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the entire policy.
1.0 Nondiscrimination
It is
the policy of the Housing Authority to fully comply with Title VI
of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title VIII and Section 3 of the
Civil Rights Act of 1968 (as amended), Executive Order 11063, Section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Age Discrimination Act
of 1975, and any legislation protecting the individual rights of
residents, applicants or staff which may be subsequently enacted.
The Housing
Authority shall not discriminate because of race, color, sex, religion,
familial status (in non-elderly designated housing), disability,
handicap or national origin in the leasing, rental, or other disposition
of housing or related facilities, including land, included in any
development or developments under its jurisdiction.
The Housing
Authority shall not take any of the following actions on account
of race, color, sex, religion, familial status, disability, handicap,
or national origin:
A.
Deny to any family the opportunity to apply for housing, nor deny
to any eligible applicant the opportunity to lease housing suitable
to its needs.
B.
Provide housing which is different than that provided others.
C.
Subject a person to segregation or disparate treatment.
D.
Restrict a person's access to any benefit enjoyed by others in
connection with any program operated by the Housing Authority.
E.
Treat a person differently in determining eligibility or other
requirements for admission.
F.
Deny a person access to the same level of services.
G.
Deny a person the opportunity to participate in a planning or
advisory group which is an integral part of the public housing
or tenant-based housing programs.
The Housing
Authority shall not automatically deny admission to a particular
group or category of otherwise eligible applicants (e.g., families
with children born to unmarried parents or with elderly pet owners).
Each applicant in a particular group or category will be treated
on an individual basis in the normal processing routine.
The Housing
Authority will seek to identify and eliminate situations or procedures
that create a barrier to equal housing opportunity for all. In accordance
with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, the Housing
Authority will make such physical or procedural changes as will
reasonably accommodate people with disabilities.
Housing
Authority records with respect to applications for admission shall
indicate for each application the date of receipt; the determination
of eligibility or non-eligibility; the preference rating, if any;
and the date, location, identification, and circumstances of each
vacancy offered and whether that vacancy was accepted or rejected.
2.0 Affirmative Marketing
As conditions
may require, the Housing Authority will post notices of housing
availability in particular neighborhoods or developments to encourage
fuller participation. The Housing Authority may issue public announcements
of availability to encourage applications for assistance. Among
the marketing efforts the Housing Authority may engage in depending
on the situation are the following:
A.
Send informational spots to local media outlets such as radio
stations, cable TV, newspapers, or other periodicals for broadcast
or publication;
B.
Conduct special outreaches to minorities, persons with disabilities
and very low-income families;
C.
Distribute pamphlets and brochures;
D.
Post notices in places of employment, unemployment offices, welfare
offices, post offices, grocery stores, churches, community halls,
buses and other public transportation centers.
E.
Outreach to organizations which assist people with disabilities,
the elderly, students, immigrants, homeless people and victims
of domestic violence.
The Housing
Authority will monitor the benefits received, as a result of the
above activities, and will increase or decrease the outreach activities
accordingly.
To reach
minority groups, it may be necessary to canvas neighborhoods or
make mass mailings to areas with a heavy concentration of minority
citizens. If language is a problem, brochures may be printed in
Spanish, Vietnamese, Arabic or other languages as required.
3.0 Operations
In order
to further the objectives of nondiscrimination the Housing Authority
shall:
A.
Include in the admissions briefings for all Housing Authority
programs a section on compliance with Civil Rights laws. The briefing
shall carefully explain to all participants what should be done
if they believe they have been discriminated against.
B.
Prominently display a Fair Housing poster in every development
office owned by the Housing Authority and in the Housing Authority's
main office.
C.
Use the Equal Housing Opportunity logo and/or statement in all
advertising and in all marketing publications on behalf of the
Housing Authority. The Housing Authority shall be particularly
conscious of human models used in its publications so as to avoid
signaling any sense of discrimination.
D.
The Housing Authority shall maintain a TDD machine or an acceptable
alternative for the use of the hearing impaired.
E.
As many publications as feasible shall be printed in both English
and Spanish or any other language commonly spoken in the locality.
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