Mayor Kenneth Gulley has proclaimed April as Fair Housing Month in the city of Bessemer.
The local proclamation coincides with the national declaration of April as Fair Housing Month.
Each April, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, local communities, fair housing advocates, and fair housing organizations across the country commemorate Fair Housing Month by hosting an array of activities that highlight HUD’s fair housing enforcement efforts, enhance Americans’ awareness of their fair housing rights, and emphasize the importance of ending housing discrimination.
The city’s Economic and Community Development Department and Mayor’s Office will serve as co-sponsors of the United Way of Central Alabama’s virtual Fair Housing workshop, which is scheduled for Thursday, April 15, 2021, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Landlords and tenants in Bessemer are urged to attend the event.
Information on the event is below:
Fair Housing: Know Your Rights!
Presented by United Way Housing Alliance in partnership with the City of Bessemer and the Center for Fair Housing
Just one day of your life can change someone else’s forever.
Home fires claim seven lives every day but having working smoke alarms can cut the risk of death by half. The American Red Cross helps reduce home fire deaths and injuries through Sound the Alarm. Save a Life. This series of home fire safety and smoke alarm installation events takes place throughout the year.
The city of Bessemer’s Economic and Community Development Department is providing assistance to microenterprises/entrepreneurs in the city impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The assistance programs are funded by the Community Development Block Grant CARES Act, or CDBG-CV, allocation provided to the city by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
The City of Bessemer Small Business/Micro-enterprise Recovery and Resiliency program will provide technical assistance to eligible microenterprises in Bessemer that have experienced the detrimental impacts of COVID-19 with an aim of preparing, preventing and responding to the pandemic. Qualified owners will take part in a 10-week business consulting/mentoring program aimed at helping to stabilize their businesses for sustainability in a COVID-19/post COVID-19 environment.
Microenterprises, defined as businesses with five or fewer employees, who complete the program will be eligible to receive grants of up to $5,000. Grant assistance can be used to provide capital to meet commercial lease or utility payment requirements or to purchase supplies and equipment needed to operate in a COVID-19 environment. To be eligible, microenterprises must have had a current business license with the city on March 17, 2020 and must document how their business has been impacted by the pandemic.
The program is being conducted in collaboration with Create Birmingham. An estimated 18 to 20 micro-enterprises will be assisted through the program, which will be administered in two separate cohorts.
For more information, contact Mr. Abraham Ward in the Community Development Department or Mr. Toraine Norris in the Mayor’s Office at 205-424-4060.
A virtual town hall is scheduled for Thursday, April 1, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. For more information, visit http://createbirmingham.org/bessemer. A second town hall is being planned and will be announced soon.
Note: Microenterprises which have received other forms of federal assistance, such as Payment Protection Program funds, may not be eligible to participate in this program.
UPDATE #1 – A second virtual town hall is scheduled for Tuesday, April 20, at 5:30 p.m. Click here to register for the event.
