吃瓜爆料

South Graduate Advocates Fair Housing with Outreach, Enforcement

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Posted on January 17, 2022

Thomas Becnel

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The University of South Alabama is running a series beginning Martin Luther King Jr. Day that focuses on South students, employees and alumni who are advancing Dr. King鈥檚 vision in six areas 鈥� poverty, jobs and wages, housing, education, justice and peace. Today鈥檚 story is on housing. 

At the Center for Fair Housing in Mobile, Brittney Dixon investigates complaints from people who believe they鈥檙e being discriminated against on the basis of their race, sex, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

Her title is enforcement coordinator, but sometimes her job is mediation, negotiating agreements between would-be renters and the owners of homes and apartments.

鈥淵ou get a lot of pushback,鈥� Dixon said. 鈥淵ou have to be creative. I try to think, if I was the owner, what would I be thinking? A lot of times, they鈥檙e not even thinking about what they鈥檙e doing, and have been doing for years, and whether it鈥檚 wrong.鈥�

The Center for Fair Housing is a private, nonprofit community resource dedicated to the elimination of housing discrimination, the promotion of housing choice and the creation of inclusive communities. The Mobile office of the national organization serves eight counties in South Alabama.

Dixon, a Mobile native, graduated from the University of South Alabama in 2012 with a degree in communications. Her first job at the Center for Fair Housing was outreach coordinator, before she moved into enforcement.

In her current role, Dixon thinks back to her sociology classes at South.

 鈥淛ust understanding family dynamics and being mindful with your clients,鈥� she said. 鈥淚f you dig a little deeper, ask a few more questions, you learn how a person鈥檚 home life affects everything. I try to take that extra step to understand everyone. It helps make my job a lot easier.鈥�

Often, just hearing from the Center for Fair Housing will make home owners and apartment managers more receptive to clients. Other times, it makes no difference at all.

If landlords refuse to follow the law, the Center for Fair Housing will file complaints with the federal department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD can levy fines on businesses and require their employees to do training 鈥� sometimes at the same Center for Fair Housing office where their cases began.

Dixon鈥檚 office works with community partners such as church groups and neighborhood organizations, along with city and state agencies. They refer clients back and forth. Helping people often starts at home.

鈥淗ousing is key,鈥� she said. 鈥淗ousing can affect whether you have a grocery store in your neighborhood, or good schools, or even sidewalks.鈥�

One of her jobs is recruiting volunteers, including South students, to pose as home buyers and renters. The idea is to test whether real estate agents or apartment managers treat different people the same way. Dixon reports that it is still routine for Black applicants to be turned away, told there are no vacancies, only to have white applicants welcomed and told there are several homes or apartments available.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so prevalent,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not even a clear reason why a lot of times. Some people just don鈥檛 want to rent to black people, or women, or people with disabilities. If you鈥檙e someone in a wheelchair, that can be heartbreaking.鈥�

Teresa Bettis, executive director of the South Alabama Center for Fair Housing, has worked at the nonprofit since 1999. The mission of the organization remains the same, though there are always new challenges, such as the coronavirus pandemic.

鈥淒iscrimination happens more frequently than people think, only now it happens with a handshake and a smile,鈥� Bettis said. 鈥淥ur No. 1 complaint for several years now has been from people with disabilities. People may need wheelchair ramps or handicapped parking spaces. Or they may require a caregiver or a service animal. These are what鈥檚 called reasonable accommodations.鈥�

When facing a housing problem, the Center would rather negotiate solutions than refer matters to HUD. That鈥檚 where staffers such as Dixon step in to do their jobs.

鈥淪he鈥檚 grown over the years, after starting in outreach,鈥� Bettis said. 鈥淪he鈥檚 an asset and we鈥檙e happy to have her.鈥�

From Business to Communication

Dixon, 33, grew up on Church Street in the historic Oakleigh neighborhood near downtown Mobile. Each year, from her front yard, she would look and listen for the start of Mardi Gras parades.

鈥淚 always assumed anyone could live anywhere,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y mother鈥檚 parents, they were the second black family to live on their street in Mobile.鈥�

Dixon attended Murphy High School and grew up interested in theater, engineering and business. She remembers answering the phone for the family construction company, Kellie鈥檚 Patios and Foundations.

After graduating in 2012 with a degree in communications, she accepted an internship at the Center for Fair Housing. When the internship ended, she was hired full-time.

The Center for Fair Housing does a lot of advertising, but many people still don鈥檛 know about the organization. One of the biggest challenges for the organization is connecting with people with problems or crises that include a place to live.

鈥淥ften we鈥檙e the last resort for people,鈥� Dixon said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 why outreach is so important.鈥�

Outreach and Enforcement

In recent years, COVID-19 has disrupted work for employees at the Center for Fair Housing. Hurricane Sally ripped the roof off their building in 2020. Offices were repaired, but now everyone works at home.

Dixon misses the camaraderie of the center office, but enjoys her own space.

 鈥淚n the office, sometimes you can get bombarded with people and things,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hen it鈥檚 phone-only, it鈥檚 easier to give directed attention to each individual who calls in.鈥�

When Dixon isn鈥檛 working, she鈥檚 interested in film production. She took vacation days last year to work as an assistant on a film shoot in Mobile.

鈥淲orking on a movie set,鈥� she said, 鈥渨as like a dream come true.鈥�

At the Center for Fair Housing, she remembers starting as an intern. In meetings, she marveled at how staff members traded information and ways to solve problems. After joining the staff, she worked in outreach before joining enforcement and becoming more of an advocate for people and their housing needs.

鈥淟ooking back on it, it was huge, a totally different thing,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 went from connecting people to programs to doing enforcement, looking at situations and learning the specifics of the law, all the different sections and codes.鈥�

Dixon still works to let the public know what services are provided by the Center for Fair Housing. Many people think housing issues are for low-income clients, but she explains that factors such as race, sex and disability cut across income levels.

In Baldwin County, which draws many retirees, age and disability are often issues.

Dixon recalls a case where a woman needed wheelchair access to her home. Leaders of a homeowner鈥檚 association fought installation of a wheelchair ramp because they didn鈥檛 like the way it looked in their community. In the end, the woman got her ramp, but not without a struggle.

The message from the Center for Fair Housing is that renters and buyers have rights. Discrimination is unfair and illegal. But help is available.

鈥淚f you feel like you鈥檝e been discriminated against, give us a call,鈥� Dixon said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 as simple as that.鈥�

The South Alabama Center for Fair Housing is at 602 Bel Air Boulevard, Mobile. During the pandemic, most client work is done over the phone. The office number is 251-479-1532.

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