JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Housing is a major concern in Jacksonville, with a lack of affordable housing and issues around fair housing.
Several local groups are trying to tackle the issue head-on.
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid is one of those groups and will now receive $425,000 from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for investigations.
Six Florida housing organizations will get nearly $2.5 million from HUD, part of a national effort to promote fair housing and end discrimination.
The group is now looking at LaVilla in downtown Jacksonville. There is a lot of history there, but that history includes discrimination in the past by the government when it comes to housing and who can live where.
Jacksonville Area Legal Aid is now trying to learn about that history and hopes to make changes.
“We know that the way our city looks today is the result of intentional government action that has lasted for decades. And if we want to have a different city, if we want to have a city that works for everybody, we’ve got to focus on the locations, we’ve got to focus on our history so that we can change our future,” said Jim Kowalski with Jacksonville Area Legal Aid.
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Kowalski said the money from HUD will fund investigative work and litigation when cases go to court.
News4JAX has been hearing horror stories from people who had housing but became homeless due to various circumstances.
“People are being evicted, people are being locked out of their homes, and people are being priced out of their homes in just, you know, countless, countless measures,” said Suzanne Garrow with Jacksonville Legal Aid. “The other thing that people don’t realize about it is that an eviction case can be filed against you wrongly. And so once you have an eviction filing on your record, what happens then is that that goes with you forever, essentially, in Duval County and you can’t rent a home.”
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This all comes down to those who need help with housing.
News4JAX was at the Jacksonville Housing Authority office on Friday talking to clients like Shirl Williams who hopes these programs will do some good
This weekend the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission is hosting a fair housing expo where anyone can learn about housing issues and solutions.
“The biggest thing right now is just the question of affordable housing. We are absolutely in a housing crisis in the city,” said Jimmy Midyette, who works with the commission.
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The fair housing expo is free and will be held at the Southbank Hotel next to the school board building from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The city asks that you preregister but it’s not necessary.