PRRAC'S Philip Tegeler Posts Huff Post Blog on "Fair Housing Month" Celebration

WASHINGTON, April 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Philip Tegeler, executive director of the Policy & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC), posted a Huffington Post blog that recites the heartening changes experienced by four women and their children after moving from housing projects in Baltimore to higher opportunity communities in the suburbs.

The setting for his blog post is a Fair Housing Month celebration hosted by HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan. At the ceremony, four women discussed how their lives changed after moving to better communities. Their moves were the result of a settlement in landmark housing discrimination case in Baltimore.

Tegeler quotes, one woman, Nicole Smith, as saying, "In the city, I did not want my son to play outside, he didn't have many friends and he struggled in school. Here, he is doing very well in school and our neighbors are welcoming -- often picking him up after school while I'm working and arranging play dates and carpools. On his birthday, for the first time in his life, I was able to give him a birthday party at a local park. So many kids and parents came from the neighborhood and from his school to show their support for him. It was very moving to see how many friends he had of all different colors and cultures. The feeling of love and support from a diverse community is what fair housing is all about. I hope all people will be able to experience it one day."

Tegeler, who also details the comments of two other women, writes that "many of the HUD staff around me were also visibly moved by the tangible changes experienced by these four women and their children."

Read Mr. Tegeler's full blog at  http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-tegeler/hud-salutes-low-income-fa_b_3072210.html. Please join the conversation on Huff Post!  PRRAC, a civil rights policy organization based in Washington, D.C., supports public policy that addresses residential segregation in America.

You can also follow Mr. Tegeler's organization on twitter at  https://twitter.com/PRRAC_DC, on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Poverty-and-Race-Research-Action-Council/480723658639202 and at www.prrac.org. You can receive PRRAC's bimonthly updates via email by clicking HERE.    

PRRAC connects advocates with social scientists working on race and poverty issues, and promotes a research-based advocacy strategy on structural inequality issues. PRRAC is pursuing work in housing, education, and health, focusing on the importance of "place" and the consequences of housing segregation on low-income families in the areas of health, education, employment, and incarceration.

(To schedule print or broadcast interviews with Mr. Tegeler, please contact Michael K. Frisby at [email protected] or 202-625-4328.)

CONTACT:
Michael K. Frisby
202-625-4328

SOURCE Poverty & Race Research Action Council (PRRAC)