We Can All Help with Fair Housing Practices

Guest Opinion

By Yarrow Brown | April 22, 2023

April is Fair Housing Month and offers an opportunity to provide insight into the importance of fair housing practices. As we welcome back the tourists and seasonal residents this spring, I am reminded of those of us who survived another winter, and I think about those who are losing their shelter or being displaced. I also think about those who experience housing insecurity.

I first moved to Leelanau County in 2008—single, with a dog and a year-round job. I was impressed by how friendly and welcoming everyone was. I also arrived here just in time to find a place to rent before I started my job at the Leelanau Conservancy. I was lucky: I was 15 minutes from work, had a roof over my head, and a place for my dog to run. There were not many options back then, maybe two or three, but there was also not a lot of competition. Now, there are even fewer options and waitlists that span years.

I believe we are part of a community that cares about its people and welcomes everyone. Yet I know many of us resist change and, often if we are comfortably housed, are unaware of how many struggle to find housing.

It will take all of us to change how we look at housing’s role in our communities and the role of local agencies in creating local solutions. Housing for all is necessary infrastructure. It’s critical to our health, to our local business’ health, and to our mental health to have a safe, secure home.

So what do I mean by “fair housing?” Fair housing is the right to choose housing free from unlawful discrimination. In our region, the Fair Housing Center of West Michigan (FHCWM) is a private, nonprofit organization committed to providing comprehensive fair housing services, including education, outreach, research, advocacy, and enforcement. They are the front door to housing choice, ensuring that everyone in our community has equal opportunity to choose housing that’s right for them.

Currently, the FHCWM serves 12 counties in western Michigan including Grand Traverse. We’re fortunate to have its staff active in our community and offering their services and expertise in northwest Michigan. As someone who sits on the board of FHCWM, I believe fair housing is the key to all people having the roof they want over their heads.

There are also federal, state, and local laws designed to protect people from discrimination in housing transactions such as rentals, sales, lending, and insurance. Those laws protect all individuals seeking housing, including renters, homebuyers, persons obtaining a mortgage or homeowners insurance, and others.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing because of the following list of “protected classes”: race, color, religion, national origin, gender (including sexual orientation and gender identity), disability, or familial status (presence of children under the age of 18 and pregnancy).

The Michigan Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act extends the protections afforded by the Fair Housing Act and further prohibits discrimination in housing because of marital status or age. In March of 2023, Gov. Whitmer signed an expansion of the Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act into law; it now includes sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression as being protected from discrimination under the law.

The Federal Fair Housing Act was not officially enacted until April 11, 1968. It came only after a long and difficult journey and was pushed through by President Johnson after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. It was in response to a lot of civil unrest and calls to action.

However, it was President Nixon who had the power to appoint the first officials administering the act. Nixon appointed Michigan’s governor at the time, George Romney, as the first Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

While serving as governor, Secretary Romney successfully campaigned for ratification of a state constitutional provision that prohibited discrimination in housing. He had some innovative ideas, including proposing an “Open Communities” program. Romney believed the impact of concentrated poverty and racial segregation “in the central cities extends beyond the city boundaries to include the surrounding communities,” and “[t]o solve the problems of the ‘real city’ only metropolitan-wide solutions will do.”

I’d like to think that he was forward thinking and looking at ways we could bring more urban tools to even rural environments, as well as looking at ways to encourage racial and economic integration.

Fair housing practices help people understand what it means to be a welcoming and vibrant neighborhood and community. When people feel welcomed, they make themselves at home. They invest their resources back into their community, which makes it an attractive place for diverse and talented people to come. Fair housing also plants seeds for economic development, talent retention, and more in our community.

Equal access to housing goes hand in hand with quality of life.

Yarrow Brown is the executive director of Housing North, a 10-county housing agency serving northwest Michigan.