A proclamation recognizing April 2014 as "Fair Housing Month". A proclamation proclaiming Apil 2014 as "Fair Housing Month".
Communications. Do we have any communications? None. Madam President. Thank you. We do have three proclamations this evening, and I will call on Councilman Brooks to read the first one. Number 246. Councilman Brooks. Thank you, Madam President. This is proclamation number 246, recognizing April 2014 as Fair Housing Month. Whereas the year 2014 marks the 46th anniversary of the passage of the Federal Fair Housing Act, the Title eight of Civil Rights Act and 1968, as amended. And. WHEREAS, The Civil Rights Act of 1968 of the Colorado Fair Housing Law and the Denver Housing Law guarantees that housing in Denver and throughout the United States of America should be made available to all citizens without regard for race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, sexual orientation, familiar status, gender variance, marital status, ancestry, creed, military status , or physical or mental disability. And. Whereas, in the fall of 2013, the Denver Metro Fair Housing Center conducted an investigation into fair housing compliance by rental property owners throughout Metro Denver area. And. WHEREAS, the Metro Fair Housing Center Release Access denied a report on rental housing discrimination in Denver metro area on February 5th, 2014. And. WHEREAS, Evidence shows that even 45 years after the Fair Housing Act was passed, people of color and families with children in Denver are still discriminated against in a very high rate. The investigation found African-Americans encounter discrimination rate of 67% of the time in search for rental housing. Latinos encounter discrimination and 91% of the time and households without children in the home were treated more favorably than those with children as 73% of the time. And. Whereas, illegal barriers to equal opportunity in housing, no matter how subtle, diminish the rights of all and only with the cooperation, commitment and support from the residents of the city and county of Denver. Can barriers to the enjoyment of housing be removed? Now, therefore, be it proclaimed by the Council of the City and County of Denver, Section one that the Denver City Council hereby recognizes recognizes Denver Metro Fair Housing Center for their work. Thank you. To promote their housing choice and to eliminate barriers to housing opportunity. Section two. That Denver City Council shares the vision. Of equal housing opportunities for all residents and the city and county of Denver and hereby joins the national celebration of Reclaim in 2014 as Fair Housing Month. Section three of the clerk in the city of the County of Denver Show attests and affixed a seal of the city and county of Denver to this proclamation that the copy be transmitted to the Denver Metro Fair Housing Center. Thank you. Councilman wrote Share Motion to Adopt. Thank you, Madam President. Move that proclamation to 46. Be adopted. Second, it has been moved and seconded. Comments by counsel. Councilman Brooks. Yeah, thank you, Madam President. This is. It brings me great joy to bring this proclamation forward. And we're going to take a walk, a stroll down memory lane for my younger council colleagues. That's a joke. I'm the youngest I'm the youngest council person up here. Not that funny, but oh. The impetus for the Fair Housing for Housing Act started in 1966 with the Chicago Housing Movement. And as you know, during this time and it's such an incredible time to be alive, my mom tells me. But King Martin Luther King was an incredible part of this movement. Well, two years later, on April 4th, he died. And the nation who was fighting so hard for civil rights went from peaceful marches to we going to burn this down. And April 5th was not a peaceful day in our country. And luckily, because of prudent President Johnson, he decided to call the House of Representatives and say, we need to do something. We need to do something quick and tender. And five days later, April 10th, they passed the Fair Housing Act for our country, which is an incredible way to get this passed. But sometimes you've got to go by force. I'm excited that our country passed something so incredible, but I'm disheartened to find out the state that we live in today, where 91% of Latinos, nine out of ten who go to rent a housing project will be discriminated against. Six out of ten or 7% of African-Americans will be discriminated against. Seven out of ten of individuals who have children will be discriminated against. There was a report recently about losing ground and and talking about since the civil rights movements, how we have lost ground as a country, but specifically African-Americans and Latinos. And I think that is one of the most important reasons I brought this forward today, is to begin to proclaim what was good and what was right and what was just in this country. And to say, you know what, we will not handle that in Denver. We will set standards that will be different. We will not play those games. And as a council begin to agree that this is not something that we will stand for. And so, you know, on behalf of this council and all of the advocates in the city, we stand behind this proclamation. And we hope that there are apartment complexes. We hope that there are housing regulators who are looking at this and say, you know what? We will not let this stand any longer as well and make sure that they're changing policies within their business and within their organization. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Councilman Brooks, Councilwoman Kennish. Thank you, Madam President. And thank you to my colleague for sponsoring this proclamation. It reminds me a little bit of the conversation we had regarding the disadvantaged business ordinance in terms of whether or not there are still barriers that individuals of color, in some cases women face in our society. And in my comments from then, I'm just going to repeat briefly today, which is that it's not that we don't have explicit racism that certainly still exists, but more pervasive is probably unconscious discrimination. So to potential renters come to see my apartment and I just feel more comfortable maybe with the one who looks like me or I just feel more drawn. And so I think it is the next and the last vestiges of of these kinds of discrimination that we are going to have to tackle. And I think the way to do that is really by having a lot of conversation with apartment owners and others about the unconscious ways that those. Kinds of thoughts and feelings come into our decision making. And so we really need to make sure that we're partnering with the Apartment Association and others to really have that conversation directly with the folks who lend and who let housing to make sure that we are really helping folks to identify the ways that these systems. And that's what they are. Right. Still operate in our in our unconscious minds and in our decision making so that we don't have the kinds of numbers that Councilman Brooks described. So I'm supportive and committed to those kinds of conversations. And if there are other ways that we can take that conversation, you know, to the housing providers to help to make that a reality, I'm certainly volunteering my time to to be a part of that effort. Thank you very much. Thank you, Councilwoman. Councilwoman Ortega. Thank you, Rona. President, first of all, I want to thank Councilman Brooks for bringing this forward. I want to ask that my name be added. I have spent the last 30 years of my life serving on the board of a nonprofit housing development organization whose mission is doing nothing but affordable housing for people who are struggling and challenged to be able to take advantage of the American dream that I think many of us strive for in this city. It is critical that we have an adopted housing plan so that we have clear policy that sets direction for the development community. And tied to that, we have to have dedicated resources that assist in ensuring that we're able to create affordable housing. I commend the administration for having put some money in the 2014 budget for affordable housing, but we need to do that on an ongoing basis to be able to ensure that we have the ability to allow people who want to live in the city to be able to do so. You all know how expensive housing in Denver has become. In my neighborhood, you can't touch anything anymore for less than half a million dollars, which is unheard of in northwest Denver. So I just hope that tonight, the same way we support fair housing, that we will allow the same opportunity of fairness for people to be able to have a voice when we deal with the next proclamation that we'll talk also about various segments of the civil rights effort. So I will be supporting this proclamation tonight. Thank you. Thank you. Councilman Ortega. Councilman Lopez. Thank you, Madam President. I think Councilman Ortega really took some of the words out of my mouth and I and it feels good because first, I want to thank Councilman Brooks for bringing this forward. And some of the folks that are involved in fair housing on the ground level and in the trenches are here in the in the audience. I want to salute you guys for the work that you do. Hopefully one day this council won't be voting on a proclamation, but will be voting on ordinances that ensure fair housing. I think it's it's a sad day knowing that just a few years ago, so many people of color were losing their homes. When you look at the foreclosures and you look at the roles and who is losing their homes in northeast Denver and in West End Room, it was a lot of people of color. And are they buying back those homes? No. For most of the home sales that are going on, they're not people in color. They lose their home, they lose their status and they lose their residency in this city. And we've seen that because the census data has shown that that's true, that once a minority majority city is now not. And is it because of all that's just the way it is or is because of lack of fair housing opportunity, responsibility, ordinances, policies in some of the areas in Westwood and in Barnum and V Park on the West Side. You can't get a two bedroom for under $1,000. And if you do, the doors don't lock, the windows don't shut. There's a specialist on the floor that has not been taken care of. How do I know this? Because I was in the market for a home. I was a renter two years ago. And going through that process really opened my eyes again. All my life, we had rented. My parents, my family still around the home and. And the different places we would go. We face the same kind of situation. I had to unfortunately revisit that situation. And in looking at places to live, you know. There was clear violations, health and safety that should not you know, that should be addressed. And there was clear lack of responsibility by some of the renters. I mean, some of the landlords or even when you went to go buy a home. Right. There was a clear slide that she would get. And it was I almost felt like an inspector because every time I would visit it and I'd find out about these things, I'd go turn them in after that, because I'm a councilman . They don't know that, but I do. Right. And so because these see, these shouldn't exist, the standard of living should not exist in our city. And we need to have enforcement to make sure that these that these federal laws and state laws and habit warrant availability laws are also enforced. That's fair housing. And, you know, it's one it's so I love being able to to celebrate this and say, hey, guys, let's let's make sure that there's no discrimination in housing. Let's make sure that these are values that we that we get behind. I mean, absolutely support this proclamation wholeheartedly. I want to take this further. Denver has not passed a housing plan yet. We still block out affordable housing. We still back when we talk about things like that, small, like anything with the with the public public sector meddling with the private sector business. Right. I think we have to take it a step further. There is other cities and municipalities that have that have protected the the weak in their city. And folks that do not have with ordinances that prohibit any kind of discrimination like this or that go even further and ensure that there are units available. So I you know, my hat's off to Councilman Brooks for for sponsoring this proclamation. I look forward to seeing some ordinances in the near future. Thank you. Thank you. Councilman Lopez. Councilwoman Monteiro. Thank you, Madam President. I just mentioned earlier in 1988, the Federal Fair Housing Act was amended to include protections for families and for children. Yet, according to the audit results that were talked about, the Denver Metro Fair Housing Center, families with children can expect to encounter discrimination in their housing search. 73% of the time, when people experience illegal housing discrimination, it is not only their right to live where they choose. It also affects access to quality housing. And it provides it lacks access to quality education, employment opportunities, fresh food shopping, recreation, public service, public services, and the opportunity to live in an integrated society. I also support this proclamation that is very timely. Last Friday we had a retreat, all of us Denver City Council members, and there was a vigorous conversation about affordable housing and how it's a priority for this body of decision makers. I also I also at this point want to mention that I've been very fortunate to be able to work with organizations like New Said in Northeast Housing, Habitat for Humanity, del Norte, the the Denver Housing Authority. And most recently, there was a press conference and a colossal effort to implement the Neighborhood Lift Project. So I also support this, and by no means in my acquiescing that we have little work to do. We have a lot of work to do. But thank you, Councilman Brooks, for bringing this to our attention. And thank you for all of the providers that are in the trenches every day. Thank you, Madam President. Thank you, Councilwoman Monteiro. Councilwoman Sheperd. Thank you, Madam President. I also would like to offer my thanks to Councilman Brooks for bringing this forward. I think my comments my colleagues have made many excellent comments tonight, so I don't really feel the need to repeat those. But I would like to communicate to Madam Secretary, by the way. Very nice to see you, Kelly. Welcome back to enter my name in the record as a co-sponsor of this as well. Thank you. Thank you, Councilwoman Shephard. I also want to thank Councilman Brooks for bringing this forward. When I was a graduate student in Denver a lot of years ago, about 1970, I had an African-American friend who went to an apartment house next to mine and looking for a place. And they said it was already rented. And I said, let me go and ask that same question. And sure enough, it wasn't rented when I asked for it and we turned him in. But one would hope that that would be ancient history. And it. Makes me very sad that we're still facing those sorts of things. And I'm glad that you brought this forward, that we bring it to light. I'm glad for the people who are working so hard on this. I think people need to know how prevalent this is, when it should have been behind us many years ago. Thank you again. I see that my name isn't on here either, but I'd like to add my name to that. Okay. I think we're ready for the vote. Madam secretary. Brooks brown, fox. I. Herndon. Can each i. Lehman. Lopez. Montero. Nevitt. Ortega. Rob Shepherd. Madam President, I. Councilman Herndon, Fats and Lopez. The friends or I should. That's an issue. Here. You've got a screen issue. I bet you voted either. Yes, Madam Secretary, close the voting. Announce the results. 13 eyes. 13 eyes. The proclamation passes. Councilman Brooks, is there somebody you'd like to invite up to the podium? Well, there's a lot. This has been said by a couple of councilmembers. There's a lot of folks in the audience who've done some great work in the housing community. But I'll just call up a couple. Leslie Lewis and Arturo Alvarado. Thank you, Madam President. My name is Leslie Lewis, and I co-chair the Denver African-American Commission. The commission would like to thank council members and each council member for sponsoring the Fair Housing Proclamation. As you know, our commission, a part of our. Mission, is to be an advocate for our community. The commission serves as a bridge. Between the African American Commission and policymakers and engages in responsible activism for the community. After reading the Housing Discrimination Report, the Commission knew we had to bring more awareness to this issue. We understand that many Denver citizens are facing challenges with housing discrimination, yet many still are not aware of where they can. Where their rights are. How to fight it. And some aren't even aware that they're being discriminated against. To bring more awareness to the housing discrimination and recognizing April as Fair Housing Month, the Commission has collaborated with the Denver Metro Fair Housing Center and Denver Anti-Discrimination Office to bring more awareness through providing public service announcement posters at local libraries, recreation centers and our local neighborhood newspapers, such as the Five Points News. Our goal is to make sure. All of our citizens who experience or excuse me, any citizen who experiences discrimination know where to find help. We will continue to shed light on this issue. Thank you. Good evening. My name's Arturo Alvarado. I'm the executive director of the Denver Metro Fair Housing Center. The Denver Metro Fair Housing Center opened in October of 2012, and on behalf of our the DMF Agency Board of Directors and Staff present today a great mekonnen who's our board president. Board members Veronica Barela and Pastor Robert Martin. And one of our staff members, Kate Quillen, who's a fair housing specialist. We would like to thank Councilman Elvis Brooks, the Darius Smith with the Antidiscrimination Office, Debra Bottle Sin and the mayor's African-American commission for working together to bring this proclamation forward to the council. Further, thank you, Councilman Elvis Burks, for sponsoring the bill and all the co-sponsors and the full council for recognizing the valued work the Denver Metro Fair Housing Center performs to help all communities become more inclusive and joining in the national celebration of Fair Housing Month. It is our hope that our work brings about awareness in the community, about fair housing rights and responsibilities, and the value of integrated communities that are reports and information shared with the public can be used as tools to guide discussion and public policy. The FHC works to eliminate housing discrimination and promote housing choice for all people. The Denver Metro Fair Housing Center looks forward to working with the city and county, city and county of Denver, the mayor's African-American Commission and the anti-discrimination office and as well as the community as a whole to achieve these goals. Please remember the fair housing is a right that we all share and that we all should use. Thank you for your time. Thank you very much. Councilman Brooks, you had a comment. You know, I just wanted to I know Arturo mentioned some of the individuals who've been helping out. But if you have been standing in the gap for those who have been disfranchized for fair housing, can you can you just stand up and be recognized?