Fair Housing Month

Each April the Fair Housing Project of CVOEO partners with housing providers, community organizations, libraries, and arts organizations across Vermont to honor the 1968 passage of the Fair Housing Act with education and outreach. We do this through public education series, neighborhood discussions, virtual panels and art events to raise awareness about housing discrimination in Vermont and the positive role that inclusive, affordable housing plays in thriving communities.

The April 1JUST ACTION Keynote event with authors Leah Rothstein & Richard Rothstein at Main Street Landing Performing Arts Center in Burlington was an inspirational way to kick off the 2024 Fair Housing Month.

⭐ Watch the recording here ⭐

We are grateful to CCTV Center for Media & Democracy for recording the event. Check out the video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw6qr8GYHjo and Learn more about Just Action: How to Challenge Segregation Enacted Under the Color of Law at https://www.justactionbook.org.

BIG THANKS to the 2024 event sponsors:

Here are a couple of recorded highlights from past years:

  • The 2023 Community Day of Action included compelling explanations about the connection between green space, equity, and a sense of community. You can watch the recording here.

  • Our Vocabulary of Home conversation at Contois highlighted the importance of talking about affordable housing from the lens of “home,” and the voices of the people who live there. CEDO joined us to talk about the stigma of homelessness, and how housing that meets the needs of our most vulnerable communities is essential for stable housing. You can watch that recording here.

  • We had another round of stellar Fair Housing Friday discussions, featuring voices of resident engagement coordinators, affordable housing residents, community artists, media makers and organizers, city planners, advocates- and more! These are out-of-the-box creative discussions about our housing needs, avenues for directly involving the people who we are housing, and how we think about home and community as a state. You can find those recordings, along with a archive of past Fair Housing Fridays, here.

Thank you for joining us for the 2023 Fair Housing events!

Be sure to check out our Heart & Home Community Art Project page to see all the wonderful submissions received. If you received a HeART & Home art kit, please email photos of your art to fhp@cvoeo.org to be added to the Community Art Gallery.

Miss an event you wish you could have attended? Check out our Events Page to see available recordings of Fair Housing Month events.

Fair Housing is the right to equal opportunity in housing choice and the right to rent, buy, finance, and live in a home free from discrimination or harassment.

The federal Fair Housing Act prohibits discrimination concerning the sale, rental, and financing of housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, and as amended, disability and family status. This also covers harassment, including sexual harassment.

Vermont has additional protections based on age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, receipt of public assistance, being a victim of domestic violence, sexual assault, or stalking, and denial of development permitting based on the income of prospective residents.

Read the April Fair Housing Month Proclamations by Mayor Miro Weinberger, Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger, and the Hinesburg Selectboard.

For more information about Fair Housing in Vermont, visit www.cvoeo.org/FHP.

To learn more about Thriving Communities: Building a Vibrant Inclusive Vermont, a statewide collaboration to raise awareness about the economic and social benefits of affordable, inclusive housing, visit www.thrivingcommunitiesvt.org 

Want to host a Fair Housing Month event in your community next April? Check out this list of ways to get involved! Email us at fhp(at)cvoeo.org to add your event to the Fair Housing Month calendar, or to co-host an event with CVOEO’s Fair Housing Project.

Attention businesses and organizations: You can join this important work and connect with a program dedicated to ending housing discrimination and supporting thriving communities! Reach out to learn how!