Understanding the Goals of the Fair Housing Center in Southwest Michigan

Housing discrimination isn’t always a slammed door. Sometimes it’s a quieter pattern: one person gets the full tour, another gets brushed off; one gets the helpful phone number, another gets “check the website.” 

Those small moments can shape who gets access to safe, stable housing, as is discussed with Beth Romeo from the Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan and Darcy Schmitt from the City of Battle Creek.

Episode Resources
City of Battle Creek Website
Fair Housing Center of SW Michigan

Watch the video of this discussion here or see the episodes on Access Vision in Battle Creek Tuesdays at 6:30 PM on channel 17/917.

The BC City Connection Podcast is produced by Livemic Communications.

Transcript

Welcome To BC City Connection

Richard Piet 0:04

I'm Richard Piet. Welcome back to the BC City Connection. This is the podcast officially from the City of Battle Creek, City Hall, Battle Creek, Michigan. Some of our episodes are dedicated to the idea that there is a concerted effort going on in our region to try and bring more housing to the area. Today, Beth Romeo is here, executive director of the Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan, along with Darcy Schmitt, of course, planning supervisor in the city of Battle Creek. Welcome to you both.

Darcy Schmitt 0:36

Thank you for having us. Yes, thank you so

What The Fair Housing Center Does

Darcy Schmitt 0:39

much.

Richard Piet 0:39

Beth, you know what uh the Fair Housing Center really is, is probably good to know and understand. What is it?

Beth Romeo 0:48

Yeah, great question. So the Fair Housing Center, Southwest Michigan, is a nonprofit. We consider ourselves a civil rights organization. So we help people navigate housing discrimination. I'll give you our mission statement and then can kind of dive into what that really means. But our mission is to eliminate all forms of housing discrimination through fair housing education, advocacy, and enforcement. And so we do a lot of different things, but I kind of put our services into five areas essentially. One is education and outreach, intake and case review, investigations, enforcement support, advocacy and legal referrals. And I can dive into like what those are if you'd like. And then we also just talking about like who we serve, uh, we serve renters and home seekers, landlords and property managers, and real estate professionals and lenders. So anything related to housing, and if there's any instance of housing discrimination, that's our work. Um, and Battle Creek and Calhoun County are obviously in our uh service area, but we're actually serving all of Southwest Michigan. So we serve Alleghen, Barrie, Barrion, Branch, Cass, Calhoun, Kalamazoo, St. Joseph, and Van Bierton counties. Say that five times fast.

Richard Piet 2:16

Yeah. Wow. So this is a uh significant working area. And uh obviously, because you exist, these situations haven't gone away. You're brought in to help sort these things out in all of these areas. Are we making progress? I mean, what's the view? What's the broad view of this?

Beth Romeo 2:40

Yeah, that's a good

Local Intake Numbers And National Trends

Beth Romeo 2:42

question. Well, to put it in perspective for you, in 2025, we did 491 client intakes throughout our service area. And also just to share, we are not the only fair housing center in the state. There are three other fair housing centers, and then Eastern Michigan is operated by a legal aid office. So they work a little bit differently, but we all kind of work in partnership together. So the state is broken up. Some other states only have one for the whole state. So we're lucky that we get, you know, kind of really localized support in our state. So we had 491 total intakes for last year throughout Southwest Michigan. Of that, 191 cases involve potential housing discrimination. So, what that means is sometimes people call us and they're unsure about our services and we do resource navigation. Like people might want rental assistance or they need to be actively placed into housing. And that's not necessarily under our umbrella. But anyone who passes through our doors or through our intake process, we do resource navigation. We'll get them to the right nonprofit that or organization that can help them. But, you know, 191 out of the 491, just to make it a little more real, that means that nearly four out of 10 people that called us had an instance of housing discrimination.

Richard Piet 4:05

Do you follow the trends? Is it going down? Is it going up?

Beth Romeo 4:09

Yeah, it, you know, it changes. So we don't have enough time today to get into the National Fair Housing Alliance's trends report. But for anybody who's interested in learning more about the trends in fair housing, the National Fair Housing Alliance or NAFA is our uh national organization that many fair housing centers are a member of. And they do a trends report across the nation. And so, yeah, discrimination is still happening. That's the long and short of it. But if you're really a nerd about this stuff, you can read this great report that talks about the different protected classes and the different trends throughout, you know, comparisons to previous years. Disability discrimination is the number one cited instance of discrimination across the nation. We see that uh also in Calhoun County and in our state. And then obviously race and in every protected class. And a lot of times those instances are compounding, right? It's not necessarily just one instance, but someone might be disabled and they might be a person of color. Um so there's it just depends. But disability is definitely number one trending.

Why The City Partners On Fair Housing

Richard Piet 5:15

Darcy, uh the Fair Housing Center and the city of Battle Creek are trying to work together to sort some things out. What what's the partnership about?

Darcy Schmitt 5:25

Well, basically, as you as we've heard, uh it's still out there. Um discrimination is there. We work with a diverse community and our community development division, as well as our code enforcement, work with a lot of landlords. So these are housing situations. They are situations where, you know, we we want to maintain the housing stock for rental properties. That's one of the ways to oftentimes people will say, well, the the residents don't mind if these things aren't taken care of. Well, they're kind of in a situation where, you know, they don't want to speak up because they could lose their housing. We also have a lot of uh people that we provide services through, through community development funding that we've received from federal and state monies. And we need to make sure that those are distributed fairly, um, that those uh fair housing requirements are being met. So it it really uh spans a large area within the city of Battle Creek. And whether it's exactly a real close relationship where we have a issues with it on a regular basis, we may not see it as much, but we know we can where we can direct people to to get their answers. And I think that's very important.

Richard Piet 6:50

So, Beth, when you when the city of Battle Creek or or any other entity like this comes to the Fair Housing Center and says we want to make sure that uh everything works out because we have folks who need housing. We have housing that needs tenants, we want this to work together. How does the Fair Housing Center look at it and then figure out how to help?

Paired Testing And The New Report

Beth Romeo 7:10

Sure. I want to talk a little bit more about what we did with the city recently in a report that we published, and I think that'll help answer some of those questions. Um, so because a part of what we do, we talk a lot about activity that happens when someone is actively experiencing discrimination or they have experienced discrimination. Um, so we're kind of reactive, right? We're we're helping clients navigate those situations in real time. But also a part of our work is more proactive work to do investigations to figure out what's happening in our market. So in 2024, we did a series of rental and real estate investigations. Um, and so what we do is we use a lot of what's called paired testing in our office. And fair housing testing is essentially like secret shopping in a way, where we have people who work for us that simulate a real transaction. So let's say someone was going to pick up a rental application from an apartment complex. Um, and then we have, we'll send two people out, and essentially they'll have the exact same needs, um, an exact same profile. So let's say they're looking for a two-bedroom, one bath, you know, they have the same income so that their, you know, their price range is the same. Everything is very similar except for one protected characteristic. So we might have one person who is a white tester, the other person who is a black tester. And then so we'll go to the same agent, the same apartment complex, and that person will simulate a real experience. They'll pick up the application and then they'll report back to us what their experience was. Testers are not looking for discrimination, they're not provoking discrimination. Um, they really are trying to simulate a real experience. Um, and so then the Fair Housing Center will analyze those results. So then we'll say, based on the fact that the person disclosed that protected class, were they treated any differently? Were there any differences in treatment? And so we did a pretty long report that we just published. Um, there's some transition in our organization. I'm about nine months in. So uh when I came on board, we picked it up again. And so it just uh published a month or so ago. Um, it's on our website, it's on the city's website that dives into all of the differences in treatment that we found in rental and real estate investigations. So we use that information to then partner with the city. We've done some presentations to the Battle Creek Area Association of Realtors and city and nonprofit housing staff to educate people on what we found. So, in testing scenarios, we essentially look for, I mentioned this before, differences in treatment. So, differences in treatment alone are not necessarily discrimination, but if there are patterns or things that we notice, you know, if every Hispanic tester that came into an environment was not given uh, you know, opportunities to see houses on a tour where all the other testers who are not Hispanic were, um, we might identify, identify that that's a difference in treatment that could be discriminatory. Um, so we use those as education um tools and areas to find opportunity to partner and help people not do that. A lot of times it might be neighborly, right? Like a an agent might think, like, oh, I'm gonna tell you about this resource because I assume that you're going to benefit from it, but really they could be steering someone away or to a specific community. So, yeah, there's a lot to unpack there, but I'll take a pause for uh reflection and their thoughts.

Richard Piet 10:53

Well, this is really interesting because not only do you have to gather this information, then you have to interpret it, as you have just pointed out. The notion that it may not mean discrimination. So you have to study, I suppose, every incident, don't you?

Beth Romeo 11:08

Mm-hmm. Yeah, and that's exactly what the report that we did with the city does. Um, so there's some uh anybody who's into geography and data, there's a whole series of maps uh about uh some of the different findings and and how we place it across the um the community. So uh it's it's really interesting. Um, and it helps establish, you know, what is happening, what's kind of trending in the community so that we can be more preventative. Um, you know, our goal is to put ourselves out of business, right? We don't want to exist. We don't want people to face discrimination.

Richard Piet 11:42

Yeah. Darcy, you at the risk of asking an obvious question, why is it important for the city to know this?

Darcy Schmitt 11:50

It's very important. Um, oftentimes, you know, you're not aware of the actions that are they're happening and they're not intended to be uh discriminatory, but it really can help you uh look at your procedures and processes and make sure that they're corrected and that there's there's no uh doubt that these behaviors are are not intentional.

Richard Piet 12:15

So Beth, when when you learn about these details, you really have to sort through them carefully, right? I mean, uh the point that Darcy just made that you know something that happens might fall under an umbrella that's called discrimination, but maybe there was an intent, maybe someone didn't know. Boy, this is a lot to sort out.

Intent, Evidence, And Enforcement Options

Beth Romeo 12:39

Yeah, I'm really glad you used the word intent, um, because intent or not, discrimination is discrimination, right? So even if someone doesn't intend to do something discriminatory, if someone, if the person on the other end feels like they've been discriminated against, they have a right to move forward. Now, when we when we did this uh testing with the city of Battle Creek, we have an agreement where we're, we don't take, you know, action, you know, we don't f file an administrative plan or do something. We work with the city to disclose those results and then, you know, kind of work to find solutions or educate people on what happened. But when people, you know, clients come to us, uh, you know, they may have uh a series of uh evidence. So it could be like text messages, emails, recordings, you know, uh documents that they'll share with us so that we can kind of analyze those to figure out number one, is it really a fair housing uh concern? And if it is, then what's the next approach? Which for us, um, sometimes we will file an administrative complaint with the Michigan Department of Civil Rights, or we can file a complaint with HUD, Housing and Urban Development, or we can um we do a lot of uh what's called reasonable accommodation and modification letters, um, particularly with individuals with disabilities. So for example, sometimes someone might need, let's say, a grab bar installed in their shower and the housing provider says no. Um, we may, or let's say they need a parking space um dedicated closer to their unit and the housing provider says no. Um, then we'll work to uh write a reasonable accommodation or modification letter to um have the housing provider make an exception to their standard. Um and so we have a lot of success doing that. Sometimes it's a lot of back and forth. Um, but uh in some cases, you know, there may not be enough evidence where it's somewhat inconclusive. Um, and so we will then send uh testers maybe to that agent based on the complaint that happened to do some further uh, you know, testing, and then we'll interpret those results to see if we found the same thing. Um, for example, let's say someone was denied an emotional support animal and uh if they called and inquired, someone flat out says, no, we don't take that, um, then we may send some additional testers out to see if we get the same results. Um, and that can be used as additional evidence to, you know, take some further action.

What Stood Out In Findings

Richard Piet 15:12

So in your study of Calhoun County and Battle Creek, was there anything that stood out? I mean, are we are we in uh a significantly different position here as it relates to your results than you might have found elsewhere?

Beth Romeo 15:28

No, I don't think so. I mean, uh differences in treatment happen. Um there, I think, if I recall correctly, the biggest uh area was differences in treatment uh in terms and conditions. Um that can mean a lot of different things, but it's essentially if there's, I'm trying to think of a good example, um, you know, if someone um, you know, gives out a business card and it tells one tester to come to their office uh for a showing, let's say if we're talking real estate um or or rental, it doesn't matter. Um, or and then someone else comes in and then they tell them, uh, oh, we call my personal cell phone number, we can set up a time. That would be a difference in treatment, right? Now, on its face, is that discriminatory? No, not necessarily. But if one tester is uh or one person is of a protected class, uh, and that giving your personal cell phone number, if that opens up better opportunity for you to seek housing or a better customer experience, really, right? Like they're getting better treatment, then that could be considered discrimination. Now remember, the person has to feel, you know, and and you know, take that as an act of discrimination against them. Um, but it could be. So we identify, again, differences in treatment in that scenario. So I wouldn't say that there's anything, you know, if if we didn't we haven't done uh this report in all the communities, um, we've done one in Kalamazoo, I think the last one was in 2018. Um, but if you look at trends, you know, across the nation, like you're gonna see that there's differences in treatment. Like that's just yeah. But an ideal housing market, if we were to do this uh study again, an ideal housing market should give back no differences in treatment, right? Like everyone should offer the same resources and same everything to everyone that they interact with.

Richard Piet 17:21

And that speaks to whatever their procedure is,

Training Landlords And Avoiding Steering

Richard Piet 17:25

right? So they have to approach it consistently every time. Do you talk to, do you educate landlords and leasing companies about that?

Beth Romeo 17:37

Yeah, we do. Uh we do. We try to have a good partnership. It's it's hard because, you know, fair housing, right? Sometimes you feel like, oh, fair housing, like they're enforcement only. Like they, but we really want to move in partnership. Um, and actually this year is uh 2026 marks our organization's 25-year anniversary. So we're really thinking about, you know, vision and future and what does fair housing mean for the next 25 years? And for me, I'm really thinking about how do we move in partnership with organizations so that we can be preventative and so that we can move forward together. You know, from a, I would really honestly say the majority of folks that I communicate with or the cases that we review, um, there's not this like maliciousness that happens. I mean, in some cases there are. Like some people just there are really bad actors out there. But a lot of times, you know, uh, especially like in rental housing, there are certain people that have to take fair housing uh education, like realtors, for example, you know, certain, you know, I don't know all the regulations on who, but you know, oftentimes, you know, the the agent working in the office handing out the applications, for example, may or may not have had an in-depth fair housing education. Um, or they're, you know, they're they're given their orientation and the training locally. And so they may be doing something that they think is neighborly, like they're trying to, they make an assumption on a characteristic, and then they try to give them some information or limit their information based on the assumptions they make about the person with the intention of being, like I said, neighborly, like, oh, you know, you might like this church or you might like this school district. You know, that's that's nice. But if you're limiting the options that you share, that could be steering someone into a certain direction, that could be, you know, blocking out, you know, applications or, you know, lending opportunities for a certain community, right? So the best practice is to give everyone all of the information, right?

How The City Uses The Data

Richard Piet 19:47

Yeah, that makes uh that makes a lot of sense. Before we go, Darcy, I I wonder how does this information help the city and what will the city do with it?

Darcy Schmitt 19:57

Well, it it's again, like I said before, um I don't think that often the intent is there to be discriminatory. And if we're aware of things like the uh that are discrimination that have happened, um it it's it's uh a way to resolve that issue so that it it doesn't happen again. That's the important part.

Richard Piet 20:20

Yeah. And it's probably an opportunity for the city to step up and say, here's uh some of these examples that Beth has talked about. Exactly. Educating folks about uh how that's different, not being consistent, for example.

Darcy Schmitt 20:34

Right.

Richard Piet 20:34

This is an opportunity.

Darcy Schmitt 20:36

Exactly.

Richard Piet 20:37

Yeah.

How To Report Discrimination And Know Rights

Richard Piet 20:38

Well, uh, if folks have questions for the Fair Housing Center, Beth, and I imagine, you know, we've talked about how you you go out in the field and do studies, but you probably hear from people who feel as though they've been discriminated against. Uh that's something we haven't even really touched on a whole lot. The notion that people come forward to you, don't they, and they can reach out to you.

Beth Romeo 21:00

Yes, absolutely. That is the bulk of our work is clients uh and intake. Um and so if people feel they have had an issue, the best thing is to call us uh and we'll go through our intake process with anyone who reaches out. Um and in uh basically what that looks like is we get some just general contact information, uh, some demographic information from our clients, and then we let them to kind of tell us exactly what happened, like walk us through the situation, we'll document that, and then we'll we'll kind of figure out together what the next steps are. Um, and so you know, the the biggest thing with fair housing is that a lot of people don't know their rights or they don't understand the extent of their rights. Um, and so we talk to people, I'd say almost the majority of the people that we talk to just feel like something was wrong, right? They had this feeling like, I don't think I was treated right. Um, and so we can kind of help people. Figure out if if that is the case. And so I just I just want to quickly say that at the federal level, there are protections that are race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, and family status. Michigan has some additional protections under the Elliott Larson Civil Rights Act or ELCRA, and that sexual orientation, gender identity, marital status, age, and source of income. And communities, uh different municipalities may add some additional protections. I don't think Battle Creek has any additional, but for example, the city of Portage, they added height and weight uh into um their policies. So uh different communities have different um things. But at the federal and state level, those are the protections that we have. So if anyone feels like they have been discriminated in anything related to housing under those protected characteristics, um, then they should reach out to us.

Richard Piet 22:57

What's the number?

Beth Romeo 22:59

Uh, it's 269. Oh man, now I gotta, it's 269-276-9100.

Richard Piet 23:07

All right, 276-9100, area code 269. If you have questions for the Fair Housing Center. Of course, in the uh show notes for this episode, we'll put a link to the website for Fair Housing Center as well.

Beth Romeo 23:22

Yes, and on our website, if they go to fhcswm.org, right on the top it says report discrimination. People can also submit some basic information online and we'll give them a call back to start the process.

Richard Piet 23:37

Okay. Well, Darcy, if folks have questions about uh that report that the city received, you certainly can feel those too, right?

Darcy Schmitt 23:45

Absolutely.

Richard Piet 23:46

Okay. Well, we appreciate the update. Beth Romeo, director of the Fair Housing Center of Southwest Michigan, Darcy Schmitt from the City of Battle Creek. Thanks to you both. Thank you.

Beth Romeo 23:56

Thank you so much. This is great. Thank you.