Meghann O’Reilly Karasic, Supervising Attorney for Fair Housing at Delaware’s Community Legal Aid Society, discussed state and federal protections in housing and how CLASI works with area residents to ensure they are being treated fairly.  She discussed their efforts to end discrimination based on race, color, national origin, religion, creed, marital or familial status, age and now, sexual orientation and source of income.  Types of discrimination were discussed, some obvious, including refusing to sell or rent, denying that housing is available, setting different terms or stating that there are limits on who can buy or rent; some insidious, including providing different terms or restricting certain services, and some are institutional, a bank or mortgage provider refusing classes or insurance denying coverage.  CLASI investigates cases for individuals, pro-actively tests for fair housing violations and represents individuals in court or administrative hearings.  Clients receive services for free thanks to donations and grants to the program.  Executive Director Dan Atkins discussed the efficiency of CLASI and its two other non-profit legal service provider partners in an earlier podcast, for every dollar spent on their services, the community gains $7 in benefits through emergency services and housing, lost wages, and other costs of civil legal action.

For more information or to discuss a possible complaint contact Community Legal Aid Society at www.declasi.org

To donate or support the Combined Campaign for Justice visit www.delawareccj.org