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"The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded a grant Wednesday to the Metropolitan Fair Housing Council of Oklahoma for $324,479, in what it called an effort to reduce housing discrimination. The funding is part of $38.3 million HUD awarded to 95 fair housing organizations and other nonprofit agencies in 38 states.Funded through HUD\u2019s Fair Housing Initiatives Program, the grants are intended to help enforce the Fair Housing Act through investigation and testing of alleged discriminatory practices. In addition, the funds will be used to educate housing providers, local governments and potential victims of housing discrimination about their rights and responsibilities under the Fair Housing Act.\u201CEnding housing discrimination requires that we support the law of the land and protect the housing rights of individuals and families who would be denied those rights,\u201D stated HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. \u201CEnsuring and promoting Fair Housing practices lies at the core of HUD\u2019s mission, and these grants enable community groups all over the nation to help families who are denied equal access to housing. \"\u201CNo one should be denied the opportunity to live where they want because of how they look, their faith, whether they have children or because they have a disability,\" said Tammye Trevi\u00F1o, regional administrator. \"These grants will help us continue our efforts to educate the public and housing industry about their housing rights and responsibilities.\u201DThe Metropolitan Fair Housing Council of Oklahoma, Inc. said it will use its grant to expand MFHC\u2019s current statewide fair housing enforcement activities to increase complaint referrals to HUD using fair housing testing and other HUD-approved enforcement tools to gather evidence and investigate complaint-based and systemic complaints, including accessibility audits of covered, multi-family housing.MFHC also will partner with public and private organizations in Oklahoma to provide fair housing and fair lending education for low-and moderate-income persons, persons with disabilities, the LGBT community, veterans, the elderly, minorities, housing providers, faith-based communities, families with children, persons who are non-English speaking or have limited English proficiency and natural disaster victims.Crime footer"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.koco.com/article/hud-awards-324-479-to-oklahoma-council/4295278>