[Archived] City of Alexandria Celebrates Fair Housing Month in April

For Immediate Release: April 1, 2019

In recognition of Fair Housing Month in April, the City of Alexandria is hosting a youth poster contest and offering community education opportunities to promote the awareness and understanding of fair housing.

The City is hosting the fourth annual Fair Housing Poster Contest to educate young people about how fair housing laws protect everyone against illegal housing discrimination. All Alexandria students in grades K-5 are eligible to enter the contest. Entries must be original artwork and represent this year's theme, "Fair Housing Lives in Alexandria.” The submissions will be accepted from Monday, April 1 to Friday, April 12, at 5 p.m. The top three winners of the poster contest will be chosen by a panel of Office of Housing staff on April 25th.

In addition to the poster contest, the City is hosting a free training “Understanding Fair Housing Compliance for Condominium and Community Associations,” on Saturday, April 6, from 10 a.m. to noon, at Patrick Henry Recreation Center, Room 160 (4653 Taney Ave.). Registration is required.

Staff from the Office of Housing are also available to talk with educators or program directors and their classes about the Fair Housing Act and housing discrimination.

Fair Housing Month is celebrated as an opportunity for recommitment to the elimination of housing discrimination and the creation of equal opportunity in every community. Under federal, state and local laws and regulations, all residents have equal access to housing regardless of sex, race, color, religion, age, familial status, disability, marital status, sexual orientation or national origin. To identify problems and promote compliance with fair housing laws, the City conducts fair housing testing to determine the presence of discrimination in mortgage lending and in rental and sales housing markets in Alexandria.

April was declared National Fair Housing Month by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to recognize the anniversary of the Fair Housing Act of 1968, and to remember the assassination of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., which occurred a week before the Act was signed. The Act stands as the final great legislative achievement of the 1960s civil rights era.

To submit entries for the poster contest, register for the free training, schedule a talk, or for additional information about the City’s affordable housing programs and resources, call the Office of Housing at 703.746.4990 or visit alexandriava.gov/Housing.

For media inquiries, contact Andrea Blackford, Senior Communications Officer, at andrea.blackford@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3959.

For reasonable disability accommodation, contact gwen.lassiter@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.4990, Virginia Relay 711.