April is Fair Housing Month
The city’s annual observance of Fair Housing Month will begin today, Thursday, April 5, when Mayor Allen Joines reads a proclamation at noon at the Allegacy Federal Credit Union, 1691 Westbrook Plaza Drive, Winston-Salem.
Fair Housing Month promotes the federal Fair Housing Act and its laws against housing discrimination. 2018 marks the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Fair Housing Act by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.
Winston-Salem’s fair housing ordinance is substantially equivalent to the federal 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.
The city’s annual Fair and Affordable Housing Summit for housing professionals will be held Thursday, April 19, 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 The Adaptables, a nonprofit organization that works to ensure that people with disabilities have fair and equitable housing choices. City Council Member Derwin Montgomery will be the keynote speaker.
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 BB&T, Fairway Independent Mortgage Company and the Piedmont Triad Apartment Association.
Platinum sponsors are the Winston-Salem Community Development Department, Piedmont Federal Savings Bank, the North Carolina Housing Foundation, PNC Bank and the Charlotte Community Relations Committee.
Gold sponsors are Forsyth County Housing and Development Department, the Housing Authority of Winston-Salem, Allegacy Federal Credit Union, and Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County.
Silver sponsors are Financial Pathways/Center for Homeownership, the Winston-Salem Regional Association of Realtors, the Winston-Salem Homebuilders Association, the National Association of Human Rights Workers-NC and Neighbors for Better Neighborhoods.
Also during Fair Housing Month:
*The Human Relations Department will hold its monthly landlord/tenant fair housing training at City Hall, 101 N. Main St., on Wednesday, April 11, at 10 a.m. The training is open to the public.
*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.
*Human Relations is partnering with the Winston-Salem Police Department to cross-train on protections for victims of domestic violence under fair housing laws.
For more information about Fair Housing Month and the Human Relations Department, call CityLink 311.
