FHJC Investigators Stay Undercover – Even During a Pandemic
We at the Fair Housing Justice Center hope this message finds you healthy and safe as New York enters its fourth month of coronavirus restrictions and our initial reopening phases.
We hope you’ll take a moment to watch this special message from some of our undercover testers, FHJC’s front-line warriors in the fight for open, inclusive, accessible communities:
It is an unprecedented time. America’s eyes are being opened to the glaring inequities still being forced upon people of color by systemic racism. Frank conversations about race, and ways to address the problem, are all pointing at pervasive housing discrimination and segregation as being at the heart of the issue.
Housing discrimination artificially limits the housing choices available to so many populations. This leads to restricted access to educational and employment opportunities, and contributes to glaring disparities in wealth accumulation, homeownership rates, the actions of our criminal justice system, and, yes, even the infection and hospitalization rates of the COVID-19 virus.
But with your help, we’re fighting back. As our testers say in the above video, FHJC investigations have led to successful legal challenges that changed the way many housing providers do business. Our efforts have opened more than 67,000 units of housing to previously excluded populations, and recovered nearly $40 million in damages and penalties for plaintiffs.
We hope you’ll consider adding your support to our work at this crucial time.
To make a gift, visit fairhousingjustice.org or text FAIRHOUSING to 44-321. Also, please consider forwarding this message to anyone you feel may be willing to join us in the fight to eliminate housing discrimination.
Together we can make unprecedented change during these unprecedented times.
Stay safe everyone!
