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WISCONSIN
FAIR
HOUSING
NETWORK

4801 Forest Run Road ¨ Suite 201
¨ Madison, WI 53704-7337
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
Dan
Stotmeister 414-297-3214 x8304
Statewide
Fair Housing Awards Presented in Honor of April as Fair Housing Month
The Wisconsin
Fair Housing Network, a coalition of representatives of public and private
organizations and agencies dedicated to the promotion of fair housing
throughout the state, presented its 2010 Fair Housing Awards. The awards
were presented at the Fair Housing Update & Awards Luncheon Program on April
23, 2010 at the Country Springs Hotel and Conference Center in Waukesha,
Wisconsin.
The
Partnership Fair Housing Award was presented to the Ho-Chunk Housing
and Community Development Agency in Tomah and the Neighborhood
Housing Services of Richland County in Richland Center. These
two organizations combined their efforts to address housing needs of Native
Americans. Native Americans have been underserved by the private financial
services industry and underrepresented as homeowners in the south and west
central rural areas of Wisconsin where these partners work. As partners,
the Ho-Chunk Housing and Community Development Agency and the Neighborhood
Housing Services of Richland County worked with lenders on issues of
trust-land status and creditworthiness that have interfered with Native
American mortgage borrowing. In an area that is 98% white, they jointly
sponsored a Homebuyer Seminar program last year that graduated 20 Native
Americans. To insure future success in mortgage lending, they established an
in-house Community Development Financial Institution and incorporated down
payment assistance in their homebuyers program. The partnership resulted in
recruitment and training of Native Americans as peer housing counselors to
further increase and enhance successful homeownership by Native Americans.
They are currently placing their collaboration into a model to be shared
with other Wisconsin tribes, other Neighborhood Housing Services, rural
housing nonprofits, lenders, foundations and others to eliminate barriers to
housing choice beyond their borders.
The
Individual Professional Fair Housing Award was presented to
Terry Testolin, Executive Director, Neighborhood Housing Services
of Richland County in Richland Center. Mr. Testolin was recognized
for his efforts to address barriers to fair housing choice in his
organizations mission to succeed. Recognizing that Native Americans are
underrepresented as homeowners and underserved by private lenders, he
approached the Ho-Chunk Housing and Community Development Agency about
establishing a partnership to address this issue. Mr. Testolin secured the
grant that enabled the partnership to train Native Americans as housing
counselors. It was his initiative that led to a $40,000 set-aside from
Neighbor Works to be used for collaborative Ho-Chunk Housing and Community
Development Neighborhood Stabilization projects. He has been instrumental
in involving the Ho-Chunk Nation in broad area events to make featured
presentations about Ho-Chunk and Native American culture to reduce racial
bias and misunderstanding that can often result in housing discrimination.
He furthermore has been promoting fair housing opportunities for persons of
all races, incomes and backgrounds for 20 years through Neighborhood Housing
Services of Richland County. Mr. Testolins efforts have led to increases
in homeownership not only by Native Americans but also by persons of
Hispanic origin and persons with disabilities.
 
An
Organization Fair Housing Award was presented to the Fatherhood
Initiative in Beloit. The Fatherhood Initiative was
recognized for addressing a missing piece in the puzzle by securing housing
choice for an often overlooked segment of our society; at-risk fathers, many
of whom have been incarcerated or are men of color. The organization
recognized that these individuals are likely to experience housing
discrimination in the community of Beloit where it operates. The Fatherhood
Initiative provides a holistic approach in providing the men with parenting
skills, employment training, financial management and supportive services
directed toward enhancing their self-esteem and family relationships. The
organization perceives housing as integral to providing a stable environment
for the men and their families and provides them with specific housing
training. The organization has been successful in convincing local landlords
who might otherwise deny housing to these men, to rent to participants of
its program. In the last year alone, it has obtained stable housing for 31
participants.
An
Organization Fair Housing Award was presented to Housing Resources,
Incorporated (HRI) in Milwaukee. Housing Resources, Inc. was
founded over 20 years ago to address gaps in homeownership among
underrepresented groups. HRI has therefore targeted its free homebuyer
education and counseling programs in Metropolitan Milwaukee to persons of
color, single heads of households and persons with disabilities, among
others. Its client base is 88% minority and 62% female headed households.
To address cultural and language barriers that exist in a community as
diverse as Milwaukee, the organizations staff is also culturally diverse.
They provide written materials in English, Spanish, Lao, Thai and Hmong.
HRI has assisted more homebuyers and homeowners of color than any other
agency in Milwaukee and recently made modifications to its offices to
increase accessibility to persons with mobility disabilities. HRI was one of
the first to provide post purchase and foreclosure prevention services.
Recognizing the impact of home abandonment and foreclosures on neighborhoods
that were mostly minority occupied, HRI developed a model for turning
foreclosed property to owner-occupied homes resulting in 187 loans and
$17,627,000 worth of investment in these neighborhoods.
An Individual Volunteer Fair Housing
Award was presented to Gregg Shimanski of Madison. Mr.
Shimanski is a landlord who recognizes the benefits that housing choice
plays in low-income families overall success in achieving educational and
employment opportunities. The percentages of Housing Choice Voucher
participants who are minorities or persons with disabilities are higher than
their overall proportion within in the areas population. Mr. Shimanski
became aware that many such housing choice voucher participants lost their
assistance because other landlords would not participate in the program. As
a volunteer he successfully worked with the local apartment association, the
City of Madison and Dane County to have housing voucher assistance status
become recognized locally as a basis for protection from discrimination in
housing. He made it his mission to educate other landlords about the
advantages of having housing voucher tenants. As a result, more than 100 new
landlords participate in the voucher program in Madison and Dane County,
which greatly increased voucher utilization. Mr. Shimanski has also been
instrumental in securing development funds to improve the quality of life in
a Madison minority area that has been experiencing blight.
An Individual Volunteer Fair Housing
Award was presented to Larry Gleasman of Madison. Mr. Gleasman
was recognized for his continued volunteer efforts since his retirement from
the real estate profession six years ago. He is one of the most active
volunteers on the Affordable Housing and Equal Opportunity Committee of the
REALTORS Association of South Central Wisconsin and the Equal Opportunity
Committee of the Wisconsin REALTORS Association. For many years Mr. Gleasman
has contributed to their efforts to increase the number of minorities as
real estate professionals and as members of REALTORS Associations. He has
served as a leader in the planning of the Home Buyers Fairs, sponsored by
the local REALTORS Association, which have reached several thousand
potential new homeowners of all races and ethnic backgrounds. He also
volunteers his time for Habitat for Humanity to fix and build affordable
homes for low income families. He sincerely believes that barriers to
affordable housing are also barriers to fair housing and has oft been noted
to say there can be no fair housing without affordable housing. Mr.
Gleasman also serves as the co-Chairperson of the Wisconsin Fair Housing
Network.
A
Special Recognition Fair Housing Award was presented, in memoriam, to
Anthony Brown, Sr., of Madison, who recently passed away. Mr.
Brown was a champion for civil rights and initiated many firsts in striving
for equality. He served for many years as the head of the Madison Equal
Opportunities Commission where he led the citys effort to fight housing and
employment discrimination. His work in the investigation of racial profiling
led to the formation of the Task Force on Race Relations. During his
employment with the Wisconsin Housing and Economic Development Authority Mr.
Brown addressed barriers encountered by African-Americans in their attempt
to purchase a home, increased their homeownership rate in his regions, and
advanced the cause of housing integration. He served many years on the
Wisconsin Fair Housing Networks Conference Planning Committee, marketed the
events, obtained speakers and performed master of ceremony duties. Anthony
Browns wife, Brenda Brown, and his son Anthony Brown, Jr.,
accepted this award in honor of his life and his contributions to further
fair housing in Wisconsin.
A Special Recognition Fair Housing
Award was presented to Marti Wilson of Madison for her
efforts to further fair housing on behalf of the Network and the State of
Wisconsin. Ms Wilson helped administer the States Community Development
Block Grant Program within the Division of Housing and Community
Development, a position from which she recently retired. Marti was
instrumental in seeing that the communities that the State funded with its
Community Development program received training and undertook activities to
further fair housing in their respective communities. Ms. Wilson used her
influence to have the Wisconsin Department of Commerce take the lead role in
coordinating the Wisconsin Fair Housing Networks annual statewide Fair
Housing Poster and Essay Contest. She encouraged many of Wisconsins
non-metropolitan communities to participate in this program, thereby
spreading the fair housing message to school-age children who then
demonstrate their artistic or writing talents to reflect what they have
learned. Ms. Wilson often served as a contest judge and has been the very
entertaining Mistress of Ceremonies at the annual statewide awards ceremony
for this contest, held in June at the State Capitol.
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PRESS
RELEASE:
November 9, 2009
Contact: Chelsea Bagot,
chelsea@nhsrcwi.org, 608-647-4949 x 301
NHS of Richland County Supports
Extension of Homebuyer Tax Credit
Urges Homebuyers to
Seek Homeownership Education Prior to Home Purchase
Neighborhood Housing
Services (NHS) of Richland County applauds the latest
decision by Congress and the Obama Administration to renew
the homebuyer tax credit and make the credit available to
both first-time homebuyers and repeat homeowners who have
lived in their homes for five years.
According to
the IRS, an eligible taxpayer who wishes
to obtain the credit must enter into a contract to purchase
a principal residence by April 30, 2010 and close on the
home by June 30, 2010. The tax credit can then be
claimed on either their 2009 or 2010 return. The income
limits have also been raised under the new law.
Regardless of whether you are a
first-time homebuyer or an existing homeowner ready to make
your next home purchase, NHS urges all homebuyers in
Southwest Wisconsin to seek homebuyer education from a
HUD-approved nonprofit organization, like NHS of Richland
County before purchasing a home.
Participation in homebuyer education
helps families determine if they are ready for
homeownership. In a homebuyer education seminar, potential
homebuyers will:
- Assess their financial situation and determine if
their financial house is in order;
- Decide how much home they can afford, in terms of
both cost and size;
- Understand responsible home financing and which loan
products are most appropriate for them;
- Learn how to adequately maintain a home after
purchase.
For 26 years, NHS of Richland County, a local NeighborWorks
organization, has worked with hundreds of Southwest
Wisconsin homebuyers to help them achieve their dream of
long-term homeownership.
We have trained counselors on staff,
who are ready to assist families with one-on-one housing
counseling for both homeownership and foreclosure
mitigation. To find out more about our homebuyer education
seminars, or to schedule a counseling appointment, please
visit
www.nhsrcwi.org or call 647-4949.
Questions about the details of the Homebuyer Tax Credit
should be directed to your income tax preparer or the IRS at
www.irs.gov. |
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