'A nightmare': Florida families evicted, given minutes to gather their belongings, families say

ORLANDO - Families who once called the Lake Downey Mobile Home Park in Orlando home were evicted Tuesday morning – and given mere minutes to gather their most important items.

Lynette Colon said she and her four children were awakened Tuesday morning to law enforcement deputies pounding on her door.

 says her 4 children woke up this morning to deputies pounding on their door.

"I thought I was in a nightmare," Colon said. "I was explaining to the officer that I don’t have nowhere to go, and he was like, ‘You’ve got five minutes to take your stuff out.’"

Colon said she's lived in her mobile home for about a year, paying $1,600 each month.

She said the neighborhood had had issued with crime. She also said their water was shut off months ago. But, because she's disabled and cannot work, her fixed income limits the places that she can live – and afford to live.

"It’s not okay what they’re doing to us," Colon said. "They’re treating us like we’re not humans."

Faith United Methodist Church, which is located across the street from the dilapidated neighborhood, said it is offering as much support as it can. 

Angel Coleman, the food pantry coordinator for the church, said conditions at the neighborhood have deteriorated over the last several months. She

"You walk in there, it looks like a bomb has gone off in there. It looks like a Third World country," said Coleman. She started partnering with other organizations too, handing out water and trying to restore some sense of dignity to the community.  

"We see some desperate people just trying to figure out what they’re going to do," said Coleman.

It appears that the property was sold.

The apparent owner has more than a million dollars in fines from the country for a string of apparent issued at the mobile home park, according to online records. As of November 7th, 2023, the County said the property owner owes $1,489,000 for violating the fire code, $823,000 for zoning violations, and $511,000 for trash violations.

That owner has also faces fines and lawsuits from several other entities over the years, according to online records. One company accused the owner of not paying for pressure-washing services, w hile another filed a foreclosure on the property alleging they were never paid more than $4,000 for services completed years ago. 

There are additional cases pending.

The City of Orlando placed a lien on the property after nearly $300,000 in fines were not paid, records show.

FOX 35 attempted to reach the property owner on Tuesday for comment.

A woman who answered a phone number associated with the property owned told FOX 35 that the property was shut down due to drugs and violence, but would not elaborate and then hung up. A woman answered another phone number, yelled, and then hung up.

Coleman, who works at the church, said there should be consequences for the state of the neighborhood.

"Why are we not holding someone accountable for the deplorable conditions this trailer park has been in?" she asked.  

Back in May, Mayor Demings asked the group buying the property, Pique Land Trust, to come up with a plan for what to do with people living there now.

Without one, the Mayor warned, "They all will become homeless, and that creates a bigger burden on the rest of society, if there’s not a plan of action."

The county told FOX 35 is never received those plans. 

For Colon and her kids, she was unsure of her next steps.

"I really don’t want to sleep in the car, and I don’t want to leave my kids with somebody else," said Colon, through sobs. She has applied for an apartment and has reached out to a local resource center for assistance.