The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded $38.3 million to more than 100 fair housing organizations and other nonprofits to help fight housing discrimination. The competitive grants are funded through HUD's Fair Housing Initiatives Program and will be put to work in communities across the U.S.
More specifically, HUD has provided $29.2 million in Private Enforcement Initiative grants to help local nonprofit fair housing organizations carry out testing and enforcement activities to prevent or eliminate discriminatory housing practices, the agency says in a release.
In addition, it has provided $5.5 million in Education and Outreach Initiative grants to groups that educate the public and housing providers about their rights and responsibilities under federal, state and local fair housing laws.
What's more, HUD has awarded $3.6 million for the Fair Housing Organizations Initiative, which aims to build the capacity and effectiveness of nonprofit fair housing organizations, particularly those that focus on the rights and needs of underserved groups, such as rural and immigrant populations, and support broader geographic availability of fair housing resources.
‘Ending housing discrimination is at the core of HUD's mission, and it takes dedicated people on the ground to address it,’ says Julian Castro, secretary of HUD, in the release. ‘These funds support community-based organizations that do great work every day on the front lines in the fight for fairness and equality in our nation's housing market.’
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