HUD AWARDS $309,000 TO NORTH TEXAS FAIR HOUSING CENTER TO COMBAT HOUSING DISCRIMINATION

FORT WORTH - The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today awarded $309,889 to North Texas Fair Housing Center to assist people in north Texas who believe they have been victims of housing discrimination.

North Texas Fair Housing Center (NTFHC), the first private fair housing organization in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), will use its grant to conduct both testing and fair housing education and outreach in the North Texas region. Testing will consist of race and familial status tests and tests of new construction to determine compliance with the Fair Housing Act's accessibility requirements. NTFHC will analyze the test results and use this information to provide education and outreach to the community and local jurisdictions about fair housing. In addition, NTFHC will follow-up on potential cases of discrimination by filing complaints with HUD and local FHAP agencies.

"Our local partners are essential to ending housing discrimination," said HUD Region VI Acting Regional Administrator Mark Brezina. "This grant will enable NTFHC to help HUD enforce fair housing laws, and make people more aware of their rights."

The grant announced today is 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.

The category of the grant awarded today is the Fair Housing Organizations Initiative. HUD recently awarded $1.2 million in this category to groups in Indiana, North Carolina, Texas and West Virginia that serve rural and immigrant populations in areas where there currently is no existing fair housing organization, or are otherwise underserved.

People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at (800) 669-9777 (voice), (800) 927-9275 (TTY). Housing discrimination complaints may also be filed by going to www.hud.gov/fairhousing, or by downloading HUD's free housing discrimination mobile application, which can be accessed through Apple devices, such as the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch.

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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 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.