Amy Stelly, whose family has lived in the Treme for many generations, has watched her neighborhood rapidly change. Since 2000, there has been a 30 percentage point drop in the share of Black people in Treme. Hardworking people are worried they will be forced to leave because of skyrocketing housing costs. The Smart Housing Mix […]

Those with criminal backgrounds often face enormous hurdles finding housing after coming home from incarceration. Sometimes, the challenges people face finding stable, affordable housing may contribute to recidivism. Though it’s sometimes legal for a landlord to turn down an applicant because of a specific criminal conviction, general bans on renting to formerly incarcerated people (FIPs) […]

Dr. Martin Luther King was assassinated on April 4th, 1968, and the Fair Housing was passed exactly one week later, on April 11th. The Fair Housing Act was passed largely in response to the mass protests and riots that erupted directly after Dr. King’s assassination. A month prior, the report of the National Advisory Commission […]

Fit for a King 2019 started with an inspiring opening plenary panel, featuring powerful organizers representing three generations of movement-building in New Orleans. Doratha “Dodie” Smith-Simmons described her work with as a leader with the New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Barbara Major reminded the audience that building movements is collective […]

While there’s no debating that New Orleans is in the grip of an affordable housing crisis, there are still some people arguing that more give-aways to real estate developers will somehow correct the problem. Let’s be very clear: including affordable housing in every new housing development or renovation must be the law, not an option […]

While our upcoming Fit for a King Fair Housing Summit is our 12th annual Fit for a King, GNOFHAC has been hosting fair housing summits for much longer. Before we began hosting Fit for a King in January to honor Dr. Martin Luther King and his influence on the passage of the 1968 Fair Housing Act, GNOFHAC hosted summits each […]

Has your landlord unlawfully kept your security deposit? In 2018, the Louisiana Legislature passed a new law that raises the penalty for landlords who keep security deposits without good reason. The law increases the amount a tenant can receive if they win their case to three times the amount of the stolen deposit. How does […]

When I first came across the job description for the Community Engagement Coordinator at the Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, I was immediately interested. Upon further research, I fell in love with the mission of GNOFHAC and felt qualified and confident in the position’s responsibilities: social media, web design, and educational outreach via […]

New Orleans is a city of neighborhoods, so when Danira Ford talks about “home,” she means the Gentilly neighborhood. Ford has spent most of her life in Gentilly: growing up on Pressburg Street in a family home, attending F.W. Gregory Junior High School and graduating from John F. Kennedy Senior High School. “I’m from Gentilly […]

In the chaotic days following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, many homeowners had a difficult time figuring out what resources were available to help them rebuild their damaged homes. In order to help homeowners navigate the bureaucratic maze, GNOFHAC and the National Fair Housing Alliance (NFHA) launched the Hurricane Relief Project in April 2006. In 2007, […]