HOME's mission is to promote fair and equal access to housing and to empower the people of Western New York to live in the housing and communities of their choice.

Description:
Housing Opportunities Made Equal is a membership-based, nationally recognized civil rights organization working to ensure fair and equal access to housing. HOME promotes equal opportunity in housing without restrictions based on such factors as race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, lawful source of income or the presence of children within a family. HOME's mission is to assist the people of Western New York to live in the housing and communities of their choice through education, advocacy, enforcement of fair housing laws, and the creation of housing opportunities. HOME’s work is supported by government contracts, private foundations, and nearly 500 members who desire to live in a community free of housing discrimination.

History:
Our History
Housing Opportunities Made Equal was founded in 1963 through the Council of Churches, in response to concern about widespread discrimination in the Buffalo area housing market. The objective was to remove obstacles for minorities wishing to purchase or rent housing. Originally HOME was staffed with volunteers, but since 1974 it has had a paid staff. Today HOME has nearly 500 members.
Year by Year History of Housing Opportunities Made Equal
1963-1974
Housing Opportunities Made Equal volunteers worked through the courts and the New York State Department of State eliminating the most visible racial barriers in real estate sales.
1973 Directors established the Housing Assistance Center to provide services to low income renters and buyers.
1981 Discrimination in the Love Canal Relocation Program ends when Housing Opportunities Made Equal files a complaint against the State of New York and negotiates a conciliation agreement.
1982 Housing Opportunities Made Equal uses a forgotten 61 year-old statute to win the first damages from a landlord who discriminated against children.
1983-1984 Housing Opportunities Made Equal negotiates an agreement with the publishers of 27 area newspapers to voluntarily eliminate the use of discriminatory language in classified advertisements. At the time, this was the largest such agreement in the nation. Today, the Publishers Voluntary Agreement includes over 50 publications.
1988-1991 As special consultant to Senator Moynihan, Housing Opportunities Made Equal conducts analyses which result in reform of the Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority.
1991 Housing Opportunities Made Equal is named to a HUD special advisory panel on Buffalo Municipal Housing Authority (BMHA) formulating what the Buffalo News called, “a master plan for desegregation” of the troubled housing authority.
1992 Housing Opportunities Made Equal publishes a new edition of A Guide To Landlords’ Rights, a comprehensive manual on landlord-tenants relations, on behalf of the Buffalo Housing Group.
1993 Housing Opportunities Made Equal wins a record settlement in the "Code 2" case when it files a complaint against two suburban landlords who were using an answering service to screen and steer minority home seekers.
1994 Housing Opportunities Made Equal teams up with the Greater Buffalo Association of Realtors to publish a joint brochure for prospective buyers and sellers. We also publish “Choosing Good Tenants: A Practical Guide for Landlords”.
1995 In cooperation with the Buffalo Area Metropolitan Ministries, Housing Opportunities Made Equal sponsors a Fair Housing Sabbath which garnered the participation of over 25 congregations of a dozen different faiths and denominations. Later that year, we received the annual Public Service Award from the New York State Bar Association, for "outstanding contributions to the administration of justice."
1996 We persuade the NYS Division of Housing and Community Development to address abuses at the Marine Drive Apartments, a 616-unit publicly assisted complex. Housing Opportunities Made Equal sets a precedent in HOME v. the State Division of Human Rights, establishing that fair housing organizations have independent standing under the Human Rights Law.
1997 Housing Opportunities Made Equal files a class action suit against the State of New York for its failure to protect the rights of discrimination victims as provided by the State’s Human Rights Law.
1998 Following the settlement of the historic Comer desegregation suit, Housing Opportunities Made Equal is selected after a national search to operate the Greater Buffalo Community Housing Center in participation with the Buffalo Federation of Neighborhood Centers (BFNC).
1999


Housing Opportunities Made Equal prevails in its 1997 suit against the state when the Supreme Court rules that the NYS Division of Human Rights must process complaints within the timeframe mandated by law. The ruling also puts an end to the state’s practice of dismissing meritorious complaints for “administrative convenience”. Although this decision was later reversed by an appellate panel, it contributed to reforms at the State Division of Human Rights.
2000 For the first time in its history HOME provides counseling and information services to more than 5,000 clients.
2001 Housing Opportunities Made Equal expands the services of the Greater Buffalo Community Housing Center (CHC) to assist a broader segment of Section 8 participants at no additional cost to the government.
2002 Once again, Housing Opportunities Made Equal breaks our yearly service record.
2003 Housing Opportunities Made Equal celebrates 40 years! Click here to read our 40th Anniversary project, "We Were There."

Contact people:

William Berry, Chair, Nominating Committee, (phone), (email) Scott Gehl, Executive Director, (phone), (email)

Address:

700 Main Street Buffalo, NY 14202 (See a map)

Directions:

Near Main and Tupper   Nearest Metro/Subway Stop: Theater Station,   Walk distance (in minutes): 1   Nearest Bus Stop: Pearl and Tupper (7,8 etc.), 2 minute walk