Join November 21 Webinar on State and Local Strategies to Expand Inclusive Housing for People with Disabilities
Nov 17, 2025
By Sarita Kelkar, NLIHC Policy Intern
The Kelsey and partners will host a webinar entitled “State and Local Strategies to Expand Inclusive Housing for People with Disabilities” on Friday, November 21, from 1:00 pm to 2:30 pm ET. The webinar will cover how to influence housing agencies, advance zoning reforms, and strengthen tenant protections to expand accessible, affordable housing (free on Zoom with ASL and captions). Featuring PolicyLink’s Rasheedah Phillips, The Kelsey’s Hunter Herrera-McFarland, housing consultant Caroline Bas, and National Housing Law Project’s Parisa Ijadi-Maghsoodi, speakers will share ways to take action at the local and state levels.
People with disabilities face serious threats to equal housing opportunities. While federal civil rights laws provide housing protections, funding for these key programs is essential to serving the approximately 70 million people with disabilities who face barriers to accessing affordable and integrated housing—yet this funding is by no means guaranteed in appropriations (see Memo, 9/29). Moreover, the responsibility of ensuring equal access lies, in large part, in civil rights enforcement, where HUD enforces legislation such as the federal “Fair Housing Act” (FHA) and other fair housing protections in place for people with disabilities. However, HUD is failing to uphold this prerogative; its current dismantling of civil rights and fair housing consequently deprives funding from grants used to identify and counteract housing discrimination and removes fair housing obligations and accountability (see Memo, 9/29).
With over 54% of fair housing complaints involving disability discrimination in 2024 (see Memo, 11/10), this webinar offers insight into ways individuals can focus on local and state action at a time when the Trump administration and HUD are shrinking federal avenues of advocacy.
Take Action to Defend Fair Housing and Civil Rights!
Tell your members of Congress that the “Fair Housing Act” is not optional, and HUD must defend civil rights in housing! Ask your Senators and Representatives to speak out against Secretary Turner’s disregard for the law, and instead, Turner’s Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) must enforce the “Fair Housing Act” and fund the Fair Housing Initiatives Program (FHIP) and the Fair Housing Assistance Programs (FHAP).
Members of Congress can also cosponsor the “Fair Housing Improvement Act” (S.2827, H.R.5443), introduced by Senator Tim Kaine (D-VA) and Representative Scott Peters (D-CA), to protect veterans and voucher recipients from housing discrimination. You can use NLIHC’s Take Action page to look up your member offices or contact them directly by phone, email, or other means.
Register for the webinar here.