Politics

HUD Announces New Rule to Combat Housing Discrimination

Published

9 years ago

July 16, 2015

By Zenitha Prince
Special to the NNPA from the Afro-American Newspaper

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently released a new rule to assist the department’s grantees in meeting their anti-segregation and anti-discrimination mandates.

Under the Fair Housing Act of 1968, HUD and its program participants are not only barred from discrimination based on race, color,national origin, religion, sex, disability or familial status, but are also required to affirmatively undertake actions to overcome historic patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice and opportunity, and achieve truly integrated, inclusive communities that are free from discrimination. But HUD participants have not always been as successful in fostering fair housing as they should have been.

“As a former mayor, I know firsthand that strong communities are vital to the well-being and prosperity of families,” HUD Secretary Julián Castro said in a statement. “Unfortunately, too many Americans find their dreams limited by where they come from, and a ZIP code should never determine a child’s future. This important step will give local leaders the tools they need to provide all Americans with access to safe, affordable housing in communities that are rich with opportunity.”

Through the new regulation, entitled “Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing,” HUD clarifies existing fair housing obligations and provides clear standards and transparency for the process. The department will also provide improved, publicly open data on housing, demographics, and other local conditions to help communities establish and meet fair housing priorities and goals, and also offer tools that can be customized to suit each jurisdiction.

Black leaders are praising the new regulation.

“For far too long, we have unfairly deprived under-served communities of the educational and economic investments necessary for equitable success,” U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas) said in a statement. “[This] announcement by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is a critical step in addressing the harmful effects of housing segregation and inequality across our nation, and I applaud Secretary Castro and the Obama Administration for releasing a final rule that seeks to redress such a harmful cycle of inequality.”

Johnson’s Congressional Black Caucus colleague, Congresswoman Maxine Waters, also praised the new policy.

“I am particularly pleased that HUD has addressed a concern I raised by making several changes in the final rule to make clear that investment in areas of racially and ethnically concentrated poverty is a strategy that falls within the purpose and definition of [the new rule],” the California Democrat said. “In doing so, HUD has explicitly recognized the importance of place-based strategies in local efforts to expand housing opportunities, as well as the need for balanced consideration when it comes to strategic investment.”

HUD’s new rule comes just two weeks after the Supreme Court upheld a critical tool that helps prevent housing discrimination. The Court in a 5-4 decision allowed disparate-impact claims to be filed under the Fair Housing Act. Those claims allege that practices such as zoning laws are discriminatory if they have a disproportionately adverse impact against any group of people based on race, religion or other factors.

“Recognition of disparate-impact claims is consistent with the central purpose of the FHA,” Justice Anthony Kennedy in the majority opinion. “Recognition of disparate-impact liability under the FHA plays an important role in uncovering discriminatory intent: it permits plaintiffs to counteract unconscious prejudices and disguised animus that escape easy classification as disparate treatment.”

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

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6 days ago

April 26, 2024

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MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

2 weeks ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.