownership rights, reports John McNamara, a Cooperative Development Specialist with the Northwest Cooperative Development Center (NWCDC), which is a a ROC (resident-owned community) USA® certified technical assistance provider (CTAP).

It is important for co-op members to maintain communications with each other and to CTAPs who provide them with crucial guidance, as well as to connect with resources available through modern information technology. To this end, ROCs are testing software and standardized curriculum designed to increase technological self-sufficiency to co-op members, especially as more co-operatives emerge. The goals include promoting residents computer fluency and building leadership, as MHProNews understands.

“A resident-owned community is more than just a homeowner’s association; it is a business that requires constant attention, maintenance, oversight and nurturing,” says Daniel Luis Arrañaga, a CTAP for NWCDC. To further this end, students from Evergreen State College in Olympia, Washington have partnered with NWCDC to teach residents basic skills in e-mail, on-line editing and typing.

Says Arrañaga, “The great thing is that I can get on the document with board members who are 250 miles away and train them on how to make an agenda without making an eight hour round-trip drive.”

The initiative gives residents a greater sense of ownership in researching solutions to community problems, find vendors and help create an archive of organizational documents available to all members. It will also free up CTAPs to work with new clients and provide for a more efficient use of funds needed for development. ##

(Image credit: ROC-USA)

Article submitted by Matthew J. Silver to Daily Business News-MHProNews.