Ascentia

Valuing Community

By Erica Rascón on Jun 25, 2014 in Giving, People

Throughout its 40-year history, Ascentia has maintained family and unity as the priorities of its manufactured home communities. The Mercy Fund helps the company fulfill its mission, making a positive mark in the lives of residents that can never be erased.

After gaining valuable information at a YASC conference four years ago, Yardi client, Ascentia, embarked on a transformation. The company instituted a multifamily model to manage its 7,000 units of mobile homes, reaching a unique market of consumers who were not interested in traditional apartment life or the ties of a mortgage. Amy McKelvy, director of training and development, calls the communities “single-level apartments with grass yards.”

“Most of our residents now are young families with children and at least one pet. It’s difficult for them, in some locations, to find affordable living that allows them to have the freedom and the privacy that most people enjoy,” says McKelvy.

The multifamily model for mobile homes has experienced great success. Yet through its growth, the family-owned company hasn’t lost sight of its original emphasis on the importance of family and community. The Mercy Fund ensures that Ascentia can support its tenants like relatives.

The Mercy Fund is the brainchild of founder B.M. Vukovich, created to help residents through difficult financial times. Employees, investors, residents and other third party participants are encouraged to make donations to the fund throughout the year. The funds are then dispersed to residents with dire need.

“The atmosphere inside is that, not only is the staff family but our residents are our family as well,” says McKelvy. The autumn floods that swept through Colorado tested the company’s commitment to its extended family.

In September of 2013, the Boulder metropolitan area suffered a deluge, dumping more than 17 inches of water into the valley in just three days. Water breeched the river banks, swelling beyond the thresholds of homes throughout the county. Residents of Ascentia property River Valley Village in Longmont were forced to evacuate their homes.

In some cases, flooding altered the landscape completely, swallowing entire neighborhoods. Residents of River Valley Village were more fortunate. Families were able to rebuild their lives. 17 homes were damaged by the water, only four of which were Ascentia properties. The Mercy Fund donated $11,550 to tenants and mobile homeowners alike, helping them to repair their homes and re-establish their community. Fund recipients were able to install new carpet, new skirting, and fresh paint.

“It is an incredible program that means a lot to both the staff and the residents,” says McKelvy.

In other neighborhoods, most flood victims could not afford to rebuild. They were forced to relocate. Many news outlets speculate that towns like Longmont and Lyons will be forever changed since low- and middle-income families were washed out by the floods and unable to rebuild. Gentrification is spreading further into the valley, recreating the character of these towns.

With the help of The Mercy Fund, River Valley Village residents could keep their homes. Ascentia committed to stand for its extended family, supporting diversity and the preservation of affordable neighborhoods in the face of gentrification, even when it meant funding repairs to resident-owned properties. “Ascentia believes in the importance of providing dignified housing and we’re doing all we can to make sure that kind of thing doesn’t happen where we have influence,” company representatives wrote on their corporate blog.

Each year, The Mercy Fund helps residents through some of their darkest hours. The gifts do more than provide financial support; they provide a sense of hope to recipients and help to solidify community bonds between residents, Ascentia staff, and supporters.

To learn more and make a contribution to The Mercy Fund, visit www.ascentia.us