HUD CHARGES OWNER AND PROPERTY MANAGER OF MISSOURI AREA RENTAL PROPERTIES WITH DISCRIMINATION BASED ON SEX

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged Second Bell Trust, owner of multiple single-family rental properties in the Springfield, Missouri area, and its agent and property manager, Jimmie Bell, with housing discrimination for allegedly subjecting a female tenant to sexual harassment, including requests for sexual favors in exchange for rent, unwanted touching, and discriminatory statements based on sex. Read the charge.

"Subjecting tenants to unwelcome sexual advances and sexual harassment is outrageous and a clear violation of the law," said Demetria L. McCain, HUD's Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "Today's charge sends a clear message to all landlords that HUD is committed to taking action against landlords whose behavior violates the Fair Housing Act."

HUD's charge, issued on behalf of the tenant and her children and nephew, alleges the property manager made repeated unwelcome sexual comments to the tenant and pressured her to provide sexual favors when she fell behind on rent payments. The charge further alleges he grabbed the tenant’s intimate areas. After enduring several years of sexual harassment from him, the tenant moved out.

HUD's charge will be heard by a U.S. Administrative Law Judge unless any party to the charge wants to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds after a hearing that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to the complainant for harm caused by discrimination. The judge may also order injunctive relief and other equitable relief, payment of attorney fees, and civil fines. If the matter is decided in federal court, that judge may also award punitive damages.

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Source: 

Read the September 1, 2023 HUD press release.

HUD Charges Landlord with Disability Discrimination

 

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has charged Ronit Mecham and Voyl “Tom” Mecham, the owner and property manager of a dwelling in Jamestown, New York, with violating the Fair Housing Act by refusing to allow a tenant with a disability to live with her assistance animal. Read the charge here.

The Fair Housing Act outlaws discrimination based on disability. Such discrimination includes refusing to provide reasonable accommodation so that persons with disabilities can enjoy their housing. A reasonable accommodation includes waiving a “no pet” policy for assistance animals, which was violated in this case. The Act also prohibits statements that indicate a preference or limitation based on disability.

“Assistance animals provide people with disabilities the support they need to enjoy the benefits of their housing,” said HUD’s Principal Assistant Deputy Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. “HUD is committed to zealously enforcing the Act to protect the rights of individuals with disabilities.”

HUD’s Charge alleges that Respondents denied the tenant’s request for an assistance animal and then required her to either terminate the lease early or leave when the lease term ended. Although the tenant offered to submit medical documentation supporting her request, the owner-managers stopped communicating with her instead. The charge also alleges that the owner-managers made comments indicating a preference for non-disabled tenants.

A U.S. Administrative Law Judge will hear HUD’s Charge unless either HUD or the accused owner-managers chooses to have the case heard in federal district court. If an administrative law judge finds, after a hearing, that discrimination has occurred, the judge may award damages to the individuals for their losses as a result of the discrimination. The judge may also order injunctive relief and other equitable relief to deter further discrimination, payment of attorney fees, and civil penalties. If the federal court hears the case, that judge may also award punitive damages to the complainant.

People who believe they are the victims of housing discrimination should contact HUD at (800) 669-9777 (voice) 800-927-9275 (TTY) or the U.S. Department of Justice at (800) 896-7743 or 202-514-4713. More info is available at www.hud.gov/fairhousing and www.justice.gov. Materials and assistance are available for persons with limited English proficiency. Individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing may contact HUD using the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

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Sources: 

HUD press release email, September 18, 2023.

Read the September 18, 2023 HUD press release.

Project Begun to Increase Accessibility of Baltimore-Area Houses of Worship

To help religious leaders make their houses of worship more welcoming to people with disabilities and their families, the Kennedy Krieger Institute’s Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities just started its Faith Community Learning Collaborative. The object is to provide training to faith leaders and foster conversation between them and people with disabilities and their advocates about how to lower the barriers to participation in religious spaces.

Accessibility and inclusion is about more than installing a ramp for wheelchair users, said Mirian Ofonedu, director of training for the Kennedy Krieger center and creator of the project, adding that negative attitudes about disabilities and biases around disability that may exist in a congregation and ensuring that people with disabilities and their families know they can come to worship. “We are all called to know God, but more importantly, to experience God,” Ofonedu said. “How people with disabilities go about experiencing God is often socially stigmatized. An inclusive community, where people with disabilities fully participate, is a sign of God’s presence and love in that community.”

In summer 2022, two years after the Maryland Center for Developmental Disabilities launched the project, a survey of over 255 faith leaders and people with disabilities and their families - in collaboration with the Maryland Department of Health’s Office of Faith Based and Community Partnerships and the Faith Community Commission of the Governor’s Commission on Suicide Prevention - found that few people with disabilities or their family members held leadership positions in their faith communities and there was a need for training for faith leaders on how to connect with people who have disabilities in their congregations. People with disabilities and their families had experienced feeling isolated, rejected, and excluded by faith communities. When a child is diagnosed with a disability, their parents often turn to their faith leaders and communities for support and guidance, Ofonedu said. 

The Initiative's panel discussion covered several topics, including how to include people with developmental disabilities in services and the importance of asking whether accommodations are needed. It featured Rabbi Craig Axler of Temple Isaiah in Fulton and Matthew Plantz, a self-advocate and member of the Howard County Autism Society board of directors. To make the event more accessible to people who are hard of hearing, Baron hired an American Sign Language interpreter — something he hopes to do at future Chabad events, as well. The religious center has been offering shorter services that may be better for people who have challenges sitting through a three-hour service, such as those with ADHD or children with disabilities.

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Source: Read the September 11, 2023 Baltimore Sun article.

Get Your Tickets for the 30th Annual Civil Rights Breakfast!

 

bit.ly/blatcrw2023. ***** Source: City of Baltimore Daily Digest Bulletin, September 14, 2023.

Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition Annual Meeting is November 6th

MAHC ANNUAL MEETING November 6, 2023 8:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. The Hotel at Arundel Preserve Hanover, MD TICKETS: $165 - $1,000 This event is our only fundraiser of the year, so please support our important work by purchasing your tickets today!

REGISTER NOW

HOUSING AWARD NOMINATIONS ARE NOW OPEN! 2023 MAHC AWARDS The Innovation Award celebrates innovation within the affordable rental housing industry in Maryland.  The award is given to a housing project, program or activity that is cutting edge or advances the state of affordable rental housing in Maryland.   INNOVATION AWARD NOMINATION FORM The Housing Person of the Year Award recognizes a MAHC Member who has made significant contributions to the affordable rental housing industry in Maryland and worked to help advance the interest of the affordable rental housing community through advocacy, participation in policy or program improvements, or other volunteer efforts that have impacted those who live in affordable housing.   HOUSING PERSON OF THE YEAR NOMINATION FORM Nominations are due by October 9, 2023. mdahc.org  ***** Source: Maryland Affordable Housing Coalition email, September 14, 2023.

Injustice, Inc's Author to Speak at HPRP's Free Speaker Forum on September 20th

Next Wednesday, September 20th: HPRP's Speaker Series!

On September 20th, you are invited to attend the Homeless Persons Representation Project (HPRP)'s kickoff of their 2023-2024 speaker series. Speaking will be University of Baltimore School of Law Professor Daniel Hatcher, Esq., and he will discuss his new book, Injustice, Inc.: How America's Justice System Commodifies Children and the Poor (University of California Press, 2023).

When: Wednesday, September 20th, 5:30 - 7:30 PM

Where: Enoch Pratt Central Library (400 Cathedral St., Baltimore, MD 21201), Wheeler Auditorium

This talk will be moderated by Youth Action Board Co-Chair Levy Johnson and Jenny Egan, Esq., Chief Attorney for the Juvenile Division of the Public Defender in Baltimore and co-founder of the Baltimore Action Legal Team.

This event is free, but registration is encouraged. Given the COVID-19 surge, masking is strongly encouraged and this event will be recorded for those unable to attend.

Here is a summary of the speaker's book:

From UC Press: "Injustice, Inc. exposes the ways in which justice systems exploit America's history of racial and economic inequality to generate revenue on a massive scale. With searing legal analysis, Daniel L. Hatcher uncovers how courts, prosecutors, police, probation departments, and detention facilities are abandoning ethics to churn vulnerable children and adults into unconstitutional factory-like operations. Hatcher reveals stark details of revenue schemes and reflects on the systemic racialized harm of the injustice enterprise. 

"He details how these corporatized institutions enter contracts to make money removing children from their homes, extort fines and fees, collaborate with debt collectors, seize property, incentivize arrests and evictions, enforce unpaid child labor, maximize occupancy in detention and "treatment" centers, and more. Injustice, Inc. underscores the need to unravel these predatory operations, which have escaped public scrutiny for too long."

                        

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Source: Homeless Persons Representation Project email, September 13, 2023.

Happy Hispanic Heritage Month!

In celebrating our Hispanic/Latino communities and residents, Mayor Brandon M. Scott, the Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs (MIMA), and the Baltimore City Hispanic Commission are recognizing individuals who have made outstanding contributions to the Latino community. Follow MIMA on social media to learn more about our outstanding leaders. A number of free community events will be held as part of the celebration: Feria Somos Baltimore Latino 2023 / Somos Baltimore Latino Fair 2023 Saturday, September 16th, 11 am - 6:00 pm Sacred Heart of Jesus / Sagrado Corazón de Jesús (600 S Conkling St, Baltimore, MD 21224) Somos Baltimore Latino Learn more here! TIANQUIZTLI | Latin American Market & Festival 2:00 pm Walk with Little Amal in Patterson Park 3:00 - 7:00 pm Festival outside Creative Alliance (3134 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224) Saturday, September 16th Creative Alliance Free, learn more here! Hispanic Heritage Month Event: Latino Trivia Night! Tuesday, September 19th, 6:00 - 8:30 pm Centro SOL and the Latino Racial Justice Circle El Salvador Restaurant (207 South Broadway 2nd Floor Baltimore, MD 21231) Please RSVP Festival de Independencia Sunday, September 17th, 12:00 - 9:00 pm Joseph Lee Park (6300 E. Pratt St. Baltimore, MD 21224) Learn more here! Hispanic Heritage Month Celebration and Community Resource Fair Saturday, September 23, 2:30pm - 5pm  Faith Center (351 S. Woodyear St, Baltimore, MD 21223) Folkloric Dance Class with Artesanas Tuesday, October 3rd, 5:30-7:30 pm Enoch Pratt Free Library (400 Cathedral Street Baltimore, MD 21201) Free, please RSVP Latino Cultural Festival Saturday, October 7, 11am-7pm Patterson Park-Pulaski Monument (2900 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21224) Latin Nations of Fiesta Baltimore Parade Sunday, October 8th, 9 am  Patterson Park Pulaski Monument (parade starts at 3919 Eastern Ave, Baltimore, MD 21222. ***** Source: MIMA Monthly Newsletter, September, 2023.