Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST
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Your FIRST Stop on the Learning Curve

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentEqual Housing Opportunity
Supported by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
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Questions?
 Call our toll-free Design and Construction Resource Center: (888) 341-7781 (V/TTY)

 

Training Spotlight: St. Petersburg, FL
"I strongly recommend utilization of the services of Fair Housing First. They provide excellent training and materials produced by a dynamic group of trainers and resource persons. The training was very well received with a number of participants indicating that they will immediately begin to implement what they learned."
- Leon W. Russell, Chair
Pinellas County Fair Housing Partnership


  FIRST Spotlight: Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST in St. Petersburg, Florida

  FIRST Trainer: Sara Pratt, Attorney, Fair Housing Consultant - Sara Pratt has over 25 years experience with the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights issues as an attorney, trainer, expert witness, and consultant. She coordinated HUD's national fair housing enforcement as Director of the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity's Office of Enforcement. Additionally, Ms. Pratt has extensive experience developing and conducting trainings regarding the Fair Housing Act. She is currently serving as a Task Lead on the BearingPoint Team contracted by HUD to develop a training and technical guidance program regarding the accessibility requirements of the Fair Housing Act. In this capacity, she designed and authored components of a comprehensive training curriculum.

  Sponsor Organizations: Pinellas County Fair Housing Partnership, Pinellas County Office of Human Rights, The City of St. Petersburg Department of Community Affairs, City of St. Petersburg Department of Community Development, The City of Largo, City of Clearwater, Pinellas County Department of Community Development, Gulfcoast Legal Services, Bay Area Apartment Association, Pinellas Realtors Organization and UNO Federation Community Services, Inc.

  FIRST Modules Presented: Fair Housing Act Accessibility Requirements Overview (1 hour version), Common Design and Construction
Violations

  Audience: Advocates, Attorneys, Housing Officials, Investigators, Property Managers

  Additional comments from FIRST training participants:

           "Understandable to everyone - whether trained in construction and design or not."

           "Well organized - excellent materials."

           "The trainer was excellent...will use the manuals provided in the future."

           "Made accessibility issues clear and applicable to those who are not disabled."

Photograph of a woman standing at a podium and speaking into a microphone. She is facing the audience. To her right is a projector screen.
Training sessions feature professional trainers well versed in Fair Housing.

Photograph of a woman standing in front of a room full of about 75 people
Participants are provided with training materials that supplement the learning
during the session and serve as reference materials for use after the training.

Photograph taken from the back of a room showing a woman at the podium, addressing about 75 people
Participants will put knowledge into practice through a series of exercises in each training module.

Photograph taken from the side of a room showing about 75 people listening to a speaker
Training sessions are accredited through the American Institute of Architects and other occupations
such as realtors, code officials, and lawyers are also eligible for continuing education credits.

For more information on our training program, please see our Training Materials, Training Program and Training Calendar pages!