Nonprofit Housing Roundtable

Meeting Minutes from June 27, 2001 Meeting

Agenda Item 1 - Approval of Minutes

Minutes unanimously approved.

Agenda Item 2 - Central Florida Legal Services (Joan Bova)

• The U.S. Department of HUD is supporting fair housing initiatives for this organization for a period of eight months. Joan was hired to oversee this effort.
• Fair housing first started in 1866.
• In 1988, language was added to distinguish two different separate groups. Discrimination could not take place regarding family status, which was families with children or pregnant women. The second group was disabled.
• A discrimination complaint could only be filed under one of seven protected categories (such as, race, age, sex, etc.). State and local areas can add additional protected categories.
• Some of the discrimination issues involving apartments have had to deal with accessible space, age limits on pools, and not allowing animals for people who need these.

Agenda Item 3 -Miscellaneous Items

• Orange County is now using local nonprofits to purchase properties that have gone into foreclosure. These single family will then be turned around and resold.
• The County will be issuing a RFP for $98,000 for homebuyer counseling services. They anticipate that this will be out in thirty days.
• The County has been supportive of housing for persons with disabilities. Most recently, they funded the Center for Independent Living in the amount of $19,000.

This concludes the end of the meeting minutes. The next meeting will be held Wednesday, July 25th, 2001, at 8:30 am, at Orlando City Hall.

The Roundtable is pleased to have two speakers for this month's meeting. Ms. Anderson will be addressing the Roundtable on the programs/services offered at the Coalition for the Homeless in Orlando. This organization has always been know for its innovative approaches to homeless issues and it will be interesting to hear how they are tackling these issues. We are also pleased to have Ms. Evans Thurman from Demetree Builders address the Roundtable. Demetree has been one of the most consistent and committed private sector builders to construct affordable housing over the past ten years. Ms. Evans Thurman will be discussing all that Demetree has ongoing, as well as some recent trends happening within the industry.