Fair Housing Symposium and student poster contest winners commemorate Fair Housing Month
April 24, 2025 9:44 AM
SANTA MONICA, Calif. (April 24, 2025) – The city celebrates Fair Housing Month this April with a free symposium on local fair housing laws and housing discrimination at the Main Library.
The city has also announced finalists for the popular annual Student Fair Housing Poster Contest. This year’s contest received entries around the theme “Fair Housing Makes Us Stronger.”
The 2025 Fair Housing Symposium will take place on Tuesday, April 29, from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. in the Martin Luther King Jr. Auditorium at the Main Library.
This year’s speakers include:
- Minty Siu-Kootinkoff, legal services director of The People Concern – Sojourn
- Daliah Setareh, senior attorney at the Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles
- Attorneys from the Consumer Protection Unit of the Santa Monica City Attorney’s Office
- City of Santa Monica Equity and Inclusion Manager Lisa Parson
Topics will include the history of racism in Santa Monica and the newly formed Landback & Reparations Task Force, as well as fair housing protections available to domestic violence survivors, immigrant tenants and persons with disabilities.
Property owners, managers, attorneys, social-service providers, tenants and all members of the public are invited to attend.
Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Refreshments and parking validation will be provided at the Main Library lot. Biking and public transit is encouraged. Registration is available at this link.
Additionally, about 100 elementary and middle school students from Santa Monica participated in the city’s Student Fair Housing Poster Contest this year. A panel of judges had the difficult but enjoyable task of selecting four finalists. They are:
- Soleyli Hernandez, fifth grade, Edison Language Academy
- Lily Gutierrez, fourth grade, Roosevelt Elementary School
- Faye Mathis Willing, fourth grade, Roosevelt Elementary School
- Judge’s Choice finalist Rose Nakai Haskelewitch, fourth grade, Roosevelt Elementary School
One poster will be part of the city's 2025 fair housing newspaper ad campaign and two of the posters will be published as calendars for 2026.
Media Contact
Tati Simonian
Public Information Officer
Tati.Simonian@santamonica.gov
Categories
Housing, Other Services, Programs, Services