Fair Housing Is More Than Just Words

Dear Fair Housing Partners:

Happy Fair Housing Month! As fair housing practitioners your work is essential to ensuring equal access and fair housing opportunities for all.

In February of this year, NFHTA held a Black History Month Forum on the topic of housing segregation. During the event, I asked individuals like you to commit to building cultural competencies regarding the Black experience in this Nation. Developing empathy and understanding is just one way that we all can live this year’s Fair Housing Month theme, Fair Housing is More Than Just Words.

Now, I ask you to think about another way that Fair Housing Is More Than Just Words – that is your role in narrowing the homeownership gap along racial lines. Homeownership remains the biggest driver of our Nation’s wealth gap, with wide racial and ethnic disparities in homeownership rates and the financial return associated with owning a home. The median white family holds eight times the wealth of the average Black family and five times the wealth of the average Latino family. These sobering statistics should alarm us all as investing in a piece of this great Nation through homeownership - and knowing that the appraised value of a home is just – is essential to achieving the American Dream.

HUD is proud to have recently published an Action Plan detailing real changes government is taking to enhance oversight and accountability of the appraisal industry and to empower homeowners and homebuyers to take action when they receive a valuation that is lower than expected. We are also proud that earlier this month, we engaged you in a conversation on another key tool in the arsenal to ensure equity – that is Special Purpose Credit Programs. In the coming days, look to NFHTA’s website to view the recording and materials from this engaging event.

Finally, I encourage you to view FHEO’s virtual Fair Housing Month Opening Ceremony and to view more Fair Housing Month content on our HUD website.

Wishing you all a purposed and happy Fair Housing Month and year ahead.

Demetria McCain

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, FHEO

Meet the Academy Faculty

When the NFHTA was reimagined in 2020, the goal was for the Academy to play an essential role in developing new and experienced practitioners with the skills necessary to ensure fair housing for all. To fulfill this goal, NFHTA had to be deeply grounded in the needs and experiences of fair housing practitioners in the field which led to the creation of the NFHTA faculty.

Over the coming years, NFHTA will continue to play an essential role in the training of fair housing practitioners through additional courses that address the needs of the entire fair housing community. NFHTA faculty play an essential role the development of these courses and use their varied experience to ensure wide applicability.

Learn more about the NFHTA faculty and their extensive expertise and diverse field experiences, and how they all share a deep passion and dedication to furthering the fight for fair housing.

Meaningful Education & Outreach

Whether it is hosting an information table at an event, meeting with a local tenants’ rights group, or passing out brochures at a farmers' market, it is critical to engage in ways that are genuine, impactful, and meaningful.

To help make this a reality, here are some tips and strategies to maximize the potential of your education and outreach efforts.

• Get your materials ready:
  Check your outreach materials to ensure they reflect the most updated information available, including your office’s hours, masking and/or testing requirements, and contact information, particularly if these are changing regularly.
   
• Think outside the box:
  Which protected groups does your office hear from the least? If you believe that there is likely unreported discrimination occurring, consider targeted outreach that would especially speak to and reach this group. Is there a cultural or resource center (place of worship, nonprofit that offers direct services) in the area for this group? Connect with their leaders and staff there to find ways you can support their work while also educating their direct audience about fair housing.
   
• Check your community calendars:
  Stay up to date on the goings-on in your area. This should include attending cultural festivals, field days, schools, races, parades, community showcases, and any other events that would allow you to reach many community members!

February and March National Fair Housing Forum Materials Now Available

Housing Segregation Is Not an Accident: A Black History Month Event - February 16, 2022

To commemorate Black History Month, this panel of speakers reviewed the historical actions that created segregated neighborhoods, current manifestations of housing-related discrimination, and some of the solutions that can be achieved through effective enforcement of fair housing laws and affirmatively furthering fair housing. The forum provided opportunities for reflection on the importance of fair housing work and offered various calls to action for fair housing professionals to commit to leadership roles in establishing and implementing an equity agenda for all people.

Assistance Animals Are Not Pets: Reasonable Accommodations Related to Support Animals - March 16, 2022

This panel provided information about how persons with certain disabilities benefit from support animals, the types of assistance animals, key components of HUD's guidance, how to assess and process a request for a reasonable accommodation, and tools for investigation and testing of complaints involving discrimination against persons with disabilities because of the presence of or request for a support animal. This forum and the related materials are valuable resources for fair housing practitioners, housing providers, and people in need of assistance animals.

Instructor Led Courses

• Register Now | Litigating Fair Housing Cases
  May 3, 5, 10, 12, 2022 | 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET
   
• Register Now | Basics of Fair Housing
  May 23 – 26, 2022 | 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM ET
   
• Register Now | Fundamentals of Intake
  June 6–9, 2022 | 1:00 PM–4:00 PM ET

National Fair Housing Forums

• Save the Date | June National Fair Housing Forum
  June 15, 2022 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET
   
• Save the Date | July National Fair Housing Forum
  July 20, 2022 | 2:00 PM - 4:00 PM ET