Virtual Fair Housing Education Month' Training Events Declared A Success In Honolulu

Press release from the City and County of Honolulu:

May 20, 2021

HONOLULU – Today, Mayor Rick Blangiardi, and the City, State, Federal and local Fair Housing partners declared the first ever Statewide Virtual Fair Housing Conference a tremendous success that surpassed all expectations.

Every April, in partnership with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Hawaiʻi Civil Rights Commission, the Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi, the City and County of Honolulu and the three Neighbor Island counties conduct Fair Housing Conferences. Usually these sessions are held through a one-day in person event on every island. In years past, the City would average approximately 325-350 participants at the Neal Blaisdell Center. However, due to COVID-19, all of the 2020 in person training sessions were called off and Fair Housing Coordinators statewide contemplated what to do for the 2021 calendar year.

Earlier this year, with inter-island travel limited and large gatherings still not permitted for safety reasons, the planning group decided to pool their resources to conduct a statewide Fair Housing conference virtually. Due to its size and platform capacity, the City volunteered to host this effort for 2021 called “Fair Housing: More Than Just Words” via its WebEx platform for two hours every Thursday throughout the month. Space was limited to the first 1,000 applicants, which the group surpassed in the first five days of announcing the training.

“Addressing affordable housing and homelessness issues requires a community effort to maximize the potential impact and the more people working on the solutions, the better it is for everyone,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi. “We are excited for the tremendous interest in this training and are grateful to have the teamwork of our expert partners such as the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Hawaiʻi Civil Rights Commission and the Legal Aid Society of Hawaiʻi, all of whom have been part of Fair Housing training on Oʻahu for many years.”

What makes this truly encouraging is that nearly 50% of all attendees this year are first time Fair Housing learners, which means more people are learning about fair housing protections.

This year’s training started off with a “Fair Housing 101” overview on April 1 that provided participants with a basic understanding of the fair housing requirements and of the complaint and adjudication process. That session was followed up with sessions on: “Fair Housing in the Times of COVID”, covering landlord tenant relations and evictions; “Race, Color and National Origin: Fair Housing Protections Training”; “Fair Housing: Access and Safety”, covering topics of Sex, Gender, Gender Identity, Sexual Orientation, Familial Status, and Hānai Status; and concluded April 29th with a session on “Disability and the Fair Housing Act” covering Reasonable Accommodations and Modifications Requests, as well as Assistance Animals.

The people and groups that participated in this year’s statewide virtual training included:

- Private Landlords;

- Realtors and Real Estate Agents;

- Attorneys dealing with Fair Housing

- Resident Managers and Property Managers

- Association of Apartment Owners and Master Planned Community Board Members

- Properties working with People with Disabilities

- Operational and Financing Departments and Agencies for State and City Shelters;

- Nonprofit organizations running shelters and permanent supportive housing

- Tenants interested in learning about their rights under fair housing laws

“Education and outreach are the most important tools in understanding our Fair Housing roles and responsibilities,” said Department of Community Services Director Sarah Allen. “Working with our partners, we created a YouTube training channel available to the public. These training modules are available by going to www.honolulu.gov/dcs and clicking on the conference link. We encourage anyone interested in learning more to reach out and use this resource.”

CONFERENCE STATISTICS

TOTAL REGISTRANTS

105 Kaua‘i (9.97% of total)

662 CCH (63.87%)

137 Maui (13.01%)

149 Hawai‘i (14.15%)

1,053 TOTAL

FIRST TIME ATTENDEES

54 Kaua‘i (51.51% first time vs. total island registrants)

328 CCH (49.55%)

77 Maui (56.20%)

67 Hawai‘i (44.97%)

526 (49.95%)

PER SESSION ONLINE ATTENDANCE

Session 1 “Fair Housing 101” 854 participants

Session 2 “Fair Housing in the Times of COVID” 897

Session 3 “Race Color and National Origin” 672

Session 4 “Fair Housing: Access and Safety” 636

Sex (gender identity and expression),

Sexual Orientation and Familial Status

Session 5 “Disability and the Fair Housing Act 599

TOTAL 3,658

AVERAGE 732 per session

YOUTUBE STATS through May 6, 2021

Since posting the videos on April 12, they’ve gotten 217 extra views.

• FH101 Part 1 – 55
• FH101 Part 2 – 35
• Fair Housing in the Times of COVID – 44
• Race Color National Origin – 27
• Fair Housing Access and Safety – 32
• Disability and the Fair Housing Act – 14

About the Fair Housing Act

On April 11, 1968, President Lyndon Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1968, which was meant as a follow-up to the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The 1968 Act expanded on previous acts and prohibited discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex, (and as amended) handicap and family status. Title VIII of the Act is also known as the Fair Housing Act (of 1968).

The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of:

• Race
• Color
• National Origin
• Religion
• Sex
• Familial Status
• Disability

About Hawaiʻi’s Fair Housing Efforts

Hawaii’s fair housing law actually preceded Federal Civil Rights by one year. Act 193 Relating to the Prevention of Discrimination in Real Property Transactions was passed and took effect upon approval by Governor John Burns in June, 1967. According to the report of the House Judiciary Committee, the bill reflected many of the provisions of the Model Anti-Discrimination Act of the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws.

HRS Chapter 515 prohibits discrimination based on:

• Sexual orientation,
• Gender identity and expression,
• Marital status,
• Age, and
• Human immunodeficiency virus infection.

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 and Chapter 515, Hawaii Revised Statutes, are the principal instruments for combating discrimination in the sale, rental, and financing of housing in the State of Hawaii.

The federal Fair Housing Act and Chapter 515, Hawaii Revised Statutes, prohibit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, ancestry/national origin, sex, disability, familial status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, marital status, age, and human immunodeficiency virus infection.

This press release was produced by the City and County of Honolulu. The views expressed are the author's own.