The Mid-Illinois REALTORS® Association (MIRA) organized the “Fair Housing Affair” April 30 to educate area residents about housing issues and the community organizations prepared to assist them.
Approximately 60 residents visited the YWCA McLean County in Bloomington that day, met with local non-profit organization representatives, earned vouchers for local food trucks and grocery store gift cards. Thanks to a Level 2 NAR Fair Housing Grant and donations by members of the MIRA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, a total of $500 in food truck vouchers were redeemed and $600 in gift cards were distributed.
One of the attendees, via email, shared the following comment with organizers: “Thank you for having this. I got a lot of good information. Hope you will continue this as there are a lot of people out there that are struggling, who just don’t know where to start.”
Yet another wrote: “I have been going through a lot recently and it was just an amazing feeling of the support everyone had shown and given me and my baby.”
“Our aim for this event was to provide fair housing resources to community members who need them most,” said MIRA CEO Diane Cote. “We were able to partner with Connect Transit to provide free bus service for the day of the event and 10 other non-profit organizations involved with fair housing education and legal services. Our partners stated they would be happy to participate in any event we do surrounding fair housing because they have difficulty communicating their information to the public. Attendees and partners felt this was a much-needed event for the community, and they look forward to the second annual Fair Housing Affair next year.”
About 14 REALTORS®, led by Garrett VonDerHeide, chair of the MIRA Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, volunteered their services for the event and another 20 REALTORS® attended. Normal Town Councilwoman Kathleen Lorenz, who is a member of MIRA’s Housing Task Force, voiced her support for the cause and for the event on Facebook.
The following local organizations provided their services to interested residents:
- City of Bloomington Human Relations Committee
- Habitat for Humanity of McLean County
- Housing Authority of the City of Bloomington
- HUD Town of Normal
- Illinois Housing Development Authority
- Marc First
- Mid Central Community Action
- Prairie State Legal Services
- The Immigration Project and
- YWCA McLean County
“As a REALTOR® association, we support an equal opportunity for all to participate in achieving home ownership,” said MIRA President Tammy Heard. “This can be a major step to achieving the American Dream. Everyone should have a place to call home.”
VonDerHeide added, “Hosting this event not only helps to break down the barriers to home ownership, but also gives the community a place to go for information and programs to help make home ownership a reality for all.”
Click below to see larger versions of the photos and the names of participating REALTOR® members.
