Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH) "Call to Action"
Since its inception in 1968 the federal Fair Housing Act has imposed a duty on state and local governments to take actions to Affirmatively Further Fair Housing (AFFH). In 2015 HUD issued a final AFFH rule that requires cities like Boston, to have an
effective planning approach for taking meaningful actions to overcome historic patterns of segregation, promote fair housing choice, and foster inclusive communities that are free from discrimination.
Boston has had a strong history of housing segregation and HUD has provided us with the Assessment of Fair Housing tool, so cities like Boston can take meaningful actions to combat housing discrimination and stop the patterns of segregation from getting
worse. It gives cities like Boston a chance to foster inclusive communities free from discriminatory barriers that restrict access to opportunity based on protected class characteristics. Boston is required to undertake an Analysis of Fair Housing and submit
it to HUD for review by October 2017.
HUD has given localities all over the country the opportunity to set in place an effective community process tool that allows many residents, especially those who have oftentimes been left out of the conversation, to speak out and voice their concerns
and desires for their neighborhoods. It is up to us to ensure that the city take the steps necessary to allow those voices to be heard. AFFH means taking meaningful actions that, taken together, address significant disparities in housing needs and in access
to opportunity. It means replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, transforming communities of color and low income neighborhoods into areas of prosperity. It also means fostering and maintaining compliance with
civil rights and fair housing laws.
Let's help Boston reach this goal. We need community input and we need representation from all sides of our city. We need the voices of our youth, elders, persons with disabilities, women, families with children, minorities, LGBTQ, and all other protected
class communities. Will you join us in shaping Boston's future housing policies? We need your help if we are going to be successful in addressing Boston's housing crisis and protecting the rights of all our residents.
Our Steering Committee is working to keep the city accountable to the new community process and asking them to go beyond HUD's requirements by helping them formulate a fair housing plan that exhausts all avenues of commentary for improvement. Our desire
is to aid the city in pulling communities together and collecting testimony of peoples struggle. Your organization's participation will help inform the city of what residents see as issues that affect and deter their access to fair housing.
We need action to move this process forward and submitting community feedback is one clear way of holding the City of Boston accountable.
For a Better Boston,
Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing Steering Committee;
Robert Terrell, Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston
Kathy Brown, and Kadineyse Ramize Peña Boston Tenant Coalition
Lincoln Laramond, Mattapan United
Karen Chen, Chinese Progressive Association
David Harris, Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice
Nilaya Montalvo, Homes for Families
Denisha McDonald. NAACP, Boston Chapter
Barbara Chandler, Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership
Zakiya Alake, Roxbury Neighborhood Council
Nadine Cohen and Margaret Turner, Greater Boston Legal Services
Sophia Hall, Lawyers for Civil Rights and Economic Justice
Thong Phan, Viet Aid & Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership
