Archives for December 2018

Fair Housing with Margaret Squires

(Dec. 19, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Margaret Squires, head of the Fairfax County Office of Human Rights and Equity Programs. Their discussion focuses on fair housing, and how her office handles claims of fair housing discrimination in the county.

The Office of Human Rights and Equity Programs handles discrimination complaints in fives different areas: housing, employment, public accommodations, credit and private education. If a citizen thinks that they have been discriminated against, they can file a complaint with the county office. A case will be opened, and an investigation will ensue. Squires notes that protected classes of individuals are race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status, disability, marital status and age discrimination.

If someone thinks that they have been discriminated against, Squires encourages them to contact her office to learn if they have a viable complaint. Citizens can call the office (there is a TTY phone number available for the hard of hearing), they can visit the office in person and speak with a representative, or they can reach out to the office online to share information about their experience. In all of these situations, a case manager will be assigned to the complaint, and will identify if there is enough evidence to proceed. People have 365 days from the date of the event to file their complaint. If a citizen wants to retain a private attorney to cover their case, then information shared with the office will not be released to their attorney. They will be required to start over in the discovery phase.

After the case managers determine that there is a basis for the claim, they move forward in contacting the landlord to try and resolve the issue. The case mangers always try and bring the parties together to come to a resolution. If it has been determined that a landlord is in violation of fair housing law, and they refuse to come to an agreement, then Squire’s office will refer the case to the County Attorney’s office for further review. Many times, after the disputes are resolved, the person in violation of the law will be required to attend a Fair Housing training in order to better understand the law and how to conduct business in the future.

In the second segment, Catherine discusses some trends that Squires has been noticing in the field. Specifically, she has seen a drop off of complaints being filed from the Hispanic community, and the immigrant community at large. In today’s current political climate, many immigrants are afraid to speak up even if they are legitimately covered under the law. It is a disturbing trend, and Squires emphasizes that her case mangers do not need documentation from people when filing a complaint. She worries that many people are getting taken advantage of, because they are unwilling to speak out.

Squires also points out that it is illegal for a landlord to retaliate against someone who files a complaint. If a landlord evicts a tenant after they have filed a complaint, the landlord could be subject to steep fines as the court does not look favorably on them if they retaliate.

Additionally, Squire’s office is available as a resource to the community, as they provide education and outreach services. Services include training for landlords, real estate professionals, property managers, lenders and other housing professionals. They are also available to provide information and training to the general public at no cost.

by Rachel Simon

Menstrual Equity Update with Holly Siebold

(Dec. 10, 2018) Catherine Read interviews Holly Seibold (President) and Shaheen Khurana (Legislative Affairs) of BRAWS (Bringing Resources and Aid to Women’s Shelters), along with Del. Jennifer Boysko and FCPS School Board Member At-Large Karen Keys-Gamarra regarding the issue of menstrual equity.

Catherine first speaks with Holly Siebold about the term “menstrual equity” and why it is on the radar of so many people in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Holly became involved with this issue several years ago, when she founded the organization Bringing Resources and Aid to Women in Shelters (BRAWS). At the time, her goal was to get menstrual supplies to low-income women who did not have the resources to purchase them.

As Siebold has learned more and more about this issue, she has championed the idea of bringing full access of these products to all women in need. She specifically mentions that the place where the most work needs to be done is in the public schools. In her travels throughout Northern Virginia she has found that 30% of the girls surveyed have had to miss school to manage their period. This could be for something as simple as not having a tampon or pad at school, or being forced to go home to get products or to change clothes. This puts girls at a tremendous disadvantage, especially those who come from low-income households who do not have the necessary resources to deal with these challenges.

In addition to the fact that they are forced to miss school, many young women feel shame and stigma about having to manage their menstruation. Schools are not equipped with products to help the girls, and students might not want to tell the nurse or counselor what their problems are due to shame, anger or embarrassment. Part of Holly’s work is to help change this dynamic, and to change how adults approach and talk about menstruation. BRAWS also sponsors a teen council to help de-stigmatize periods and elevate this issue, as well as advocate and raise funds for those in need.

In the second segment Catherine speaks with Shaheen Khurana, the legislative affairs specialist at BRAWS working on menstrual equity bills in the Virginia General Assembly. Last year, BRAWS successfully worked with Del. Kaye Kory to pass HB 83, a bill directing all correctional facilities in Virginia to make menstrual products readily available, and free of charge, to all inmates who request the products. In the past there was a wide disparity throughout the state run correctional facilities on how these requests were handled. Many inmates were required to purchase the products as the store, but could not afford to buy them. This legislation ensures that all women have access to the sanitary supplies that they need on a monthly basis.

Del. Jennifer Boysko joins Catherine in the following segment to discuss her work to bring the Dignity Bills to the floor of the chamber in 2019. These bills are designed to abolish the sales tax charged on menstrual products to help ease the burden of the cost of these goods. The first bill introduced last year would have removed the tax only during the sales tax holiday, which is designed and marketed as “back to school” sales tax relief. Currently, everything from wedding dresses to candy are included as part of this tax relief program. The second bill would have removed sales tax permanently on all purchases throughout the year.

Both bills were killed in committee last year, but Boysko hopes to have a better outcome with these bills during the 2019 session. As menstrual equity is elevated in the state and national discourse, she believes that they can make progress. To date, fifteen states have already removed sales tax from these products, and NY, CA and IL have all required their school systems to provide menstrual products free of charge to students in need.

Catherine’s final guest is Karen Keys-Gamarra, School Board Member at Large for Fairfax County Public Schools. She has successfully included support for menstrual products to be supplied to students who need them in the FCPS legislative package being sent to Richmond this year. Keys-Gamarra strongly believes that as the largest school division in the state, it is important to include this as a priority and be a leader on this issue. She notes that the school accreditation standards have recently been updated to include school absence as a factor. Based on the student surveys indicating that girls are missing classes due to not having access to menstrual products, she felt compelled to raise the issue. FCPS Superintendent Scott Braband has been directed to explore the scope, cost and impact that this request would have on the school system’s budget.

by Rachel Simon

League of Women Voters with Beth Tudan

(Dec. 5, 2018) Catherine Read sits down with Beth Tudan, Executive Director of the League of Women Voters of the Fairfax Area for a discussion focusing on voter registration and voter education.

Several years ago, Beth realized that there was a wide disparity regarding how students were being taught about voter registration throughout Fairfax County. This was brought to her attention when her own son was in high school, and she learned that not all students were getting equal access to education and assistance about the voter registration process. After learning in 2016 that only 1600 out of approximately 13,000 senior students were registered to vote, she embarked on a mission to change the paradigm.

Together with the FCPS school system; the League of Women Voters sponsored a voter registration challenge. Understanding that not all students are able to register to vote, they adjusted eligible student numbers for each high school, and came up with realistic goals based on the school population. By the end of the challenge, they had boosted registration up to approximately 5,000 students countywide. Last year, Hayfield Secondary School took the prize, under the enthusiastic direction of Doug Ziwall. The League will again sponsor the challenge for the 2018-2019 school year and are looking to improve on last year’s success.

In addition, the LWV created a non-partisan lesson plan that they use to emphasize the importance of voting, and the responsibilities of being a citizen in a democracy. Tudan and her volunteers use interactive exercises to demonstrate why students should not let others decide about public policy on their behalf. In Virginia, citizens do not register by party, so voters can decide which primary that they will participate in year by year. This training is now being shared with Leagues throughout the state, which will hopefully boost voter registration throughout the Commonwealth.

The class also informs students how they can vote absentee once they go off to college, as well as how to find information about candidates, and locate their polling place. The goal is to give students the tools that they need to be able to actively participate in the democratic process as well as develop a habit of voting. Tudan notes that the wonderful thing about the Commonwealth of Virginia is that elections are held every year, so the students will always have a reason to go to the polls the same year that they register.

Each high school is required to offer voter registration opportunities to students three times a year. Tudan has worked with volunteers at the LWV to ensure that every school that requests a visit can be covered. In Virginia, there are only three organizations that are authorized to visit schools regarding voter registration. They are the League of Women Voters, Aspire Virginia and the Board of Elections.

The LWV regularly works with students who are looking to fulfill the requirement of service hours for graduation. She has opportunities for students to research candidates (in a non-partisan fashion), help organize candidate forums, and manage social media posts with tips and information for voters. Please reach out to Beth via email if you are student and you are interested in getting involved.

Tudan points out that this is a big year for Virginia, as every seat in the General Assembly (100 House seats and 40 Senate seats) will be up for grabs. Additionally, elections will be held at the municipal level, as well as at the county level for the Board of Supervisors and the School Board. Visit the League’s website for more information about voting and candidates in the Fairfax County area.