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Wilder School, HOME Sponsoring Housing Equality Conference
On Monday, April 15, the Wilder School and Housing Opportunities Made Equal (HOME) of Virginia will host its second annual Virginia’s Fair Housing Summit, a daylong conference that will bring together local and national experts for a series of workshops designed to disrupt the legacy of historic and systemic housing discrimination in our communities. Planners, government officials, housing professionals, students and interested citizens are encouraged to attend.
This year’s summit theme is “Confronting Barriers: Empowering Communities for Housing Equality” and will be held at the VCU Student Commons, 907 Floyd Ave., from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Participants will gain a better understanding of environmental justice, transportation policy, equitable community investment, anti-gentrification policies and strategies, supporting the housing needs and concerns of LGBTQ+ individuals, housing accommodations for those with disabilities and source of income discrimination.
The summit will feature luncheon keynote speaker Lisa Rice.
Rice is the President and CEO of the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA), the nation’s only civil rights agency devoted solely to eliminating all forms of housing discrimination. NFHA provides a range of programs to affirmatively further fair housing including community development, neighborhood stabilization, training, education, outreach, advocacy, consulting and enforcement initiatives.
Rice is a member of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Board of Directors, JPMorgan Chase Consumer Advisory Council, Mortgage Bankers Association's Consumer Advisory Council, Freddie Mac Affordable Housing Advisory Council, Urban Institute’s Mortgage Servicing Collaborative, Quicken Loans Advisory Committee, and America’s Homeowner Alliance Advisory Board.
Other participants include Wilder School faculty members Fabrizio Fasulo, Ph.D., director of the Center for Urban and Regional Analysis and Kathryn Howell, Ph.D., and Benjamin Teresa, Ph.D. Howell and Teresa are assistant professors in the Wilder School’s Urban and Regional Studies and Planning program and co-founders of the RVA Eviction Lab.
Workshop topics will include:
- Community-based Assessments of Vulnerabilities and Building Resilience
- Community Engagement
- Evictions
- Gentrification
- The Lens We Wear: Discovering Opportunities in Bias
- LGBTQ+ Community
- Mobilizing Civic Infrastructure Through Urban Greening
- Philanthropy's Role in Advancing Racial Equity
- Reasonable Accommodations and Fair Housing Rights for Persons with Disabilities
- Source of Income Discrimination
- Transportation Equity
Registration is $85 for everyone but attendees from nonprofits. Register here.
For more information, email Summit@HOMEofVA.org.