------------------------------------------------------------------------------ NewsBank, inc. - The Commercial Appeal - 1998 - Article with Citation ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Headline: HUD GRANT DESIGNED TO IMPROVE HOUSING ACCESS IN CITY FOR HANDICAPPED Date: November 26, 1998 Section: News Page: A24 Edition: Final Dateline: WASHINGTON Length: 265 words Author: James W. Brosnan The Commercial Appeal\ Washington Bureau Index Terms: FEDERAL AID HOUSING MEMPHIS DISABLED Text: Memphis Area Legal Services will receive $124,618 from the Department of Housing and Urban Development to monitor and help correct housing discrimination against the disabled. The grant was among $11.5 million in anti-discrimination grants announced Wednesday by Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo. The money in Memphis will be partially used to hire an expert in architectural barriers to the handicapped. It will be administered by the Memphis Fair Housing Center, an arm of Legal Services, and the Memphis Center for Independent Living, said Deidre Smith, director of the Fair Housing Center. "Property owners understand the issue of race, but what we're finding is that a lot of the general public and property owners did not understand the issues involving discrimination against the disabled," said Smith. "We all presume things are more accessible than they are," said Webb Brewer, litigation director for Memphis Area Legal Services. While apartment buildings may have entrance ramps, many other issues pose barriers to the handicapped, including access to recreation and laundry rooms and placement of cabinets and elevator buttons, they said. To reach reporter James W. Brosnan, call (202) 408-2701 or send E-mail to brosnanJ@shns.com Copyright 1998 The Commercial Appeal, Memphis, TN Accession Number: 9811260146 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------