Memorandum

City of Lawrence

Human Relations Department

To:	Debbie Van Saun Asst. City Manager
From:	Michelle Smith Human Relations Specialist
cc:	Human Relations Commission
Date:	May 9, 2007
Re:	Summary of Fair Housing event activities

On April 27 and 28, the City of Lawrence celebrated Fair Housing month with two events:

· Seminar for Landlords, Owners, and Property Managers – April 27^th, Holidome

· Fair Housing Information Fair – April 28^th, Lawrence Arts Center

Both events were well attended and provided opportunities for members of the community to learn more about the topic of fair housing.

The keynote speaker at the April 27^th seminar was Steve Tomkowiak, a nationally recognized Fair Housing litigation expert.  His presentation on the Violence Against Women Act and the dynamics of domestic violence as relates to fair housing issues was informative and well-received by the seminar attendees.  Additional presentations at the seminar dealt with fair housing and the Americans with Disabilities Act, landlord/tenant mediation, legislative updates, and other topics of interest to landlords, owners, and property managers.  Of the nearly 80 seminar attendees, 45% responded to our satisfaction survey.  Of those responding, 91% indicated an overall rating of good or excellent for the quality of the seminar. 

A variety of organizations were represented at the Fair Housing Information Fair on April 28^th, including HUD, Tenants to Homeowners, Housing & Credit Counseling, Inc., Independence, Inc, Lawrence Housing Authority, Haskell Indian Nations University, Health Care Access, and City of Lawrence Fire/Medical, Police, and Neighborhood Resources departments.  Over 50 visitors to the fair received information or made contact with housing related specialists.

Expenses for the two day event totaled $12,653, with a majority of the funding provided by HUD grant funds.