DC draws on resident input for multiyear plan to overcome barriers to fair housing
Jake Maher, The DC line, May 29, 2019. Available Here.
Input from residents is set to play a key role in a report on the state of fair housing in the District being compiled in order to comply with federal mandates that local governments combat historical patterns of segregation and crack down on illegal discrimination.
The DC Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD) held meetings across the city in late April and early May where community members shared their experiences and concerns surrounding affordability, legal protections for renters, and similar issues. Another meeting is scheduled for tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in Ward 5 at Lamond-Riggs Neighborhood Library, with sessions in wards 2 and 7 still being scheduled.
The city stands to lose block grants that fund housing and services for people experiencing homelessness and people living with HIV/AIDS if the DC government fails to demonstrate to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that it is working to “affirmatively further fair housing.” The requirement, which applies to any government agency that accepts HUD funding, seeks to force adherence to a key tenet of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. Each community is required to “actively” work to overcome housing segregation and create more inclusive communities. Simply preventing illegal discrimination is not sufficient in the eyes of the federal government.