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Mayor proclaims April 2026 Fair Housing Month; Urban League details hotline assistance
Summary
Mayor William S. Cogswell Jr. proclaimed April 2026 Fair Housing Month; Matthew Meadows of the Charleston Area Urban League described ongoing outreach and said the organization assisted 'over 300 people' through the city's Fair Housing hotline this past year, helping dozens avoid eviction and aiding first-time homebuyers.
Mayor William S. Cogswell Jr. read a proclamation recognizing April as Fair Housing Month and invoked the Fair Housing Act of 1968 and HUD's continuing role in preventing housing discrimination.
Matthew Meadows, CEO of the Charleston Area Urban League, thanked the mayor and council and described the organization's fair-housing work: year-round workshops, outreach, filing discrimination complaints, and running the city's Fair Housing hotline. He said, "Over this past year, Gianna, we've assisted over 300 people through the Fair Housing hotline that the city provides funding for. We've helped over 70 people avoid eviction. We have helped over 47 people become first time homebuyers, and we have had, in this past month, 3 people buy their first home through the support from the city of Charleston." Meadows noted the Urban League was one of 33 agencies nationally to receive a HUD education and outreach grant to continue fair-housing work.
The proclamation and the Urban League remarks framed fair housing as an ongoing local effort to address unequal access to housing and to support residents with prevention, education and enforcement tools.
Next steps: the proclamation recognizes local and federal responsibilities and highlights ongoing Urban League programs and a HUD education/outreach grant; council did not vote on additional funding at the meeting.
