The City of Oberlin Human Relations Commission hosted the Fair Housing Open House from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, April 24. The event was held in celebration of Fair Housing Month and took place at the Oberlin Enrichment and Activity Center. The event included a collaboration between the City of Oberlin’s Planning and Development department and several Oberlin and Northeast Ohio housing rights organizations, including the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research, Oberlin Community Land Trust, Breaking Chains Inc., POWER Oberlin, and Oberlin Community Services. 

Fair Housing Month is celebrated in April to mark the 1968 passage of the Fair Housing Act, which “prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of housing on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status, or disability,” according to literature distributed by the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research, a nonprofit dedicated to advocating for fair housing and directly assisting victims of housing discrimination.

Last Thursday marked the first time the Fair Housing Open House was held in Oberlin. The idea for the open house was first put forward after the formation of the Oberlin Human Relations Commission last year. Lydia Young, chair of the HRC, said in an interview with the Review that the main objective of the event was to raise awareness surrounding the different resources available for Oberlin community members. 

“I think that’s important, because I think people lose track of what the resources are out there for everyone,” she said. “I mean, we all know Oberlin Community Services, but there’s so many other resources that we can tap into.”

The HRC described the event as one where people could come and learn about “fair housing, financial literacy, homelessness, future housing projects, and [other] resources & services.” Human Relations Commission Staff Liaison Terri Richardson-Sanders, who played an active role in organizing the event, echoed that the City wanted homeowners and renters to come away better equipped to educate and advocate for themselves.

“If people are having trouble with paying bills, or they feel that they need more financial literacy — because your funding sources change, your job may change — we want people to stay up to date on information that can help them with their day-to-day needs,” she said. 

Organizations tabling at the event offered a wide variety of resources to attendees. The Fair Housing Center distributed “Know Your Rights” pamphlets to attendees, warning them of signs of housing discrimination against members of protected classes. They also offered a “fair housing reading list,” inviting readers of all ages to approach issues of discrimination and racism through titles ranging from The Berenstain Bears’ New Neighbors to The Color of Law. POWER Oberlin promoted their Home Efficiency Grant program, which allows them to cover 25–100 percent of the cost of home weatherization for “all Oberlin residents, including those who rent their homes.” The Oberlin Community Land Trust, a nonprofit making home ownership more affordable for low-income residents “by taking the land cost out of the purchase price of a home,” displayed a trifold poster tracing the history of the community land trust model back to the Civil Rights Movement. CLT representatives also spoke about the organization’s current initiatives, including converting the property of the vacant Eastwood Elementary School into affordable cooperative-style senior housing.

Young stated that the HRC is hopeful they can host the Fair Housing Open House as a yearly event, which would especially benefit Oberlin residents by helping them stay updated on changes to housing laws. 

“Change happens constantly with that, so we need to keep updated on those things and have a fresh perspective on the issues and the needs of the community,” she said. 

Multiple local businesses and organizations from the City of Oberlin also participated in the event, including Northwest Bank and the Salvation Army. Young explained that, by inviting multiple organizations from across Oberlin, HRC aimed to create a basis for community support. 

“There is a camaraderie among all of them, and it’s because they’re all there to help people,” Young said. “They were all very excited about showing up and sharing that information, even collaborating with the other agencies as someone that they can refer back between the two of them to make sure someone’s needs are getting serviced.”

Young also expressed a level of uncertainty surrounding the current administration’s pause on funding for certain agencies and grants. Despite court rulings requiring the government to release funds that had been earmarked for certain agencies, there are still delays, and many local government agencies have found themselves at an impasse when it comes to providing services and funding. According to Young, many local agencies are still moving forward with providing services to residents, enabled in part by donations. She also stated that many of the organizations are dedicated to providing services to the Oberlin community, and that they plan on banding together in the face of uncertainty in the future.

“I think right now, it is a fear of maybe what’s to come, and just being prepared that if it does come, how we’re going to band together to make sure people have the resources they need,” she said.