Mayor Wilson Proclaims April 2025 Fair Housing Month

Press Release

This annual proclamation renews Portland's commitment to the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which was adopted to prohibit discriminatory housing practices, undo racial segregation practices, and provide equal access to housing opportunity for all.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

April 8, 2025

CONTACT:

Gabriel Mathews, PHB - (503) 865-6867; gabriel.mathews@portlandoregon.gov

(PORTLAND, ORE.) - Mayor Keith Wilson officially proclaimedApril 2025 to be Fair Housing Month in Portland. This annual proclamation renews Portland's commitment to the Fair Housing Act of 1968, which was adopted to prohibit discriminatory housing practices, undo racial segregation practices, and provide equal access to housing opportunity for all.

"Fair housing is a promise to ensure every Portlander has access to safe, stable, and equitable housing," said Mayor Keith Wilson. "Fair Housing Month reminds us of our shared responsibility to address the injustices of the past and to build a future where housing opportunity is available to all."

The Portland Housing Bureau (PHB) and the Fair Housing Council of Oregon (FHCO) will present on the importance of Fair Housing before the Portland City Council's Homelessness & Housing Committee on April 22. Joining them will be student artists from across the state, presenting posters they created for FHCO's annual Fair Housing Poster Contest. The theme of this year's contest is "Together We Build a Neighborhood."

"The Portland Housing Bureau is dedicated to the furtherance of Fair Housing in our city, from policy formation to project development to direct services for our residents," said PHB Director Helmi A. Hisserich. "We are grateful to Mayor Wilson for continuing the important tradition of the Fair Housing Month proclamation, and we look forward to collaborating with him on this essential work in the coming years."

Each year that we celebrate the Fair Housing Act, we also focus on our commitment to addressing these inequities. PHB has focused on programs that prevent displacement for our most at-risk communities and allow opportunities for families to return to their historical neighborhoods. This vital work includes serving renters at risk of eviction and displacement through our Eviction Legal Defense Program, ensuring low-income tenants have fair and equitable treatment; serving renters and homeowners through our North/Northeast Preference Policy, which addresses the harmful impacts of urban renewal by prioritizing residents with historic ties to these communities for housing opportunities; and by supporting fair housing audit testing, fair housing enforcement, and fair housing education through community partner organizations.

Read the full text of the proclamation:

In accordance with this acknowledgment, we recognize:

Whereas, the Fair Housing Act, enacted on April 11, 1968 was adopted to prohibit discriminatory housing practices, undo racial segregation patterns, and provide equal access to housing opportunity for all; and

Whereas, in Portland, the combined Federal, State, and local civil rights laws protect people from housing discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, gender, familial status, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, source of income, military status, gender identity, ethnicity, or history of domestic violence, stalking, or sexual assault; and

Whereas, decades of intentional and unintentional government action, combined with enduring systemic inequities, have created a need for displacement prevention and mitigation policies; and

Whereas, despite existing fair housing protections and strategies, Portland residents continue to face unequal access to safe, quality housing opportunities and unequal outcomes due to treatment and systemic circumstance; and

Whereas, this year Portland not only continues to invest in affordable housing for impacted communities, and to push for fair housing enforcement, education and testing, but commits to strategies that prevent unfair displacement; and

Whereas, Portland acknowledges the past harm and displacement our policies have caused, and affirmatively furthers fair housing by taking direct action; and

Whereas, Fair Housing month is an opportunity to reflect on our progress and to acknowledge the many challenges we have yet to overcome; and

Whereas, we celebrate the passage of the Fair Housing Act by committing ourselves to eliminating discrimination in housing; we acknowledge the intersection of health, economic and housing inequities; we understand and commit to adopting policies that support our community's most vulnerable residents; and ensure housing in community welcomes and celebrates people of all abilities, races, and cultures;

Now, therefore, I, Keith Wilson, Mayor of the City of Portland, Oregon, the "City of Roses," do herby proclaim April 2025 to be Fair Housing Month in Portland and encourage all residents to observe this month by joining the citywide effort to realize equal housing opportunity for all.

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