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Wilder School, HOME Sponsoring Housing Equality Conference Sept. 22
Wilder School, HOME Sponsoring Housing Equality Conference Sept. 22
The Wilder School and Housing Opportunities Made Equal of Virginia will sponsor a daylong conference on Friday, September 22, that will bring together planners, government officials, nonprofit advocates and other housing officials to hear from local and national experts about affirmatively promoting equitable access to opportunity in our communities.
“Confronting Barriers: Strategies for Housing Equality” will be held at the VCU Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave., from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Participants will gain a better understanding of the U.S. Housing and Urban Development’s Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Rule, build tools for completing the Assessment of Fair Housing, and engage in discussions about the role of prejudice as an impediment to housing access.
The conference will feature two keynote speakers:
James H. Carr, the Coleman A. Young Endowed Chair and Professor in Urban Affairs at Wayne State University, is also a visiting fellow with the Roosevelt Institute and chairman and CEO of Turquoise Bay Investment Partners. Among his many accomplishments, he is also an expert with the Institute for New Economic Thinking and consultant with the Gerson Lehrman Group.
Leon T. Andrews Jr. is the inaugural director for Race, Equity and Leadership at the National League of Cities. Among his many achievements, he previously served as the senior fellow and program director at the National League of Cities’ Institute for Youth, Education and Families, where he led all of the institute’s youth development work with mayors and other municipals leaders around the country.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's 2015 rule requires communities to actively challenge fair housing barriers and fulfill their obligations under the Fair Housing Act by "affirmatively furthering fair housing" with the use of HUD funds.
Workshop topics will include:
- Overcoming the legacy of school segregation
- Economic investment in communities of color
- Siting of affordable housing
- Meaningful public engagement
- Data and technical work on the Assessment of Fair Housing
- Improving health outcomes through housing
- Housing needs for people with disabilities
- Addressing community opposition
The conference will feature speakers from PolicyLink, Poverty & Race Research Action Council, Relman, Dane, & Colfax and HUD
Registration is $85 for everyone but attendees from nonprofits. Register here.