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At
HOME’s 41st Annual Meeting and Dinner, HUD Assistant Secretary
Carolyn Y. Peoples presented Executive Director Scott W. Gehl with the
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s second annual Pioneer
of Fair Housing Award. This award is given to individuals who have
exemplified long-term commitment and dedication to civil rights.
In his 22
years as executive director, Mr. Gehl has overseen the development and
implementation of innovative and effective programs to end discrimination.
Among these was the 1983 agreement between HOME and area newspapers to
voluntarily eliminate the use of discriminatory language in classified
housing advertisements. At the time, this was the largest such agreement
in the nation, and today it continues with 54 area publishers agreeing to
monitor their classifieds for potential discriminatory language. He also
developed education and publications for landlords in order to prevent
discrimination in rental housing.
Mr. Gehl has long been recognized as the
area’s foremost authority on fair housing and has provided technical
assistance to local, state and national governments. Under his leadership,
HOME has forged relationships with suburban communities which have come to
recognize the need for fair housing. From 1988-1991, Mr. Gehl served as
special consultant to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan and conducted
analyses which prompted reform of the Buffalo Municipal Housing
Authority. He was then named to a special HUD advisory panel to formulate
a plan to desegregating the housing authority.
In 1995 HOME became one of the most vocal
opponents of efforts to restrict group homes and service agencies for the
poor. Under Mr. Gehl’s leadership, the Inclusion Task Force was formed to
examine the legality of these restrictive governmental policies.
Mr. Gehl also designed the Greater Buffalo
Community Housing Center, HOME’s cutting edge housing mobility program
which, since its inception five years ago has helped over 1900 low income
families of color move to better housing. With the assistance of the CHC,
seven of every ten families freely chose housing in low-poverty city
neighborhoods or suburban communities.
Mr. Gehl has received a number of awards for
his work including the Ed Saunders Award for Community Activism, the Sarah
G. Metzger Human Rights Award and awards from both the League of Public
Housing Tenants and the Buffalo Federation of Public Housing Tenants. On
Mr. Gehl’s watch, HOME was awarded the NYS Bar Association’s Public
Service Award and twice received HUD’s Best Practice Award. |
