KALAMAZOO, Mich. — As soon as Jason Burkett returned home from work on Tuesday evening, he and his four kids went straight to Stadium Drive and began putting up signs on a strip of grass.
One read: “Honk if your kid gets to play outside.” Another stated: “The kids are not the problem. Management is.”
Each kid held up a sign, as well.
“I’m so proud of them,” Jason said.
They’ve been out there every day since last Thursday, July 13, he said, when their family and all other residents at Twinleaf Community off of Stadium Drive received an email from management about a policy that restricted kids to playing only in their yard and under supervision.
“They’re out here on Stadium Drive in Kalamazoo, right next to Wayside, protesting unjust treatment,” Jason said in a video he posted to social media on the first day they protested. “They’re trying to tell kids they’re not allowed to go outside and play. They’re not allowed to ride a bike. They’re not allowed to play basketball. These kids say it’s not fair.”
Tiffany, Jason’s wife and the kids' mother, agreed.
She said that during one of the protests, management threatened to call the police.
“We’ve lived at Twinleaf for about eight years,” Tiffany said during an interview with FOX 17 on Tuesday. “The past couple of weeks there’s been some issues going on in the trailer park.”
Tiffany said that she believes the new policy stems from recent illegal activity that happened in and around Twinleaf.
FOX 17 reached out to Kalamazoo Public Safety to get information about the activity but are waiting to hear back.
The Burketts posted the email on social media and shared it with FOX 17, which stated that “we’ve come to a sober decision: to make our home safe again we will be strictly enforcing the lease policy of ‘No children unsupervised ANYWHERE but your own yard.’”
Tiffany said her family and many others at Twinleaf were upset.
“We’re a village within a village. And, at the end of the day, we shouldn’t tell kids they can’t do this because there’s people out here who have older kids that are working that need to take care of their little younger sister or whatever it is they have,” said Tiffany Wilson, who’s a part of TLC, a community board at Twinleaf. “It’s not fair that they got to be stuck and scared because if you call the police on my kids, we’re going to have a problem. My kid is not going to be a statistic because you feel some type of way.”
Wilson said not all kids are problematic.
She and the community board’s president Denise Jennings stopped by the Burkett family's protest to show support. They both confirmed the email to FOX 17.
Jennings said the board was founded in February 2023 and their goal was to create a safety program for the kids.
“We’re telling kids that if your parents are at work, [and] you don’t have anybody to watch them, we’re telling parents and kids, call one of us,” Jennings said. “We’re available. We’re at home. We will come out and be the adult that supervises, you know, until we get this whole mess straightened out.”
For Tiffany, she said the family’s struggle with management intensified when they received a Notice of Violation of Lease/Community Guidelines. The box “final notice” was checked, along with the boxes titled “confirm members of household" and “failure to supervise children.”
The Burketts provided FOX 17 with the document, which was from YES! Communities, the parent company of Twinleaf.
The Burketts said they took it to be an eviction notice.
“I’ve never had a problem with my kids in the eight years that I’ve lived there,” she said. “I’ve never been written up for my kids. My kids are the best kids.”
Tiffany said that the manager loves the kids.
She believed some of the illegal activity could be reduced if a pathway that connects Twinleaf to a nearby community is closed off. Others residents felt the same.
Tuesday afternoon, FOX 17 called and emailed Twinleaf Communities, their media office, and YES! Communities requesting an interview or comment, and are waiting to hear back.
Also, when FOX 17 visited the main office at Twinleaf seeking a comment about the email, policy and residents' reactions, we were met outside by a representative who immediately said to call corporate for all questions.
Tiffany said that’s the message she received. She’s called corporate a number of times and nothing’s happened. She hopes someone responds soon.
“I pay all my bills on time. I’m never late on my rent. My yard is clean,” Tiffany said. “My kids don’t bother anybody. They go outside and they play and they have fun. They’re kids and they’re being kids. I mean, what’s so wrong with that. If you know who the problem is, take care of the problem instead of punishing the kids that don’t do nothing wrong.”
