April is national fair housing month and the city of Jacksonville wants you to know you have rights if you’re at risk of eviction due the pandemic.
Jacksonville Human Rights Commission Executive Director Wendy Byndloss spoke with First Coast Connect host Melissa Ross Thursday about an upcoming fair housing symposium.
Byndloss said people have the right to feel safe in their homes. She has seen increased issues of harassment in housing; particularly sexual harassment.
“Especially with so much job insecurity and housing insecurity, some people may feel they have no choice but to submit to something like that -which is illegal behavior and totally inappropriate - in order to keep their home.”
The Human Rights Commission works closely with the federal government to monitor housing issues. The symposium is Saturday, April 10, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Main Public Library in Downtown Jacksonville. Preregistration is available here.
The entire interview with Byndloss is available on Thursday’s First Coast Connect with Melissa Ross, which encores at 8:00 p.m. on WJCT News 89.9.
Bill Bortzfield can be reached at bbortzfield@wjct.org or on Twitter at @BortzInJax.
