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FHP is committed to advocating on behalf of victims of housing discrimination. Check out FHP’s Stories of Fair Housing to see your neighbors who the fair housing laws help.
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TWITTER FEED
“Moral devaluation of Black lives has been ingrained in America’s political economy and has everything to do with our massive racial wealth gap as well as housing ownership disparity” We’re listening to Dr. Darrick Hamilton @DarrickHamilton of @TheNewSchool at #NFHAconference2020
“We need to make sure that communities of color have access to credit on equitable terms to white communities.” Preach Lisa! @ItsLisaRice
Dr. Akilah Watkins-Butler, the President and CEO of the Center for Community Progress @CProgressNews spoke about Land Banks in the context of The Role of Affordable Housing In An Equitable Society and she posed
FHP thanks and supports Alanna McCargo @MyHomeMatters who is the Vice President of Housing Finance Policy at the Urban Institute @urbaninstitute for giving us the data to show the Black homeownership gap to decisionmakers!
Today the National Fair Housing Alliance’s virtual fair housing conference begins! Thank you to @natfairhousing for disability accessibility with BOTH closed captions and a sign language interpreter!
Join us at 2:30PM (ET) for our keynote speaker and panel discussion!
In Pittsburgh, PA Black homes are devalued by -11.6% compared to white homes.
“I know what the issue was. And I knew what we needed to do to fix it, because in the Black community, it’s just common knowledge that you take your pictures down when you’re selling the house. But I didn’t think that I had to worry about that with an appraisal.”
Pennsylvania’s eviction moratorium is OVER.
The data shows that rent collection DOES NOT increase with filed evictions as reported by Matthew Desmond @just_shelter who was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his book Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City.
Pennsylvania’s eviction moratorium ends TODAY!
Rental evictions will disproportionately make families of color, families with disabilities, and families with children homeless. Governor Tom Wolf declared that extending the eviction moratorium requires state legislation.
“In Pennsylvania, 17% of its residents who live in rental properties, around 624,140 individuals, are at risk of eviction by the end of September.”
In western Pennsylvania, there are 3 main sources of rent and other relief for individuals who lost income due to COVID-19.
“Winning the civil rights victories of the past required unusual dedication and persistence — extraordinary, really — and it will take more of the same to make Black lives matter in every neighborhood.”
Pennsylvania’s eviction moratorium currently ends on August 31, 2020. Know your rights as a renter in PA!
Get legal help. @NLSAPGH
Reach out to Fair Housing. @FHPPgh @PghCHR
Understand what resources are available. @HillConsensus
Equity based decision-making requires:
Data
Analysis
Action
Outcome
FHP thanks Mayor Bill Peduto in recognizing the need for data in order to make deliberate decisions that addresses historic inequities. In this week’s Equity Series panel by the @CityPGH @billpeduto spoke
In 1917, the US Supreme Court ruled against race based zoning in Buchanan v. Warley.
In 1923, the City of Pittsburgh enacted its original zoning laws.
The zoning ordinance differentiated between “A” and “B” Residence Districts.
#Pittsburgh remains committed to fighting housing discrimination, despite actions by the Trump Administration to roll back fair housing rules.
We remain committed to reducing discrimination, & will continue to enforce 2015 regulations. https://pittsburghpa.gov/press-releases/press-releases/4204
The Pittsburgh, PA metro area has one of the largest racial disparities in home ownership in the United States with 35% of Black families owning homes compared to 74% of white families.
Systemic change in the housing market is necessary for equality.
“…between 19 million and 23 million - one in five of the 110 million Americans who live in rental housing – are at risk of eviction by the end of September” based on an estimate by the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project in Denver, CO.
“Mass incarceration has permeated every aspect of life, from education to employment and housing. Black people are more likely to be stopped, cited, arrested, charged and convicted of crimes in this country. This case is a prime example of the ways mass incarceration’s impact
Highly restrictive criminal background policies do not have a measurable impact on health and safety of tenants, and have a disparate impact on Black men. @HOMEofVA settles our 3rd case winding these policies back and opening up housing oportunities. https://twitter.com/HOMEofVA/status/1283743556692312065
HOME, Kay Management Company, and Former Tenants Reach Settlement Regarding Criminal Background Screening Policy that HOME Alleged Disproportionately Excluded Black and Latinx Housing Applicants. Read more: https://bit.ly/2DPlE7N
44% of Latino renters and 41% of Black renters stated in an early June 2020 U.S. Census Bureau survey that “…they had no or slight confidence they could pay their rent next month or were likely to defer payment….”
NEWS
FHP v. Edward & Donna Rochez
On September 2019, the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission issued a “Finding Of Probable Cause” wherein Edward and Donna Rochez discriminated against families with children. Mr.