Executive Director to Speak at Fair Housing Conference April 11

MassLandlords Executive Director Doug Quattrochi will speak on environmental justice on Thursday, April 11, as part of the Fair Housing and Civil Rights Conference. The conference, which takes place at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass., started in 2006 with 25 attendees. It has since grown to hundreds of attendees from every corner of the United States, and a diverse panel of presenters speaking on dozens of topics.

The Fair Housing and Civil Rights Conference has nation-wide reach. Derivative of licensed Unsplash.

Quattrochi will speak on the "Environmental Justice" panel. The panel discussion will be moderated by H. John Fisher, Fair Housing Manager at Way Finders. Other panelists include Samantha Hamilton, Director of Coalition Building and Community Engagement for the Public Health Agency of Western Massachusetts, and Rusty Polsgrove, Environmental Justice Organizer, Arise Springfield.

Topics open for discussion include flood risk disclosure, emissions reductions and indoor air quality. Certain southern states lead in flood risk disclosure despite Massachusetts and other states having serious flood risk for hundreds of thousands of basement units and homes.

Quattrochi’s panel runs parallel to other panels. Another session, on "housing first," will discuss how people experiencing homelessness are helped by low-barrier housing. This concept does not require people to be stable or healthy before awarding them housing. It treats housing as a prerequisite to solving their financial or other health challenges. Newly housed clients receive wrap-around services.

Another panel will discuss the migrant crisis and homelessness in Massachusetts specifically. "Right to shelter" was nation-leading in Massachusetts but now has been curtailed sharply by funding.

Previously at this conference, MassLandlords has presented the results of our eviction data. Prior key findings include mediation as a primary failure point for executions because renters agree to unsustainable payment plans.