Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California Expands Fair Housing Services in Solano County Following Historic Settlement with Fannie Mae Focused on Rebuilding Communities of Color

July 12, 2023

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Caroline Peattie, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
(415) 483-7552, [email protected]

Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California Expands Fair Housing Services in Solano County Following Historic Settlement with Fannie Mae Focused on Rebuilding Communities of Color

San Rafael, CA — As of July 1, 2023, Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California (FHANC) expanded its services in Solano County following a landmark $53 million settlement with Fannie Mae (formally known as the Federal National Mortgage Association) to resolve a case arising from allegations that Fannie Mae treated foreclosed homes in communities of color unfavorably. While the settlement affects multiple communities across the country, the settlement funding FHANC receives will specifically target communities in Solano County. Funding from HUD’s Fair Housing Initiative Program and the cities of Vallejo and Fairfield has allowed the agency to provide fair housing services in those two cities, and a $15,000 grant from the Solano Community Foundation last fall allowed an expansion of service to unincorporated Solano County for a year. Now some of the funds from the Fannie Mae settlement will be used to provide fair housing, foreclosure prevention, and prepurchase services to all areas of the county, including Vacaville, where residents have not previously received fair housing education, counseling, investigation, and representation in the administrative complaint process.


“I am really pleased that we can apply settlement funds toward the revitalization of communities in Solano County,” said Caroline Peattie, Executive Director of Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California. “We are excited that the commitments Fannie Mae made in the settlement allow us to expand our services in Solano County. Though we’ve been providing fair housing services to the cities of Fairfield and Vallejo since 2016 through grants from those jurisdictions, we are looking forward to the positive changes these settlement funds can now also effect in Vacaville and other unincorporated areas of Solano County.”


In addition to providing fair housing, foreclosure prevention, and pre-purchase services in Solano County through its settlement funds, FHANC is also using funds to partner with the Community Housing and Development Corporation (https://communityhdc.org), providing downpayment assistance to first time
homebuyers in the county.

About Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California
Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a non-profit organization serving several Bay Area counties that provides free counseling, enforcement, mediation, and legal or administrative referrals to persons experiencing housing discrimination. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California also offers foreclosure prevention counseling, pre-purchase education, seminars to help housing providers fully understand fair housing law, and education programs for tenants and the community at large. Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California is a HUD-Certified Housing Counseling Agency. Please visit www.fairhousingnorcal.org and submit an intake form or call Fair Housing Advocates of Northern California at (415) 457-5025 or TDD:
(800) 735-2922 for more information.

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