Fair Housing Center of Washtenaw County

We are aiming to uncover and stop discrimination in housing. We aim to work toward opening as many doors as possible free from discrimination and accessible. Our work is based on our knowledge of the counties that we serve, as well as our past experience in fair housing enforcement. We know that discrimination based on race, disability, and familial status remains high; that most home seekers don’t know their rights to fair housing; and that people with disabilities are suffering needlessly for lack of reasonable accommodations. Therefore we will work to increase awareness through outreach activities targeted at the needs of each individual county. We will also work to enforce the Federal Fair Housing Act by taking complaints, testing for discrimination, and offering advocacy to complainants. We will continue to do ongoing complaint-based testing and advocacy, and we will persist in our efforts to uncover illegal housing discrimination through systemic testing.

The Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan is a private, nonprofit fair housing organization. We actively work to investigate complaints of illegal housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, marital status, age, and other locally protected classes.

The mission of the Fair Housing Center is to end discrimination in housing and public accommodations and to promote accessible, integrated communities.

We provide investigative services, testing, advice, advocacy, conciliation, attorney referrals, and community education.

We will continue to take, investigate, and resolve complaints from people who believe they have been illegally denied housing;
• We will inform people about their rights under fair housing law;
• We will continue to provide fair housing testing services to fill the evidence gap;
• We will continue to utilize systemic testing to identify policies, patterns, and practices that provide evidence of illegal housing discrimination;
• We will continue to advocate for people with disabilities (physical, mental, or emotional) who need reasonable accommodations or modifications;
• We will continue to train community advocates to recognize housing discrimination.

Fair Housing Center of Southeast & Mid Michigan staff brings over 50 years of combined fair housing experience to this project. Pam Kisch, Executive Director, has 32 years of fair housing experience. FHC staff has extensive experience in complex testing on real estate sales, mortgage lending, and homeowner’s insurance. Ms. Kisch, Project Manager, has worked coordinating and implementing sales, mortgage, and insurance testing cases. Ms. Cuhran-Fuller has worked on coordinating both complaint-based and systemic testing investigations involving sales and mortgage lending. Ms. Ortiz attended National Fair Housing Alliance training for test coordinators and has coordinated a number of sales and mortgage lending tests. In 30 years the Fair Housing Center has investigated over 3,600 complaints, aided in the filing of over 106 lawsuits. The lawsuits cover race, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, and sex. FHC-aided settlements total over $3.59 million.

In 30 years the Fair Housing Center has investigated over 3,300 complaints, aided in the filing of over 106 lawsuits. The lawsuits cover race, national origin, sex, disability, familial status, and sex. FHC-aided settlements total over $3.59 million.
We began working in Washtenaw County in 1992 and have gradually expanded our service area—first to Lenawee and Monroe counties and then to Jackson, Ingham, and Livingston counties. We expanded to Eaton and Clinton counties in 2014. In 2020 we begin serving Hillsdale and Shiawassee Counties. Our experience working with people who are the victims or possible victims of housing discrimination covers diverse populations faced by historical segregation, including African-Americans, Latinos, people with disabilities, immigrants, and religious minorities. We have researched current-day and historical segregation patterns in each of the eight counties that we serve. Two of the nine most recent lawsuits involved African-American families or individuals and five involved people with disabilities.