Tag Archives: reasonable accommodation

New IFHF Schedule and Focus!

Bus benches continue to support fair housing..and sitters!

As mentioned in a previous post, the Idaho Fair Housing Forum has resumed regular monthly meetings to restore productive collaboration and conversation among diverse stakeholders. Our work on regional statewide campaigns (like the poster pictured above) is crucial to expanding awareness of fair housing. These meetings are a safe place to ask questions, seek consensus and work toward common goals. Partners who are respectful of others and approach the Forum in good faith are welcome.

Check back after September 30th for the late 2022 – 2023 meeting schedule and topics.

  • All meetings will be the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 10 am MT/9 am PT. Main meeting topics will occupy 60 minutes, but we can hold space for 90 minutes to accommodate additional conversation.
  • Quarterly Open Forum Meetings will be held October, January, April, July and be more informal, featuring a more open roundtable discussion, with short videos for consideration. The first of these is Segregated by Design
  • Monthly Training meetings are planned for November, December, February, March, May, June, August, and September and will feature topical training modules and Q&A
  • Annual Meetings will be in-person (public health situation permitting) and coincide with existing statewide events focusing on housing and related topics to allow statewide partners to consolidate travel time and costs.

We look forward to expanding this group to be more inclusive and diverse, and to broaden our geographic scope. We welcome housing providers and professionals, planners, building officials, people of all abilities, consumer advocates, and anyone interested in learning from one another about the origins, interpretations, importance and impacts of the Fair Housing Act and related laws.

Bookmark this post and check back for more updates!

2021 APA Idaho Conference: Analysis of Impediments Session

The Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) and Idaho Commerce are working with Root Policy Research on the state of Idaho 2021 Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing (AI), and several Idaho entitlement communities have contracted with Resource Consultants to conduct AI studies at the local level.

As part of efforts to raise awareness of the rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act, IHFA proposed a session for this year’s APA Idaho conference to help planning professionals and other officials understand how the AI process works, and what it means to Idahoans, local government and taxpayers, and to community and economic stability.

Analysis of Impediments APA ID

Fair Housing Means Access and Accommodation

The June 22, 2021 Fair Housing webinar focused on fair housing considerations for people with disabilities. Several key stakeholders involved in disability rights and advocacy participated in the discussion of fair housing protections in light of the current housing crisis, which impacts people with disabilities and other protected classes much harder that it does the general population.

One question came up in the follow-up discussion:

What is the statute of limitations on filing a fair housing complaint? HUD’s position:

FHEO begins its complaint investigation process shortly after receiving a complaint. You must file your complaint within one year of the last date of the alleged discrimination under the Fair Housing Act. Other civil rights authorities allow for complaints to be filed after one year for good cause, but FHEO recommends filing as soon as possible.

The group agreed that those in the areas of housing and community development would benefit from a more inclusive planning and design process that engages people with disabilities to inform strategies that make communities more livable and affordable to everyone.

Links to session materials and referenced resources:

Why fair housing matters to…

As part of a Fair Housing Innovative Partnership – Education Outreach Initiative (FHIP-EOI) grant, the Idaho Housing and Finance Association (IHFA) created a series of first-person videos to understand how fair housing impacts all people. The idea was to interview individuals protected by fair housing laws, as well as employers, economists, developers, housing providers, planners and advocates.

These videos are available for sharing via social media, and provide first-hand, unscripted perspectives of real Idahoans and experts in several fields.

Most Americans understand the Fair Housing Act as landmark Civil Rights legislation prohibiting housing discrimination against members of protected classes and requiring reasonable accommodation for people with disabilities. Increasingly, research shows overall economic and social benefits made possible through more diverse communities, and economic opportunities created through housing choice—the right to live where we choose and can afford.

Economic opportunity depends on several factors made possible through fair housing choice, including access to essential community resources like employment, education, social services, recreation and transportation. At a very basic level, housing choice lets us build social capital—the network of trusted relationships and connections that can lead to better jobs, child care, and civic engagement.

As several interviewees point out, the social diversity made possible through fair housing is essential to a more diverse and resilient economy. Members of protected classes bring fresh perspective, ideas and energy that can boost productivity and efficiency; they become economic producers and entrepreneurs who create jobs. At the same time, they are consumers helping drive demand for more diverse products and services, which also creates additional employment opportunities. All of this generates economic energy and demand for taxable goods and services.

As author Jim Tankersley (The Riches of This Land: The Untold, True History of America’s Middle Class) sums it up,

…if you could give me one thing to do to supercharge the economy, I would say, end discrimination across the American economy. Discrimination is holding back our economy. It’s holding back our middle class.

Please take a few moments to explore these first-person videos to understand the importance fair housing through a different lens, and help spread the word by sharing them with others.

Spanish-language interviews | En Español