Housing summit is April 20
SPECIAL TO THE CHRONICLE
The city’s annual observance of Fair Housing Month began Thursday, April 6, when Mayor Allen Joines reads a proclamation at noon at the Allegacy Federal Credit Union, 1691 Westbrook Plaza Drive, Winston-Salem.
The city’s annual Fair and Affordable Housing Summit for housing professionals will be held Thursday, April 20, at 11:30 a.m. at the Benton Convention Center, 301 W. Fifth St. During the summit, the New Horizons Fair Housing Committee will give its annual Breaking Barriers Fair Housing Award to City with Dwellings, a partnership of congregations, colleges, civic groups, and individuals that provides services to the homeless and is working to end homelessness in Winston-Salem.
This year’s summit is led by the Human Relations Department and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as title sponsors Fairway Independent Mortgage Company and PNC Bank. Platinum sponsors are the Winston-Salem Community Development Department and Piedmont Federal Savings Bank; gold sponsors are the Forsyth County Housing Department, the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem, and Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County. Silver sponsors are Financial Pathways/Center for Homeownership, the Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors, and Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods.
Fair Housing Month promotes the federal Fair Housing Act and its laws against housing discrimination. 2017 marks the 49th anniversary of the signing of the Fair Housing Act by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.
Winston-Salem has a fair housing ordinance that mirrors the Fair Housing Act. The Winston-Salem Human Relations Commission and Human Relations Department are responsible for enforcing fair housing laws locally to ensure fair and equal housing access and treatment for all people regardless of race, color, national origin, gender, disability, family status or religion.
Also during Fair Housing Month:
*Nexus, a quarterly public affairs television program produced by Human Relations on WSTV Digital Media, will focus on Fair Housing Month.
*“A Matter of Place,” a documentary on housing discrimination, will be shown during April on WSTV Digital Media.
For more information about Fair Housing Month and the Human Relations Department, call CityLink 311.
