This site is provided as a clearinghouse of information and opinion on Fair Housing and related laws. Information presented here is not intended as legal advice or as a substitute for specific guidance from legal or other HUD-approved Fair Housing experts. This site may include inaccuracies or typographical errors; we will modify the contents as needed to correct errors as they are brought to our attention. This site was created in the spirit of cooperation, collaboration and open discussion among all stakeholders impacted by Fair Housing and related law. We recognize that perceptions and interpretation of these laws vary and we welcome diverse and respectful opinions. Ultimately, we are committed to a better understanding of real-world impediments, practices and opportunities in order to reduce injury, violations and related costs. Statements or opinions expressed herein are not necessarily shared by individual or organizational members of the Fair Housing Forum. We provide links to other sites and/or third parties that may be useful or informative. We do not maintain, endorse or control these third-party sites or warrant the accuracy, reliability or currency of the information found there.
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Idaho Care Line Quick Referral – 2-1-1
If you are unsure of where to start, call 2-1-1 and ask for the numbers of local and regional fair housing resources. Continue reading →
Fair Housing Training: Equal Access
Thursday, December 15th at 9am – 3pm
Boise City Hall
Our Path Home is honored to partner with Intermountain Fair Housing Council (IFHC) to provide an in-depth training on Fair Housing: Equal Access presented by Zoe Ann Olsen the Executive Director at the IFHC.
During the Equal Access Training you will gain an understanding of Fair Housing Basics, Equal Access Rules, and Reasonable Accommodations/Modifications. Practical Training Scenarios and a Q&A Session will also be included to ensure a deep understanding of material. This training is recommended to anyone who owns, operates, or manages shelter and other facilities and providers of service funded by any HUD CPD program.
In this training, you will learn about the 2016 Equal Access Rule that requires recipients of HUD’s CPD funding to grant equal access to such facilities and services in accordance with the individuals gender identity that affords equal access to individuals family. You will also partake in training scenarios, implementations of equal access rule, and be provided examples of anti-discrimination policies and HUD LGBTQ+ Homelessness Resources.
Zoe Ann Olson has been with IFHC for over a decade. She has extensive housing law experience including the Fair Housing Act (FHA), Idaho State housing law, reasonable accommodations and modifications, litigation concerning the FHA, public housing cases, wrongful evictions, repairs, security deposits, mobile home park cases, foreclosures, predatory lending, etc. Beginning in 2012 she has been the lead fair housing trainer throughout Idaho.
Where: Maryann Jordan Council Chambers at Boise City Hall
NIMBY Equity and Liability: Why Planners Need to Understand Fair Housing Law
During the October, 2022 APA Idaho Conference in Boise, Approximately 60 planning professionals heard from experts Erin Anderson (Director, The Housing Company) and Don Elliott, FAICP, J.D. (Director, Clarion Associates) on the impacts of growing NIMBY opposition to residential development that is affordable and/or serves diverse populations. The session references findings and comments from the most recent 2022 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing, and provides examples of barriers to fair housing choice and best practices in planning to reduce violations and liability. The session was moderated by Erik Kingston, PCED (Housing Resources Coordinator, IHFA).
Session Description. Housing availability and affordability are top of mind for every community. As local government seeks to cultivate housing diversity and choice, persistent local opposition to multifamily housing, density or diversity poses both a barrier and liability. The Fair Housing Act defines an “aggrieved person” as “any person who . . . claims to have been injured by a discriminatory housing practice,” and the Act expressly protects the rights of housing developers—as well as minorities, families or people with disabilities.
When developers of otherwise conforming subsidized projects are consistently denied permits because of neighborhood pushback, local governments may be liable. NIMBY can drive emotionally charged short-term thinking about what should be long-term planning and development strategies. This panel of fair housing, planning and legal experts will explore existing case law and invite participants to a discussion of practical civic engagement strategies to stay focused on planning principles and long-term community benefits.
Below are links and resources referenced in the session, Accessibility in Communications, featured in the 2022 Conference on Housing and Economic Development, sponsored by the Idaho Housing and Finance Association.
How to make your communications—from your website to your printed material —accessible to non-native speakers and individuals with sensory related disabilities (vision or hearing).
Contributors and Speakers:
Laine Amoureux, Account Representative, The International Association of Accessibility Professionals; and
Carolyn Quintero, Web Accessibility Analyst, Boise State University
Idaho Digital Accessibility Consortium (IDAC) This work is sponsored by the Idaho Assistive Technology Project, a grassroots group of Idahoans invested in disability inclusion. Webpages to be updated soon.
Community of Practice (AKA Accessibility Therapy) As your schedule allows please feel free to drop-in on any Thursday between 1:30 and 3:00 p.m. MT and chat, while you work, with members of our disability advocacy community of practice! No topics are off limits, nor are any going to be “scheduled”. The goal is to create a space for spontaneous connection, much like we might have if we were able to safely meet in-person before/after meetings or in our offices.
Note. Email nstallings at uidaho.edu or laine at amoureuxatconsulting.com to be added to the Community of Practice (AKA Accessibility Therapy) and/or the IDAC newsletter – for training announcements.
Digital.gov Accessible Social Media ToolkitThe Federal Social Media Accessibility Toolkit Hackpad: Improving the Accessibility of Social Media for Public Service. From the Department of Labor’s Office of Disability Employment Policy: “The toolkit is intended to help agencies evaluate the accessibility of their social media programs for persons with disabilities, identify areas that need improving, and share their own ideas and recommendations for helping ensuring our modernization programs are easily accessed by all who need them.”
AccessibleSocial Accessible Social is a free resource hub for digital marketers, communication professionals, content creators, and everyday social media users who want to learn how to make their content inclusive and accessible for people with disabilities.
Other Examples
Video presentations. Example of audio description with ASL support for video by the Idaho Access Project.
Accessible events. The Idaho Access Project teamed up with the Womens and Childrens Alliance to create a more accessible route for their 2021 and Oct. 2 2022 SueB fundraising run/walk. The Urban Route features audio descriptions of the route and points of interest along the way.
Language Access Plan and the AFHMP
Courtesy of Gary Hanes, founding member of the Idaho Fair Housing Forum and Managing Member of Gary E. Hanes & Associates, LLC
“HUD has recently issued information bearing on the Language Access Plan (LAP) and the Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan (AFHMP) and how they relate to one another. In the attachment below, we explore this a little further in hopes that it will help assisted housing providers navigate between these two complementary plans and meet the language access obligations of both.”
