The Housing Research & Advocacy Center is pleased to announce our role in a national research study on housing discrimination, conducted by the Urban Institute commissioned by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). In a report titled, “Housing Discrimination Against Racial and Ethnic Minorities 2012,” the Urban Institute found that subtle discrimination […]
The Housing Center hosted its 30th Anniversary Celebration & Fair Housing Art Exhibition at The City Club of Cleveland. The event honored Reverend Hilton Smith, Senior Vice President and Director of National Community Affairs for Turner Construction Company, and recently elected President of the Cleveland Branch of the NAACP. Smith was among the first in the construction industry to proactively promote opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses.
(more…)The Housing Center recently released two research reports with findings that the region continues to see historic highs in housing discrimination complaints filed. The State of Fair Housing in Northeast Ohio: April 2013 found a 32% increase in the number of complaints filed in the last 5 years (2008-2012) compared with the previous time period (2003-2007). The Housing Center estimates that there are at least 33,690 instances of housing discrimination annually in the region against African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, and Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the rental and sales markets, meaning that the vast majority of cases are never reported to a government agency.
(more…)The Housing Center is pleased to welcome Dr. Brian Mikelbank to its Board of Directors. Brian is an Associate Professor and Director of the Masters of Science in Urban Studies program at the Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. Dr. Mikelbank’s most recent research focused on spatial analysis of metropolitan […]
Can you find your zip code on the maps below? How segregated is your community? Over the last 20 years, the Cleveland-Lorain-Elyria Metropolitan Statistical Area remained one of the most segregated in the country. According to the Population Studies Center/University of Michigan, as of 2010 this area is the 5th most segregated in the nation. Only Milwaukee-Waukesha, New York, Chicago and Detroit surpass us. There have been some improvements in integration by national origin, but not enough. In 2010, our area was the 20th most segregated by national origin in the country.
(more…)The Housing Center is pleased to announce that we were awarded two grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the cities of North Olmsted and Shaker Heights to improve access to housing for residents.
(more…)The Housing Research & Advocacy Center published a new guide to assist people with mental disabilities. “Obtaining and Maintaining Housing: Fair Housing for People with Mental Health Disabilities” presents fair housing information and the additional protections for people with disabilities in an easy-to-use graphical format. This resource was designed and written by Mandy Mehlman, Fair Housing Community Educator, to be used by individuals, their caregivers, and family members to help them understand and exercise their fair housing rights. It includes a helpful directory of fair housing organizations and governmental offices.
(more…)Although complaints of housing discrimination in Northeast Ohio decreased in 2011 from 2010, the number remained significantly higher than the average number of complaints filed in the last 22 years and represented the fourth highest yearly total since 1990, according to the new report issued by the Housing Research & Advocacy Center. In 2011, the top three basis discrimination complaints in Northeast Ohio were issued on the basis of famililal status (68), handicap/diability (40), and sex/gender (7). To view the entire report and other Housing Center publications, please check out our Research Reports (Publications/Research-Reports.html) page.
The winning submissions from the Housing Center’s Youth Art Contest hosted in March 2012 with grant support from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture are now available for viewing.
Thank you to all of the students from throughout Cuyahoga County who participated in the Housing Center’s Youth Art Contest hosted with grant support from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture! Students entering the contest were asked to respond to the question: “What makes your community great and how can you contribute to it by being a good neighbor?” The original artwork and essays created by the students were exhibited at the Seventh Annual Fair Housing Celebration & Art Exhibition on April 12, 2012 at Cleveland State University presented in honor of National Fair Housing Month.
(more…)The Housing Research & Advocacy Center is looking for Cuyahoga County students in 4th through 8th grades to participate in a youth art exhibition sponsored by Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. Students are asked to watch the Community video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUs2pXsBOe8) and submit one original work of art (e.g. drawing, painting, photo, collage, etc.) that promotes fair housing and answers the question: What makes your community great, and how can you contribute to it by being a good neighbor? Works of art should be accompanied by a brief explanation of how the art relates to theme of diverse communities and being a good neighbor. Prizes will be awarded based on creativity, relevancy, message clarity and overall presentation. Submissions must be in the Housing Center offices by 4:00 pm Monday, March 26, 2012. First place winner will receive $500. All winners will receive their prizes and have their works displayed at the 7th Annual Fair Housing Celebration & Art Exhibition on April 12, 2012 at Cleveland State University’s Student Center Ballroom, 2121 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio. Individuals receiving Honorable Mentions may also have their work displayed at the event. Contest limited to residents of Cuyahoga County. See below for more details. To enter, email your art, explanation and entry form to denglish@thehousingcenter.org. Or mail or deliver your materials to: Housing Research & Advocacy Center 3631 Perkins Avenue, Suite 3A-2 Cleveland, OH 44114. For additional questions, call Darlene English at (216) 361-9240. Video and Youth Art Exhibition is generously funded by the residents of Cuyahoga County through a public grant from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture. For contest details, or to download the entry form, click here (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/164-Youth-Art-Contest.html).
Each year, the Housing Center hosts a Fair Housing Celebration during April, Fair Housing Month. This year, the event features local artist and Cleveland blogger, Julia Kuo, creator of the 100 Days in Cleveland blog (http://juliaincleveland.tumblr.com/), which celebrates beautiful and unique locations in the greater Cleveland area. Artwork from her blog, which is featured in her new book co-authored with Justin Glanville, New to Cleveland: A Guide to (re)Discovering the City, will be available for purchase at the event. The event this year will also feature a youth art competition, which celebrates diverse neighborhoods. Julia will serve as one of the judges. Ms. Kuo will produce a video, to be available on YouTube and the Housing Center’s website, to encourage students to submit artwork depicting what it means to be a good neighbor in their community. Monetary prizes will be awarded to 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners of the art contest. The 7th Annual Fair Housing Celebration also honors local advocates in fair housing, commemorates the passage of the Fair Housing Act and engages the community in housing discrimination awareness. A ticket to the Fair Housing Celebration includes a sampling of a variety of delicious wines, light hors d’oeuvres and the opportunity to win one of our exciting raffle baskets. The 7th Annual Fair Housing Celebration will be held in a new location this year: the Ballroom at Cleveland State University’s dramatic new Student Center on April 12th from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Tickets are $30. The 7th Annual Fair Housing Celebration is sponsored by Thacker Martinsek (http://thackermartinsek.com/), Third Federal Bank (https://www.thirdfederal.com/Home.aspx), Kondik Advertising (http://www.kondikad.com/ocart/), Dollar Bank (http://www.dollarbank.com/) and Fifth Third Bank (https://www.53.com/site/index.html?%3f). The Youth Art Competition receives public support with local tax dollars from Cuyahoga Arts & Culture (http://cuyahogaartsandculture.org/), to preserve and enrich our region’s artistic and cultural heritage. Cuyahoga Arts & Culture generously awarded the Housing Center a project-specific grant to support our youth art competition, including the production of the qualifying video by Julia Kuo. Please join us in April to celebrate Fair Housing Month in Northeast Ohio!
The Housing Research & Advocacy Center was awarded the Community Shares Member Organization of the Year Social Justice Award at the Community Shares Power Lunch and Annual Meeting on June 28, 2011. Patricia Burgess, President of the Board of Directors, and Hilary Mason King, Executive Director, accepted the award on behalf of the organization. The organization was recognized by its’ peers for its’ social justice work to promote fair housing and diverse communities, and to work to eliminate housing discrimination in Northeast Ohio, by providing effective research, education and advocacy. Under the principled leadership of our former Executive Director, Jeff Dillman, our team – Hilary King, Carrie Pleasants, Darlene English, Krissie Wells, Zachary Crafton, Denise Cooper and Irving Graves worked with the support of the Board of Directors over the last year to achieve these accomplishments: • Hosted an accessibility (design & construction) seminar featuring national fair housing expert Sara Pratt, HUD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Enforcement and Programs, to educate local government building code officials in addition to hosting numerous trainings for landlords, realtors, transitional housing consumers and municipalities. • Completed and released 5 research reports on fair housing and fair lending issues. • Filed 33 discrimination complaints with HUD based on race, national origin, familial status, disability & gender. • Received grant awards from the Cleveland Foundation, the George Gund Foundation, The William J. and Dorothy K. O’Neil Foundation, the Woodruff Foundation, the HUD Fair Housing Initiatives Program, the HUD Fair Housing Education and Outreach Initiatives program, and a number of municipal contracts. • Settled the federal discrimination suit against Cleveland Developer K&D and its architects requiring the builder make all common areas and all 107 units accessible for people with disabilities. The developer also must pay $567,000 in damages, attorneys’ fees and costs. The work of Jeff Dillman had an impact that reached beyond our region. • He was invited to speak in Michigan at the National Association for County Community & Economic Development on local governments’ obligation to affirmatively further fair housing. • Jeff also testified in Atlanta before the Federal Reserve Board on revisions to the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act, calling for increased transparency and a more user-friendly format. The Housing Center is certain that he will continue to make a difference as a humble but extremely effective advocate for civil rights. While all the Housing Center’s accomplishments are significant, we believe that there is still a lot of work to do for the benefit of Northeast Ohio. We are launching a new strategic plan to create even more effective fair housing programs including more advocacy, expanded research, and outreach and education to empower more individuals and communities. We look forward to participating further in the partnerships forming to improve the quality of life in our region and look forward to taking the lead to foster diverse communities where equal opportunities in housing are assured and all neighborhoods are desirable because they offer quality education, food, access to healthcare, a sustainable environment and housing choice for all.
The Housing Center has settled a housing discrimination lawsuit alleging disability discrimination by the designers and builders of a Cleveland apartment and condominium complex. The lawsuit was filed in federal court in 2009 by the Housing Research & Advocacy Center against the K & D Group and others responsible for designing and constructing the Stonebridge apartments and condominiums, located on the west bank of the Cuyahoga River in downtown Cleveland. The Ohio Civil Rights Commission joined the lawsuit, after finding probable cause that a number of the defendants had violated state accessibility laws. To read the full press release, click here. (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/136-Housing-Center-Settles-Federal-Housing-Discrimination-Suit-with-Cleveland-Developer-Architect.html)
Although complaints of housing discrimination in Northeast Ohio decreased in 2010 from 2009, the number remained significantly higher than the average number of complaints filed in the last 21 years and represented the third highest yearly total since 1990, according to a the new report issued by the Housing Research & Advocacy Center. The report found that 186 complaints of housing discrimination were filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 2010, compared to 226 in 2009 and a 21-year average of 128 complaints in Northeast Ohio. The Housing Center’s report also examined trends in discrimination complaints over the last ten years, finding an 72% increase in complaints filed from 2006-2010, when an average of 189.6 complaints were filed each year, compared to the previous five-year period, when the yearly average was 110.4. This increase was due to a 46.6% increase in the number of cases based on race (from 189 to 277) and a 38.9% increase in the number of cases based on disability (from 180 to 250). To access the full report, click here (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/133-State-of-Fair-Housing-in-Northeast-Ohio-April-2011.html). To access the press release, click here (https://www.thehousingcenter.org/Files/Download-document/132-State-of-Fair-Housing-in-Northeast-Ohio-April-2011.html).
