Declaring the month of April, 2024, as Fair Housing Month.

WHEREAS: The Fair Housing Act, enacted on April 11, 1968, enshrined into federal law the goal of eliminating racial segregation and ending housing discrimination in the United States; and WHEREAS: The Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, familial status, national origin, and disability, and commits recipients of federal funding to affirmatively further fair housing in their communities; and WHEREAS: Somerville is committed to the mission to provide fair and equal housing opportunities for all; and WHEREAS: The Somerville City Council believes that our social fabric, economy, health, and environment are strengthened in diverse, inclusive communities; and WHEREAS: Somerville been a leader in expanding fair housing practices, including most recently by adding “family and relationship structure” as a protected class in order to support non-monogamous, polyamorous, multi-generational, and non-traditional people seeking to call our community home; and WHEREAS: The City Council recognizes that housing discrimination persists, including locally where current and would-be residents are unfairly denied the opportunity to find shelter for themselves and their families, more than fifty years after the passage of the Fair Housing Act; and WHEREAS: The City Council believes that institutional barriers to equal housing opportunities as well as acts of housing discrimination are repugnant, not aligned with the values of our community, and must be actively worked against; NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED: That the City Council of Somerville does hereby declare the month of April, 2024, as Fair Housing Month in Somerville, and urge this Council and City to redouble our efforts to spread awareness about fair housing rights, including how to report fair housing violations, and to ensure all public and private entities provide equal housing opportunities for all residents and prospective residents of Somerville.