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According to the 2000
Census, Buffalo remains among the most segregated metropolitan areas in
the nation. Among the reasons cited for this is the persistence of
housing discrimination. Last year HOME fair housing staff took 204 reports
of housing discrimination that were determined to have merit, an increase
from the year before, and minorities, low-income families, and families
with children were the hardest hit.
HOME has successfully
assisted many of these victims to obtain some justice. Of these cases, 21
were conciliated without legal action and 30 others were either filed with
the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, (HUD) or referred to
cooperating attorneys for action in state or federal court. Respondents
in the ten cases that were settled last year paid a total of $46,925.
These figures don’t tell
the whole story. First, as was mentioned elsewhere in this issue,
measuring discrimination is difficult and complicated. Secondly, anecdotal
evidence strongly suggests that the crime of housing discrimination tends
to be underreported. Some victims may not recognize housing
discrimination, others choose not to report it, and still others face
discrimination multiple times before asking for help. During a fair
housing presentation last year, one young mother said “If I had to report
all the times a landlord told me he didn’t take kids, I’d have no time
left to find a place to live.” A Hispanic father of three said, “If I had
to report all the times I faced discrimination, I’d have to report my
whole life.”
Thirdly, no amount of
money can ever compensate victims for the pain and humiliation they
experience when they are told that in spite of their ability to meet the
screening criteria for the housing of their choice, they are just not good
enough to live there. In fact, when some victims contact HOME for
assistance, all they want is an apology. Others ask that HOME educate the
person who discriminated against them so that it won’t happen again to
someone else.
In a recently settled
case, a young mother and her three children were suddenly homeless after a
fire destroyed their home. A caseworker from the American Red Cross was
assisting them to find a place to live. After the woman was shown a
three-bedroom apartment she liked, she did not hear from the landlord.
When her caseworker contacted the landlord, she was told that the landlord
didn’t want three children in her apartment because they would destroy the
property and dirty the carpets. When the client called HOME and reported
the incident, she no longer wanted the apartment. All she wanted was an
apology, which HOME helped her get.
In another case, an
African-American woman with three children inquired about an apartment for
rent. After questioning her extensively about the children’s father, the
landlord told her it was going to be rented to a family member. When the
apartment remained empty three months later, she contacted the landlord
again. He again refused her the opportunity to rent the apartment. When
she asked if it was because she was Black, the landlord confessed that his
daughter, who lived in the same building, would not feel safe living near
her. With HOME’s assistance, the woman filed a complaint with HUD. The
case was settled when the landlord agreed to pay $6,000 in damages to the
victim. He was also assessed a $675 civil penalty.
Justice for
some
Unfortunately, not
everyone who is vulnerable to discrimination is protected by law. State
and Federal laws prohibit discrimination in housing and housing-related
services on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age,
marital status, disability, or the presence of children in a family.
Although some municipalities also offer protection against bias in housing
for reason of a person’s lawful source of income or sexual orientation,
often victims of discrimination for these reasons have limited legal
recourse.
In some cases, HOME
has been able to intervene on behalf of people whose right to fair housing
was denied for these reasons. However, passage of the Sexual Orientation
Non-Discrimination Act (SONDA) and similar legislation offering protection
to low-income families would be giant steps forward in the organization’s
continuing struggle for fair housing.
In spite of
HOME’s 39-year struggle for fair housing, discrimination continues to
plague our region and legislation is only part of the solution. Due to the
dearth of low-to- moderate income housing outside the City of Buffalo, and
the opportunity to legally discriminate on the basis of a person’s lawful
source of income, Buffalo has become highly concentrated with low-income
families.
Segregation by
income still all too often means segregation by race, and combating this
problem will take an effort on many different fronts. Development of
affordable housing outside areas of concentrated poverty along with public
transportation linking the City with those surrounding areas would expand
housing opportunities for low-income families in a direct way. This
coupled with legislation at the State or Federal level extending fair
housing protection to low-income families are among the changes necessary
to reverse the increasing segregation in our region. |
