Toledo Fair Housing Center and City of Toledo Department of
Neighborhoods
Host Fair Housing Implementation Council Kickoff
Special to The Truth
Toledo Fair Housing Center and the City of Toledo Department of
Neighborhoods partnered to host the Fair Housing
Implementation Council (the Council) Kickoff. The event was
held on Friday, September 25, beginning with a news
conference at Toledo Fair Housing Center at 10 a.m. and
followed by the Council kickoff at United Way of Greater
Toledo, located at 424 Jackson St., Toledo, OH 43604, Rooms
A&B.
Approximately 50 stakeholders from across the community attended,
including representatives from local government, nonprofit,
and the housing industry, as well as community members and
advocates. By forming a collaboration across key sectors,
the Council aims to effectively address barriers to fair
housing in our community and increase participation in the
Fair Housing Action Plan.
Every five years, Toledo Fair Housing Center and the City of Toledo
develop a Fair Housing Action Plan (Action Plan). In an
effort to address barriers to fair housing, the Action Plan
identifies impediment areas that may inhibit one’s access to
housing of their choice.
Examples of such barriers include transportation, reentry after
incarceration, homeless services, foreclosure, and public
policies. Each impediment area contains corresponding goals
and actions steps designed to overcome the impediment.
“This is a comprehensive strategy to expand housing opportunities
in the City of Toledo,” said Michael Marsh, president and
CEO of Toledo Fair Housing Center. “Our goal is to broaden
this to a regional effort, and we invite other communities
in our area to partner with us to develop ways to ensure
equal access to housing and, therefore, access to
opportunity.”
Bonita Bonds from the City of Toledo Department of Neighborhoods
commended Toledo Fair Housing Center for setting the example
for other communities, stating, “Our Fair Housing Center is
way ahead of the game compared to other jurisdictions.”
One of the goals of the Council is to advocate for legislative
changes necessary to provide protection for
source-of-income, currently not recognized as a protected
class. While attempting to rent a house with his wife, Kevin
Tucker encountered a landlord who had previously refused to
rent to a tenant receiving housing assistance and who denied
the Tuckers the opportunity to rent once she discovered he
had previously lived in public housing.
Having his security deposit returned to him, Tucker realized the
landlord was considering factors aside from his ability to
pay rent. “We thought, this isn’t right. We’re trying to
make a better life for ourselves,” Tucker added.
Although an investigation was conducted, Toledo Fair Housing Center
was unable to file a complaint because source-of-income is
not a protected class.
“It’s important to recognize that many people have nontraditional
means of income: social security, disability or military
benefits, child support, or housing choice vouchers (public
housing assistance). As long as a person can prove their
ability to pay, it shouldn’t matter where the money comes
from, and they shouldn’t be denied the right to housing,”
explained Marsh.
A regulation issued by HUD in July reminds communities of their
responsibility to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing, or
proactively take steps to promote diversity and integration.
Beyond simply prohibiting discrimination, jurisdictions
receiving federal funding are required to actively take
steps to develop inclusive policies and overcome historic
patterns of segregation.
“This partnership represents the City of Toledo’s commitment to
expanding housing opportunities, and we are grateful for
their support,” said Marsh. “But in order to achieve broad
impact, we need other communities to come to the table. We
have already met with the Lucas County Commissioners and the
City of Oregon and look forward to joining them and other
local areas to ensure members of our community have the
chance to be successful.”
The Council is a means to help implement the Action Plan by
plugging community partners into appropriate areas where
they can effect change. Today’s kickoff included the
formation of separate committees to focus on each impediment
area. Committees plan to meet on a quarterly or as-needed
basis, while the full Council will only meet a few times a
year.
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