Topic: Fair Housing

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RALEIGH, April 22, 2016 – The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development today announced a $1 million settlement agreement that resolves allegations of racially discriminatory lending practices made by our Fair Housing Project against Fidelity Bank.

Under the terms of the settlement, Fidelity will spend $500,000 a year for two years to make investments and community development loans in census tracts where the majority of residents are racial minorities. At least 40 percent of those investments and loans will specifically promote affordable housing.

Our Fair Housing Project filed a complaint with HUD in February 2015 alleging that employees of a Fidelity Bank branch in Raleigh had engaged in discriminatory lending practices based on race, in violation of the federal Fair Housing Act.

To learn more, read HUD’s press release and download the full settlement agreement.

Our Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people in North Carolina through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. Learn more at fairhousingnc.org.

Topic: Fair Housing

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RALEIGH, December 5, 2017 – Legal Aid of North Carolina announced today that it has settled a federal discrimination complaint filed against Wake County Human Services on behalf of a disabled woman who received rental assistance through the county’s Rental Assistance Housing Program. Under the terms of the settlement, the county will provide additional protections to program participants who are disabled and those who have limited English proficiency.

Wake County’s Rental Assistance Housing Program targets individuals with serious psychiatric disabilities who are homeless and in need of ongoing mental health and supportive services to be able to live independently in the community.

The complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2015, alleged that the county had violated the federal Fair Housing Act by terminating the client’s rental assistance for reasons related to her disability, failing to provide her with an interpreter despite knowing that she had limited proficiency in English, and depriving her of a fair procedure when it terminated her rental assistance.

Under the settlement, the county agreed to:

Implement a new appeals procedure that provides additional protections for disabled program participants who are at risk of having their voucher terminated;
Introduce a written policy that informs participants of their right to request certain accommodations from their landlord, such as allowing an individual who has difficulty climbing stairs to move to a ground floor apartment;
Provide an interpreter to program participants with limited English proficiency who are appealing the termination of their rental assistance; and
Pay an undisclosed sum of money to compensate the client.

“The Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid is committed to ensuring that individuals with severe psychiatric disabilities, just like all residents of North Carolina, are able to benefit from the protections of the Fair Housing Act,” said Lauren Brasil, one of the attorneys at the Fair Housing Project who represented the client.

“Wake County is to be commended for implementing a new appeals process for individuals with severe mental disabilities who want to challenge the termination of their rental assistance. By giving these individuals the ability to contact Legal Aid and be represented by a lawyer at no cost when their rental assistance is at risk of being terminated, the county affords this vulnerable population a fighting chance to preserve their housing,” said Suzanne Chester, co-counsel on the case. “In addition, a written policy for making requests for accommodations helps people with disabilities live independently and avoid institutionalization.”

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Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. North Carolinians who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination can contact the Fair Housing Project at 1-855-797-3247 or info@fairhousingnc.org. The project’s work is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program. Learn more about the project and fair housing laws at FairHousingNC.org.

Media Contacts
Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of N.C., 919-856-2132, SeanD@legalaidnc.org

Topic: Fair Housing

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RALEIGH, April 28, 2017 – When fair housing advocates gather for Raleigh’s 14th Annual Fair Housing Conference on April 28, they will have much to celebrate: national Fair Housing Month, the federal Fair Housing Act’s 49th anniversary, and our nation’s continuing commitment to the principle of equal housing for all.

Advocates from Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project will join the celebration, and will mark some milestones of their own: the Project’s sixth anniversary and the $5.25 million in relief for victims of housing discrimination it has won over those six years.

The Project has brought cases in federal and state courts, and initiated administrative proceedings before HUD, the North Carolina Human Relations Commission and local human relations commissions across the state.

The Project has a small number of full-time staff but makes a big impact. Most of the $5.25 million in relief for victims came from recent settlements of three high-profile cases involving allegations of systemic sexual harassment, disability rights or racial discrimination. The three cases are:

The Fair Housing Project represented 16 women who had alleged that they experienced sexual harassment by employees of Four County Community Services, a non-profit organization running a subsidized housing assistance program in Scotland County. The settlement of the case in 2015 resulted in $1,070,000 in relief for the plaintiffs, as well as an additional $1,000,000 for other aggrieved persons represented by the U.S. Department of Justice in a related case. Learn more.
As a result of fair housing testing, the Project discovered what it believed to be violations of the Fair Housing Act’s accessibility requirements for new multifamily housing and filed an administrative complaint with HUD regarding SkyHouse apartment buildings in Raleigh, Charlotte and other cities. The parties settled in September 2016, with the respondents agreeing to provide ramps and other accessibility modifications upon request to tenants with disabilities, as well as to provide $1,800,000 to be used to make accessibility modifications for low-income tenants with disabilities in North Carolina, Florida, Georgia and Texas. Learn more.
As a result of the Project’s lending testing program, it filed an administrative complaint with HUD regarding potential differences in treatment by Fidelity Bank based on race. As a result of the conciliation agreement reached in the case, Fidelity agreed to invest $1,000,000 over two years in low-income communities in which it operated. Learn more.

In addition to the millions of dollars secured for those impacted by fair housing violations, Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project has helped dozens of people with disabilities obtain reasonable accommodations from their landlords, allowing them to have full access and enjoyment of their homes. The Project has also obtained agreements from three property management companies and landlords affecting hundreds of rental units in which formal reasonable accommodation policies were adopted to ensure that the properties comply with federal and state fair housing law.

North Carolinians seeking information about their rights under the federal Fair Housing Act or who believe they are a victim of housing discrimination can call the Project’s statewide toll-free helpline at 1-855-797-FAIR (3247). All conversations are completely confidential.

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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Our Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. The Project is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program. Learn more at LegalAidNC.org and FairHousingNC.org.

Media Contacts

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of North Carolina, 919-856-2132, seand@legalaidnc.org
Jeffrey Dillman, Co-Project Director, Fair Housing Project, Legal Aid of North Carolina, 919-861-1884, JeffD@legalaidnc.org

Topic: Fair Housing

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Money will help make homes more accessible for low-income people with disabilities in four states

RALEIGH, September 26, 2016 – Legal Aid of North Carolina (LANC) announced today that it has settled housing discrimination complaints against the architects, builders and owners of the SkyHouse apartment buildings in Raleigh, Charlotte, and eight cities in other states. The complaints, which were filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), alleged that the balconies in the buildings were in violation of the Fair Housing Act because the sliding door thresholds were too high, making them inaccessible for people with disabilities. The respondents in the cases denied that the buildings were inaccessible or in violation of the Fair Housing Act.

As a result of the conciliation agreement signed by the parties and approved by HUD on Sept. 13, the respondents will provide $1.8 million to help fund accessibility modifications for low-income individuals in North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, and Texas, where SkyHouse properties with similar features are located. The fund will be managed by the R.L. Mace Universal Design Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the concept and practice of accessible and universal design.

In addition, to make units more accessible, the owners of the buildings will offer ramps and decking for the balconies, and make other accessibility modifications upon request from residents with disabilities. The respondents will further pay $50,000 for Legal Aid’s damages and attorneys’ fees.

George Hausen, executive director of Legal Aid of North Carolina, praised the respondents for working to achieve a positive resolution of the cases, stating, “We appreciate the effort that the respondents made to address the issues raised in our complaints. The modification fund will help hundreds of low-income people with disabilities remain in their homes by making them more accessible.”

Jeffrey Dillman, co-director of the Fair Housing Project, noted that the accessibility provisions of the Fair Housing Act are of great importance to people with disabilities, stating, “Accessible housing is an essential means of ensuring that people with disabilities are able to fully participate in the community. Designers and builders must ensure that housing meets these modest federal accessibility requirements, in addition to state and local codes.”

The cases, Legal Aid of North Carolina v. SkyHouse Raleigh, LLC, et al., and Legal Aid of North Carolina v. SkyHouse Charlotte, LLC, et al., were filed with HUD in December 2015. The cases arose from accessibility testing performed by Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project, which uncovered the alleged violations.

The Fair Housing Act requires all multi-family housing built since 1991 to include certain accessibility features in common areas and individual units to allow people with disabilities to use and enjoy the property.

There are 17 SkyHouse buildings currently completed or under construction. Eleven of them have the high door thresholds that are subject to the agreement. The respondents are SkyHouse Raleigh, LLC; SkyHouse Charlotte, LLC; SkyHouse Charlotte II, LLC; Smallwood, Reynolds, Stewart, Stewart & Associates, Inc., in Atlanta; Batson-Cook Company in West Point, Ga.; Novare Group Holdings, LLC, in Atlanta; Beacon Partners, Inc., in Charlotte; and NGI Investments, LLC, in Atlanta.

Legal Aid was represented in this case by Michael Allen, an attorney with the Washington, D.C.-based civil rights firm Relman, Dane and Colfax, PLLC. Legal Aid of North Carolina’s involvement in this litigation was made possible in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

Individuals may obtain information about the accessibility fund by contacting the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina at (855) 797-3247.

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Media Contacts
George Hausen, Executive Director, Legal Aid of N.C., 919-856-2130, GeorgeH@legalaidnc.org
Jeffrey Dillman, Co-Director, Fair Housing Project, 919-861-1884, JeffD@legalaidnc.org
Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of N.C., 919-856-2132, SeanD@legalaidnc.org

Topic: Fair Housing

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MEDIA COVERAGE
A Domestic Violence Survivor Asked the RHA for an Emergency Transfer. It Evicted Her Instead, a Lawsuit Says. Leigh Tauss, Indy Week – Oct. 29, 2019 Housing settlement includes first decree of its kind, attorneys say Bill Cresenzo, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly – October 23, 2019

MEDIA COVERAGE

A Domestic Violence Survivor Asked the RHA for an Emergency Transfer. It Evicted Her Instead, a Lawsuit Says.

Leigh Tauss, Indy Week – Oct. 29, 2019

Housing settlement includes first decree of its kind, attorneys say

Bill Cresenzo, North Carolina Lawyers Weekly – October 23, 2019

RALEIGH · October 16, 2019—Legal Aid of North Carolina and the Duke Civil Justice Clinic announced today that they recently settled a federal discrimination complaint filed against the Raleigh Housing Authority (RHA) on behalf of a public housing tenant who was a victim of domestic violence.

The settlement includes a Federal Consent Decree—believed to be the first in the country to address a landlord’s obligations under the federal Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), which requires housing authorities to provide tenants who are victims of domestic violence with specific housing protections.

In the lawsuit, filed in the United States Court of the Eastern District of North Carolina in 2018, the tenant alleged that the Raleigh Housing Authority violated the federal Fair Housing Act by denying her repeated requests for an emergency transfer to a safe location. The tenant was the victim of multiple crimes at her housing unit: violence perpetrated by an ex-boyfriend who strangled her; a home intruder who threatened her guest at gunpoint; and armed men who shot bullets into her apartment. In addition, she alleged that the Raleigh Housing Authority was in violation of VAWA. RHA has denied the allegations.

The Federal Consent Decree requires RHA to:

Provide tenants who are facing eviction with written notice of their rights under VAWA; (One of VAWA’s goals is to ensure that victims of domestic violence do not face eviction as a result of the abuse.)
Provide tenants who are denied admission to RHA with written notice of their rights under VAWA; (Another goal of VAWA is to ensure that victims of domestic violence—who often have a poor credit history, prior evictions, and criminal charges related to the abuse—are not denied housing as a result.)
Make emergency transfer request forms and the RHA’s emergency transfer plan available and accessible to all tenants;
Assign a current RHA employee as a point person to answer questions about VAWA’s housing protections;
Provide regular, mandatory training on the Fair Housing Act for all property managers and employees involved in lease intake, transfer decisions and lease termination decisions;
Provide regular, mandatory training on VAWA and domestic violence for all property managers and employees involved in lease intake, transfer decisions and lease termination decisions;
Send a letter to public housing tenants each year soliciting feedback on all aspects of the housing authority, including its employees;
Provide documentation to Legal Aid of North Carolina for three consecutive years demonstrating RHA’s compliance with the Consent Decree.

“The Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina is committed to ensuring that women and children in public housing do not become homeless because they have been denied the protections of the Fair Housing Act or the Violence Against Women Act,” said Suzanne Chester, a managing attorney at Legal Aid of North Carolina, and co-counsel on the case. The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability and familial status.

“We are very pleased with the results for our client and her children, and we hope that this Consent Decree will serve to highlight to public housing authorities across the country their obligations to comply with VAWA and Fair Housing laws,” commented co-counsel, Charles Holton, Director of Duke University’s Civil Justice Clinic.

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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Our Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. Since its founding in 2011, the Project has helped obtain over $6.6 million in relief for victims of discrimination. The Project is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program. Learn more at FairHousingNC.org.

The work that provided the basis for this publication was supported by funding under a grant with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The substance and findings of the work are dedicated to the public. The author and publisher are solely responsible for the accuracy of the statements and interpretations contained in this publication. Such interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Government.

Media Contact

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of North Carolina, 919-856-2132, seand@legalaidnc.org

Topic: Fair Housing

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On Friday, April 15, 2016, the City of Raleigh Fair Housing Hearing Board and the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of North Carolina will sponsor the 13th Annual Fair Housing Conference. The keynote speaker at the conference will be civil rights attorney John Relman, one of the nation’s foremost fair housing and civil rights attorneys and the managing partner of the Washington, D.C., law firm of Relman, Dane & Colfax.

Panels will address issues of fair housing and gentrification as well as housing discrimination against immigrant and Limited English Proficiency tenants.

The conference will take place at the McKimmon Center for Extension and Continuing Education, located at 1101 Gorman St, Raleigh, NC 27606.

Early registration will begin on February 29, 2016.

This conference is funded in part by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

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About the Fair Housing Project
Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people in North Carolina through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. Learn more at fairhousingnc.org.

Topic: Fair Housing

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RALEIGH, October 11, 2017 – Legal Aid of North Carolina announced today that it had recently settled a federal discrimination complaint filed against North Carolina State University on behalf of Laura Auman, a student with a disability.

In the complaint, filed with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2016, Ms. Auman alleged that the university violated the federal Fair Housing Act by denying her request to keep her emotional support animal, a cat named Kifree (pictured), in her university-operated student housing unit as a reasonable accommodation of her disability. At the time, the university had no emotional support animal policy and stated that it could not implement one for several more semesters.

Under the settlement, the University agreed to:

require Fair Housing Act training, with an emphasis on reasonable accommodations, for all employees in University Housing, the Office for Institutional Equity and Diversity, and the Disability Services Office who directly engage with students seeking reasonable accommodations;
display a HUD Fair Housing poster throughout all University Housing units and offices in a location that is visible to all entering the premises, as well as on the websites of University Housing and the Disability Services Office;
publicize on relevant University websites its new Assistance Animal policy allowing persons with disabilities to keep animals with them in University housing when such animals provide necessary therapeutic benefits to such students; and
pay an undisclosed monetary amount to Ms. Auman.

The University further acknowledged that it has an affirmative duty not to discriminate under the Fair Housing Act. The law prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability.

“The Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid is committed to ensuring that students in university housing, just like all residents of North Carolina, are afforded the protections of the Fair Housing Act,” said Jack Holtzman, co-director of the Fair Housing Project. “Those protections include making accommodations for students with disabilities who need emotional support animals in order to have an equal opportunity to enjoy the benefits of university housing.”

“NC State University is to be commended for implementing a new campus-wide Assistance Animal policy and quickly reaching an agreement in this case,” said George Hausen, executive director of Legal Aid.

Ms. Auman also filed an administrative complaint in 2016 with the U.S. Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights against the University, regarding the same alleged conduct. On September, 28, 2017, the Office for Civil Rights found sufficient evidence that the University violated Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act when it denied Ms. Auman’s request to keep Kifree, her emotional support animal, in her university housing as a reasonable accommodation of her disability.

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Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. North Carolinians who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination can contact the Fair Housing Project at 1-855-797-3247 or info@fairhousingnc.org. The project’s work is made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program. Learn more about the project and fair housing laws at FairHousingNC.org.

Media Contacts

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of N.C., 919-856-2132, SeanD@legalaidnc.org

Topic: Fair Housing

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RALEIGH · Feb. 5, 2018 – Legal Aid of North Carolina announced that the owner, and former and current managers of an apartment complex in Hickory, N.C., had settled a housing discrimination complaint alleging that they had discriminated against a resident with a disability. As a result of the settlement, the owner and managers of the Villas at Northview, who denied engaging in discrimination, will adopt new fair housing policies for people with disabilities, attend training in fair housing law, and pay collectively a total of $15,000 in damages and costs to Ms. Jerilyne Johnson, the tenant who brought the complaint.

The case involved Ms. Johnson’s request to have a parking space near her unit to accommodate her mobility limitations, some of which were caused by multiple sclerosis. While parking at the complex is typically “first come, first serve,” fair housing laws require housing providers to make “reasonable accommodations” to rules and policies to allow people with disabilities an equal opportunity to live in a dwelling.

Ms. Johnson made her initial written request for a reserved parking space in 2014. After her request was denied several months later, she filed her fair housing complaint with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) against the owners and managers of the complex: Villas at Northview, LLC; Intermark Management Corporation; Vista Capital Management Group, Inc.; and Brenda Cranford (collectively known as “Respondents”).

The complaint was referred by HUD to the North Carolina Human Relations Commission (NCHRC) for investigation. Respondents eventually granted Ms. Johnson’s request for a reserved parking space. The NCHRC found “reasonable cause” to believe that the Respondents had engaged in an unlawful housing practice by refusing to approve Ms. Johnson’s request for over a year. Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Fair Housing Project represented Ms. Johnson in settlement negotiations.

“Ms. Johnson did not believe what happened was right, educated herself about the protections of the Fair Housing Act, and then did something about it – all on her own,” said Kelly Clarke, attorney at the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid who assisted Ms. Johnson in the settlement negotiations. “I am just glad we could help her finish what she started.”

The law prohibits discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability.

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Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. North Carolinians who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination can contact the Fair Housing Project at 1-855-797-3247 or info@fairhousingnc.org. The project’s work on this case was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program. Learn more about the project and fair housing laws at FairHousingNC.org.

Media Contact

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of N.C., 919-856-2132, SeanD@legalaidnc.org

Topic: Fair Housing

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RALEIGH · May 15, 2018 – Over 250 low income families with disabilities in four states have obtained accessibility modifications to their homes and apartments as a result of a project jointly run by Legal Aid of North Carolina and the RL Mace Universal Design Institute. In North Carolina, the program has provided over $450,000 to assist 77 families pay for a variety of accessibility features such as ramps; accessible bathtubs, showers, and toilets; widening of doorways, and other features to allow individuals with disabilities to more easily use their homes.

In addition to the money being provided to residents of North Carolina, the program has provided over $1 million to pay for accessibility modifications for an additional 175 families in Florida, Georgia, and Texas.

Funds for the program were obtained as part of the settlement of two cases in which Legal Aid alleged that apartment complexes were not built in conformity with required fair housing accessibility standards. The parties in the cases agreed to provide funds totaling $1.89 million to pay for accessibility modifications for low-income individuals. As of April 1, 2018, the fund has provided assistance for over 100 ramps and other exterior alterations; nearly 100 accessible bathrooms, including bathtubs, showers, and toilets; and a variety of other access modifications covering kitchens, door widenings, flooring safety and grab bars. An additional 30 families are scheduled to receive the remaining funds.

	Households Assisted	Ramp & Other Exterior	Kitchen	Doorways	Floor	Grab Bars	Toilet	Whole Bath	Shower
N.C.	77	34	3	9	9	3	8	37	20
Fla.	71	43	5	4	0	4	3	16	6
Ga.	40	14	5	3	8	4	8	18	12
Tex.	64	26	3	4	5	11	2	24	7
Total	252	117	16	20	22	22	21	95	45

Jeffrey Dillman, Co-Director of the Fair Housing Project at Legal Aid, stated, “Adding a ramp or a roll-in shower is a big expense for anyone, and for low-income individuals, it can be impossible to save the thousands of dollars needed. We are very pleased to see that hundreds of individuals have benefited from this program.”

Richard Duncan, Executive Director of the Universal Design Institute, which administers the funds, noted, “These home accessibility modifications have improved the independence and safety of individuals and have helped entire households better manage a range of daily tasks that include bathing, cooking or even just going outside. Both individuals and their care providers, whether paid or unpaid, now have safer and more functional homes. The improvements have made a huge difference in their lives.”

Launched in 2011 with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Legal Aid’s Fair Housing Project is the state’s only full-service fair housing enforcement organization. The Project provides legal representation to victims of discrimination, conducts undercover fair housing testing, and provides training and education programs on fair housing law to community advocates, landlords, and local government officials, among others. The Project has brought cases in federal and state courts, and initiated administrative proceedings before HUD, the North Carolina Human Relations Commission and local human relations commissions across the state. Since its founding in 2011, the Project has helped obtain over $6.6 million in relief for victims of discrimination.

The Universal Design Institute is a non-profit organization based in North Carolina dedicated to promoting the concept and practice of accessible and universal design. The Institute’s work manifests the belief that all new environments and products, to the greatest extent possible, should and can be usable by everyone regardless of age, ability, or circumstance.

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Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers to economic opportunity. Our Fair Housing Project works to eliminate housing discrimination and to ensure equal housing opportunity for all people through education, outreach, public policy initiatives, advocacy and enforcement. The Project is supported by grants from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Initiatives Program.

Media Contacts

Sean Driscoll, Director of Public Relations, Legal Aid of North Carolina, 919-856-2132, seand@legalaidnc.org

Richard Duncan, Executive Director, RL Mace Universal Design Institute, 919-608-1812, rduncan@udinstitute.org

Topic: Fair Housing

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