Month: February 2021

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is now looking at complaints and inquiries from the last year to see if they warrant further investigation.  Anyone that experienced discrimination in housing in 2020 can still take action to have their cases heard.

Complaints can be filed here: https://www.hud.gov/program_offices/fair_housing_equal_opp/online-complaint or by calling 1-800-669-9777 or 1-800-877-8339.

Examples of what constitutes discrimination are:

• Shelters refusing access because of gender identity or forcing someone to stay in a sex-segregated shelter that doesn’t align with their identity.
• Rentals declining a rental application for any reason other than the prospective renter not meeting stated qualifications or lying about availability.
• Harassment- asking for sexual favors in exchange for rent or a landlord creating a hostile environment through harassing comments on a tenant’s appearance.
• Ads for housing that say things like “no same-sex couples” or marketing that is targeted to exclude certain communities.
• The directive also protects people who experience discrimination on multiple bases, such as race, familial status, and sexual orientation.

Louisville residents can also contact the Human Relations Commission for help with discrimination complaints.

All Peoples is a Unitarian Universalist congregation  in Louisville, formerly known as Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Church. All Peoples describes itself as a “Welcoming Congregation,” meaning, “we affirm and include people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer at every level of congregational life—in worship, in program, and in social occasions—welcoming them as whole people.”

All Peoples talks about this commitment on their website, which includes upcoming events and a resource list.  In addition, the Unitarian Universalist church hosts an online gathering for trans and nonbinary people every month, called UPLIFT. Expansive definitions of trans, nonbinary, and UU all apply, so check it out if you are curious.