HUD AWARDS OVER $40 MILLION IN GRANTS TO FIGHT HOUSING AND LENDING DISCRIMINATION
Five Pennsylvania Organizations Receive More Than $1.4 Million

PHILADELPHIA - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $40.8 million to 108 fair housing organizations and non-profit agencies in 36 states and the District of Columbia to educate the public and combat housing and lending discrimination (see attached list of grantees). The Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia, Inc., Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh, Fair Housing Rights Center of Southeastern Pennsylvania, Southwester Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc. and St. Martin Center received $1.4 million of the national total. This year's national award represents a $13.2 million increase over last year's award and includes $10 million to fund activities that address lending discrimination, including mortgage rescue scams.

"The record increase in support to local fair housing and community organizations demonstrates the Obama Administration's firm commitment to ending housing discrimination and providing help to families victimized by
mortgage scams," stated HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan.

"Ending housing discrimination takes more than the efforts of Washington," said John Trasviña, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing & Equal Opportunity. "These grants enable community groups all over the nation to help HUD enforce the Fair Housing Act, make the public more aware of their fair housing rights and ensure that housing providers understand their responsibilities under the law."

The grants announced today are funded through HUD's Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) and will be used to investigate allegations of housing discrimination, educate the public and the housing industry about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act, and work to promote equal housing opportunities.

"It is HUD's mission to build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination," said HUD Regional Administrator Jane C. W. Vincent. "This grant money will increase support to local community education and enforcement efforts to prevent housing discrimination across the country."

The categories grants were awarded in include:

• Private Enforcement Initiative grants (PEI) - HUD awarded $28 million to support organization that investigate alleged housing discrimination, and enforce the Fair Housing Act and state and local laws that are substantially equivalent to the Act.Groups will also use the funding to conduct testing to protect individuals living in minority neighborhoods from mortgage rescue scams.
  
  
• Education and Outreach Initiative grants (EOI) - HUD awarded $6.8 million to organizations that educate the public and housing providers about their rights and obligations under federal, state, and local fair housing laws. Groups will also conduct fair lending workshops, community meetings, and individual counseling activities focused on homeowners at risk for discrimination.
  
  
• Fair Housing Organizations Initiative grants (FHOI) - HUD awarded $6 million to organizations serving rural and immigrant populations in areas lacking existing fair housing organizations, or otherwise underserved. Included will be activities that provide direct assistance to victims of fraudulent or predatory mortgage rescue schemes.

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HUD's mission is to create strong, sustainable, inclusive communities and quality affordable homes for all. HUD is working to strengthen the housing market to bolster the economy and protect consumers; meet the need for quality affordable rental homes: utilize housing as a platform for improving quality of life; build inclusive and sustainable communities free from discrimination; and transform the way HUD does business. More information about HUD and its programs is available on the Internet at www.hud.gov and espanol.hud.gov. You can also follow HUD on twitter @HUDnews, on facebook at www.facebook.com/HUD, or sign up for news alerts on HUD's News Listserv.

PENNSYLVANIA GRANT SUMMARIES

Erie

St. Martin Center, Inc.
Education and Outreach Initiative - Lending
Component - $125,000

St. Martin’s Center (SMC) will use its grant to assist borrowers who may be victims of fair lending abuse and continue to improve and strengthen the fair housing complaint and tracking mechanism in Erie County. To accomplish this goal, SMC will work with nine partners. SMC will provide information and education in the purchase area of real estate by promoting the initiative in the media; conducting meetings with partners; conducting public meetings throughout the area; and by providing individual counseling to affected borrowers.

Fair Housing Rights Center in Southeastern Pennsylvania will use its grant to conduct a 3-year fair housing enforcement project serving all protected classes and underserved populations in the areas of Philadelphia and its surrounding counties of Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware. Specific activities will include, but will not be limited to: complaint intake/investigation and enforcement of housing rental and sales discrimination; monitoring of rental and sales transactions, with a focus on minorities, families w/children, disabled, immigrants, and LEP persons; assisting housing opportunities for the disabled through enforcement of design/construction and accessibility guidelines; increase filing of meritorious complaints w/HUD and courts; and provide fair housing education to all, including the region’s first-time home buyers.

Pittsburgh

Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh
Private Enforcement Initiative - Performance Based Funding
Component - $275,000

The Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh will use its grant to alleviate barriers to fair housing that were identified in the Analysis of Impediments that the organization jointly developed with Allegheny County through a combination of fair Housing advocacy, education and outreach activities, testing, and complaint referrals to HUD and FHAP partner agencies.

Pittsburgh

Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh
Fair Housing Organizations Initiative - Mortgage Rescue Scam
Component  - $98,563

Fair Housing Partnership of Greater Pittsburgh (FHP) will use its grant to provide fair housing services to Pittsburgh and the Pittsburgh MSA. An attorney funded through FHOI will review mortgage foreclosure cases for potential predatory lending, perform education surrounding fair lending to first time homebuyers and review and file fair lending cases as a result of independent testing evidence or referrals; will provide legal representation for reasonable accommodation and modification cases and review entitlement community's analysis of impediments to fair housing and take legal action were appropriate to ensure that the community has followed through with its obligations; work with the City and County Planning Commissions and Zoning Boards to explore developing inclusionary zoning plans. In addition, an attorney will increase collaboration with faith-based, community-based, grassroots, immigrant, and disability agencies and expand technical assistance by incorporating a legal section into the existing Fair Housing Contact Satellite Program and provide annual training.

Swathmore

Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia (FHCSP)
Private Enforcement Initiative - Performance Based Funding
Component - $274,817.66

The Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia will use its grant to reduce housing discrimination against protected classes in Greater Philadelphia through direct, ongoing enforcement and proactive, systemic investigations. Some activities will be: recruit and train 60 new testers; intake and process 210 complaints; conduct approximately 340 tests (inc. rental, sales, mortgage, insurance and accessibility); refer enforcement actions to HUD, DOJ, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission [PHRC - FHAP]; work with the PHRC to increase predatory lending awareness; and conduct education and outreach, to include holding workshops and trainings, and the massive distribution of fair housing material.

Washington

Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc.
Private Enforcement Initiative - General
Component - $325,000

Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc. (SPLAS) will use this grant to recruit and train testers to join with existing testers to conduct single tests throughout the service area for residential, accessibility, sales and lending or insurance discrimination and to conduct a program of complaint intake and investigation, mediation and litigation. SPLAS will conduct outreach as well, in the form of educational outreach meetings throughout the service area and special events recognizing and publicizing Fair Housing Month and the protections provided to protected classes
under the Fair Housing Act.

Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc.
Education and Outreach Initiative - General
Component - $125,000

Southwestern Pennsylvania Legal Services, Inc. (SPLAS) will use its grant to expand community education outreach on the rights and guarantees of the Fair Housing Act about illegal acts affecting themselves or others in their community, because of their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status or disability and the rights available to them.SPLAS and its partners will prepare and conduct community outreach events to audiences throughout the target area, including the public, community service providers, housing providers and local attorneys; maintain a protocol for referral of complaints of discrimination; refer complaints to HUD and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission; and conduct special events recognizing and publicizing Fair Housing Month and the protections provided to protected classes under the Fair Housing Act.

Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) Grants
Fiscal Year 2010