PARTNERSHIPS

Acting for Justice Program

The Actors Fund is assisting the FHJC by recruiting actors and other entertainment professionals to work as “testers” in the FHJC’s “Acting for Justice” program. Testing is an investigative tool used by the FHJC to gather evidence. Testers simulate consumer conduct in order to observe the ordinary business practices of housing providers and others for the purpose of determining whether equal service, equal treatment, and ultimately, equal access are being provided in compliance with fair housing laws.

The Actors Fund is a nationwide human services organization that helps all professionals - both performers and those behind the scenes - in performing arts and entertainment. The Actors Fund website can be found at http://www.actorsfund.org. Through its partnership with the FHJC, the Actors Work Program, under the direction of Kathy Schrier, has assisted professionals in the entertainment community to identify meaningful employment opportunities that complement their entertainment industry work.

Legal Partnerships

New York Lawyers for the Public Interest (NYLPI) is assisting the FHJC with developing partnerships with area law firms interested in representing individuals and organizations who have been subject to housing discrimination. In 2005, Latham & Watkins LLP, led by partners David Brodsky and Erica Steinberger, began providing pro bono assistance to FHJC clients. The law firms of Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman LLP and Morrison & Foerster LLP, joined the effort in 2007. Under the leadership of Harlene Katzman, the law firm of Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett LLP began a partnership with the FHJC in 2009. In addition, Legal Services of New York (LSNY) accepts referrals of FHJC clients who meet income eligibility requirements, spearheaded by LSNY's Litigation Support Unit.

The FHJC hosts legal trainings to familiarize cooperating attorneys with substantive antidiscrimination law and civil rights litigation issues, and remains available as an ongoing legal resource to cooperating attorneys.

The FHJC welcomes assistance from individual attorneys and law firms interested in representing clients with housing discrimination cases. If you are interested in building a legal partnership with the FHJC, please contact us at (212) 400-8201.

Program Sponsorship

The Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council, Inc. (MMFHC), under the leadership of President/CEO William R. Tisdale and Vice-President Carla J. Wertheim, sponsored HELP USA to apply for and receive a three-year $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to initially fund the FHJC program. The MMFHC, a non-profit organization located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin since 1978, has provided invaluable technical assistance to the FHJC staff and the two programs have mutually benefited from a close working relationship.