The BCD Council of Governments assists local governments with the administration of Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds. One of the conditions of receiving CDBG funds is to take proactive steps to further fair housing. To this end, participants in the CDBG program take time to observe April 2012 as the 44th Anniversary of the passage of the Fair Housing Act. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended, known as the Fair Housing Act, prohibits discrimination in the sale or rental of housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin. Congress amended the Fair Housing Act in 1998 to provide stiffer penalties, establish an administrative enforcement mechanism, and expand its coverage to prohibit discrimination on the basis of familial status and disability.

In 1989 South Carolina passed a Fair Housing Law that provides rights and remedies substantially equivalent to those found in the Federal Fair Housing Act. At the time of passage, South Carolina was the first state in the Southeast Region, and the second State in the nation to pass a Fair Housing Law recognized by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as being substantially equivalent to the National Fair Housing Law. By resolution, Berkeley and Dorchester Counties, and the Towns of Harleyville, Moncks Corner, and St. Stephen have all officially designated April 2012 as Fair Housing Month.

When the Fair Housing Act was first passed, racially and ethnically diverse neighborhoods were generally discussed only in terms of benefits to racial or ethnic  minorities. Today, many recognize that diverse neighborhoods have tangible benefits for all people who live in them and that true diversity is more than just "racial integration". Rather, a diverse community is one where all residents are included, where no group is privileged above any other group, and where everyone has equal access to opportunity.

Congress passed the Fair Housing Act in 1968 to guarantee the right to choose where to live without facing discrimination or legally imposed obstacles. This is a core value that needs no additional justification. But it is also important to recognize the other benefits and values that are promoted by inclusive and diverse communities:

• Inclusive, diverse communities have quality schools with diverse student bodies that enhance outcomes for all children.
• Inclusive, diverse communities have a healthy, robust market that competes for buyers and renters from all racial and ethnic groups in a region and cannot be easily targeted by predatory lenders.
• Inclusive, diverse communities contribute to the regional economy with a range of housing choices for workers of all income ranges, and help to prevent the harmful concentration of racially isolated poverty at the core of the metropolitan region.
• Inclusive, diverse communities incorporate accessible design and housing options that maximize inclusion of persons with disabilities in the build environment and in communications.
• Inclusive, diverse communities successfully resist sprawl and its negative social and environmental impacts by consolidating growth for a mixed income, diverse population along efficient transportation corridors and by bringing workers closer to regional job centers.

The BCDCOG is interested in hearing from area employers looking at the costs and benefits of vanpooling programs for their employees. A commuter vanpool is defined as a group of seven to fifteen people who ride to and from work each day in a comfortable passenger van. Vanpools can benefit both the companies and the employees. Van pool drivers are rewarded by usually riding free, receiving personal use of the van, and sustaining less wear on personal automobiles. Riders are rewarded by saving money on gas costs, being able to read the paper, sleep, or socialize during the daily commute, potentially reducing personal auto insurance premiums and sustaining less wear on personal automobiles. Companies benefit from vanpooling because employees are willing to work farther from home if they know they do not have to drive every day; peer pressure also keeps tardy people from holding up the vanpool. Employers who sponsor commuter vanpool programs can also recapture some of their costs by claiming a tax credit for purchasing or leasing vanpool vehicles. The costs of vanpooling can vary depending on the type of vanpooling program used (company or employee operated), whether an organization buys or leases the van and the size of the fleet vehicles. Companies in the troicounty area interested in hearing more about vanpooling including how to partner with other organizations should contact the BCDCOG Mobility Manager Vonie Gilreath at vonieg@bcdcog.com or (843) 529-0400.