HUD No. 04-001 Michael Fluharty (202) 708-0685 |
For
Release Monday January 12, 2004 |
BUSH ADMINISTRATION AWARDS $17.6 MILLION IN FAIR HOUSING
GRANTS TO CONTINUE FIGHT AGAINST HOUSING BIAS
Florida receives $1.5 million
WASHINGTON - 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.
"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
nationwide. Since the program's inception in 1989, nearly $226 million
has been awarded to some
1,070 organizations. Twenty eight organizations
selected for this year's awards are first-time applicants. In Florida,
$1,591,754 in grants were awarded to:
Cocoa
Fair Housing Continuum, Inc. - $206,489.79 - Private Enforcement Initiative (PEI)The Fair Housing Continuum, Inc. (FHC) will leverage in-kind services and funding that expand services to the underserved community of homeless persons, while continuing to focus on the issues of immigrant populations
(non-English speaking) persons with disabilities, and all other protected classes.
Fair Housing Continuum, Inc. - $1,050,000.00 - Fair Housing
Organizations Initiative (FHOI)
Fair Housing Continuum, Inc. is working to establish a fair housing
project to serve Orange, Lake, and Osceola counties in Central Florida.
The Continuum will develop Alianza for Fair Housing, a project of
Central Florida Legal Services, Inc., to serve underserved areas
and individuals, including immigrants with limited English proficiency,
and individuals living in rural areas.
Jacksonville
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid, Inc. - $206,417.79 - Private Enforcement
Initiative (PEI)
The Fair Housing Advocacy Center (FHAC) of Jacksonville Area Legal
Aid, Inc., has been the sole provider of private enforcement of
fair housing laws on behalf of victims in the Jacksonville area
and the adjacent six-county region
since 1996. Under this 12-month
project, FHAC, as the only entity in Jacksonville and the north
Florida area, will provide quality fair housing testing in the areas
of rental, sales, and lending.
Tampa
Bay Area Legal Services, Inc. - $128,846.79 - Private Enforcement
Initiative (PEI)
The Bay Area Legal Services will become the first and only HUD-partnered
provider of Private Enforcement on
behalf of housing discrimination
victims, in the Tampa/Hillsborough County area of Florida.
Detailed project summaries are available on HUD's website.
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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