OHRC hosting fair housing informational session

Christie Netherton, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

Apr. 16—The Owensboro Human Relations Commission will host a virtual training session on fair housing on Friday, April 16, for Fair Housing Month.

The session, titled, "Fair Housing is your Right!" will help attendees look at what fair housing means to them and how they can protect their rights.

OHRC Executive Director Jaklyn Hill said the session will provide information about fair housing laws put into place by the Kentucky Fair Housing Act, which prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, familial status, disability, age and more.

"A lot of different things go into play when you're looking for a home," she said. "In the training that we're doing, we will learn about all (the laws that) people have to follow and what all these laws mean."

An example of housing discrimination, according to Hill, is redlining, which is pushing individuals or families of a certain demographic to specific neighborhoods or housing, even if their price range covers housing in various other neighborhoods.

Hill also mentioned other types of discrimination in which individuals might not even realize they are being discriminated against.

"One example that I have used is let's say someone is trying to do what's best and this person owns a large rental property that has multiple different buildings on it and they ... try to keep the kids all near the park," she said. "Although that can seem like a perfectly fine idea, technically, that falls under discrimination laws."

The training, she said, will be for individuals looking to buy or rent homes, as well as those looking to sell or rent property.

"I think knowledge is the key to anything, especially when it comes to protecting yourself and your family, and if people don't know that these things pertain to them and they are things they can work against, they may not know that they're being discriminated against," she said. "We have this training so that we can educate people and let them know they can come to us."

Hill said anyone with questions regarding fair housing rights can contact OHRC for more information, advice or resources.

The virtual fair housing session will be hosted through Zoom at 6 p.m. Friday. Links to the online session can be viewed on the "Fair Housing is Your Right!" event page on Facebook.

Christie Netherton, cnetherton@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7360