WS Chronicle

Photo by Tevin Stinson

BY TEVIN STINSON 

THE CHRONICLE

The city wrapped up Fair Housing Month last week with the 12th annual Fair and Affordable Housing Summit.

The annual event, led by the Winston-Salem Human Relations Department, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and several sponsors in the community, is designed to promote the Federal Fair Housing Act and its laws against housing discrimination.  Signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968, this year marks the law’s 49th anniversary on the books.

This year’s event, held inside the Benton Convention Center, featured vendors, a lunch buffet, and a panel of housing professionals discussing the state of housing here in Winston-Salem but, the highlight of the summit was the presentation of the New Horizons Fair Housing Committee’s Breaking Barriers Award. Each year the committee celebrates a local nonprofit in the area that helps end homelessness.

This year the award was presented to City with Dwellings, a partnership of congregations, colleges, civic groups and individuals that provides services to the homeless. It’s The day resource center on West Fourth Street also facilitates phone calls to doctors, governmental agencies, and hospitals for records, provides a bus pass for verified doctor’s or housing appointments, and assists guests with fine tuning their resumes.

After accepting the award on behalf of City with Dwellings, Rev. Russell May said his organization has made it their personal duty to help those in need get off the streets.

“We are providing critical safety nets in this community,” he said. “At City with Dwellings we take it personal when we see people still on the streets. We take pride in creating a community and letting people know that we will not let them fall.”