Source: United States Senator for Ohio Sherrod Brown
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) – Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs – announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded a $349,983 grant to Fair Housing Opportunities of Northwest Ohio (FHONO) in Toledo. FHONO will use this grant to hire two additional staff members to assist with high call volume, conduct investigations to ensure funds are reaching marginalized communities, and better equip their office to meet the capacity. These funds are made possible through the American Rescue Plan, which Brown helped write and pass.
“More than 50 years after Congress passed the Fair Housing Act, access to housing remains unequal,” said Brown. “These funds will help support the Fair Housing Opportunities of Northwest Ohio’s work to protect Ohioans from housing discrimination and to help victims of discrimination seek justice.”
“This grant funding will increase our capacity to respond to the challenges of the pandemic while continuing to focus on our core mission of fair housing enforcement and education and outreach,” said Marie Flannery, President and CEO of The Fair Housing Center. “The housing instability exacerbated by the pandemic has left many in our community, particularly renters, facing critical housing needs, and we’re grateful to have the support necessary to help meet those needs. While the pandemic has affected everyone, we know that Black, Latinx, and low-income people have been disproportionately impacted, which means that housing equity will play a critical role in the health and well-being of our communities. We thank Senator Brown for his continued support of fair housing and for recognizing that all members of our community deserve a safe, stable, and vibrant place to call home.”
The Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) funds fair housing organizations and other nonprofits that assist individuals who believe that they have been victims of housing discrimination. For more information, visit www.HUD.gov.
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