Last Thursday, I had the pleasure of attending the Fair Housing Center of Central Indiana‘s (FHCCI) Fifth Annual Fair Housing Conference & Anniversary Celebration at the Marriott East in Indianapolis. In full disclosure, I serve as Secretary of the FHCCI  Board, and helped found the organization. Nonetheless, I think everyone in attendance – and this year we set an all-time registration record – enjoyed the event.

This year’s theme was No Hate in Our Neighborhood: How Fair Housing Laws Combat Hate & Promote Inclusion. (The program’s design credit goes to Projects Coordinator Brady Ripperger.) It highlights both the fact that Indiana is one of only five states without a hate crime law and FHCCI recently received a large grant from the Open Society Foundations to form a coalition combating hatred.

Because of my professional interest, as well as serving as moderator at the first session, both of the breakout workshops I attended addressed fair housing and disability.  At the first session, Indiana Disability Rights’ Managing Attorney Tom Crishon and Relman Dane & Colfax’s Laura Arandes discussed case law/litigation updates from January 2016 to present. The most interesting part of their session, perhaps, came during the question and answer period, when landlords peppered them with questions about the reasonableness of accommodations. At the beginning of the session, Tom joked that perhaps the audience was so crowded due to settlement agreements requiring landlords to get continuing education about fair housing law. By the end of the session, the joke wasn’t so funny as intended.

Indiana Disability Rights was featured in the second disability-related workshop as well, this time by Legal Director Melissa Keyes. Melissa discussed changes required of home and community-based service providers under new rules promulgated by Medicaid. These rules include, for example, that recipients of services are entitled to a lease and a bedroom with a lockable door. Melissa’s co-presenter, Executive Director of HOPE Fair Housing Center Anne Houghtaling, spoke about how people with disabilities are often affected by landlords’ refusal to consider those with criminal records from rental opportunities. Interestingly, she also shared that she is the individual that wrote the original grant for FHCCI startup funding years ago!

The highlight of the conference (aside from getting surprised with a poster in front of the whole audience at lunch, in recognition for five years of service to the organization) was the morning keynote, delivered by Ise Lyfe. I’d heard him speak last summer, at the National Fair Housing Alliance Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. I can’t really explain how awesome his presentations are – they include things like mathematical poetry – and emphasize the importance of the individual, the importance of participation, and of course the importance of our work.

April is Fair Housing Month. If you’re looking for a way to get involved, consider donating to FHCCI, which provides education and enforcement activities regarding fair housing in Central Indiana. Given our commitment to making the conference accessible to those in the community, registration costs do not cover the full expense of the event. Your donation could help further our activities, including the conference.