BUSH ADMINISTRATION AWARDS $17.6 MILLION IN FAIR HOUSING
GRANTS TO CONTINUE FIGHT AGAINST HOUSING BIAS
Alabama receives more than $685,000

BIRMINGHAM - The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced today it has awarded $17.6 million in grants to fair housing groups in 39 states and the District of Columbia as part of the Bush Administration's efforts to curb housing discrimination. Four Alabama groups will receive $685,405.50.

"Today's announcement is another step toward ensuring that Americans have equal access to safe and affordable housing," said HUD Acting Secretary Alphonso Jackson. "We will not allow discrimination to stop families across this nation from living in any home, apartment or neighborhood they can afford."

The grants were awarded today by HUD's Fair Housing Initiatives Program to groups that will use the funds to investigate allegations of housing discrimination, educate the public and housing industry about housing
discrimination laws, and work to promote fair housing.

Three types of grants were awarded to groups in 96 cities:

Private Enforcement Initiative grants - About $10.2 million was awarded to assist private, tax-exempt fair housing enforcement organizations in the investigation and enforcement of alleged violations of the Fair Housing Act and
State and local fair housing laws.

Education and Outreach Initiative grants - About $5.3 million was allocated to groups to educate the public about
the rights and obligations under federal, state and local fair housing laws. Nearly $800,000 went to ten groups that focus on the needs of persons with disabilities.

Fair Housing Organizations Initiative grants - About $2.1 million was awarded for projects that serve rural and immigrant populations in underserved areas or where there currently is no existing fair housing organization.

In 2002, HUD released a study titled Discrimination in Metropolitan Housing Markets: Phase I, which documented
that despite a decline during the last decade, housing discrimination still exists at unacceptable levels. Last year, HUD, in partnership with The Advertising Council and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights Education Fund, recently released an award-winning, edgy multimedia campaign designed to fight housing discrimination by showing the many faces of those persons protected by the nation's 35-year-old Fair Housing Act.

HUD received applications from 215 groups seeking grants for the fiscal year 2003 assistance. Grants were awarded
to 121 projects in the following locations:

Individual project summaries by city and state are on the Internet.

Since the program's inception in 1989, nearly $226 million has been awarded to some 1070 organizations. Twenty eight organizations selected for this year's awards are first-time applicants.

HUD is the nation's housing agency committed to increasing homeownership, particularly among minorities; creating affordable housing opportunities for low-income Americans; and supporting the homeless, elderly, people with disabilities and people living with AIDS. The Department also promotes economic and community development as well as enforces the nation's fair housing laws. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet and espanol.hud.gov.

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Alabama

Birmingham
Fair Housing Center of Northern Alabama - $206,489.79
Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI)
Fair Housing Center of Northern Alabama (FHCNA) will implement a systemic approach to combating discriminatory
fair housing patterns and practices in approximately 23 of Alabama's 67 counties. Over the next 18 months, FHCNA
will provide investigative services and education/outreach, concentrating its efforts in five of the 23 counties (Madison, Limestone, Morgan, Lauderdale, and Colbert) and on the disabled and immigrant populations. The project
will conduct rental and sales tests and it will assist approximately 300 residents with fair housing complaints.

Mobile
Fair Housing Agency of Alabama - $78,324.00
Education and Outreach Initiative - General (EOI-G)
The Fair Housing Agency of Alabama will provide an aggressive education and outreach program to continue the establishment and maintenance of fair housing laws in southern Alabama, focusing on Mobile County. Some
education and outreach activities will consist of the following: assessing fair housing complaints based on discrimination and providing referrals to HUD; informing the public of their rights to housing of their choice and remedies available under fair housing laws, concentrating on racial minorities and new immigrant groups (Hispanics, Asians, and Cambodians); and educating the housing provider and mortgage lending industries concerning their fair housing responsibilities.

Mobile Fair Housing Center, Inc. - $194,851.92
Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI)
Mobile Fair Housing Center, Inc. (MFHC) will leverage this 1-year grant to serve the Mobile, Alabama, area. MFHC will partner with community groups to implement a program to counter predatory lending, which will include providing fair housing training and conducting a fair housing summit. The project is designed to raise awareness of housing discrimination and its impact on persons belonging to any of the federally, State, or locally protected classes. The project garners the support of local agencies and housing professionals who will collaborate to promote awareness
of enforcement laws and consumer and housing provider rights and responsibilities.

Montgomery
Central Alabama Fair Housing Center - $205,739.79
Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI)
The Central Alabama Fair Housing Center (CAFHC) will continue housing enforcement activities under this 18-month initiative. Underserved communities in Montgomery and its neighboring communities will be the beneficiaries of the services, which will reach African Americans and others of protected classes. Targeted outreach will be directed to Hispanic, other recent immigrants, and disabled residents. Key geographic areas encompass rural, impoverished west Alabama Black Belt (Selma) and the southeast Alabama Wiregrass Region. By expanding its strong links with civil
rights agencies, local community organizations, and HUD, CAFHC anticipates completing testing in sales, rental and predatory lending. Accessibility and accommodations testing, plus other non-testing investigations are planned.

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