Resolving Housing Problems
Presented by
Arthur Tapia and Laura Diaz
OUR MISSION
To develop and promote fairness and equality
of housing opportunity for all persons and to
advocate the peaceful resolution of disputes for
community welfare and harmony.
PROJECT SENTINEL
WHO WE ARE
Project Sentinel is a non-profit organization with
almost a half-century of experience striving to achieve equality and fairness in housing opportunities for the
people of Northern California.
We are the largest housing agency in Northern
California, consistently funded by local jurisdictions
and by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban
Development (HUD).
We proudly serve 34 communities and partner with
local, state and federal agencies, community-based
organizations, legal entities and homeless prevention
networks.
We are very often the
life-line, last option for
desperate residents
facing housing
insecurity.
Project Sentinel is a non-profit
agency operating since 1976 and
dedicated to helping people
resolve their housing problems.
We believe that where people live
will shape their lives and influence,
if not determine, who their friends
are, what type of education they
receive, what their career path will
be, how their physical and mental
health will develop and whether
they will achieve the American
Dream of Home Ownership and
the accumulation of wealth.
WHAT WE BELIEVE
Fair Housing | Dispute Resolution|
Homeownership
WHAT DO WE DO?
Fair Housing/ Discrimination
Landlord/Tenant Counseling &
Dispute Resolution
Housing Counseling Services
HOUSING DISCRIMINATION
AND FAIR HOUSING
PROTECTIONS
• Investigate complaints
• Conduct audits to test for discrimination
• Provide substantive education to both
tenants and housing providers on fair
housing protections
• Conciliation and mediation
• Conduct enforcement with state agencies
and private counsel as partners to bring
litigation
We are very often the
life-line, last option for
desperate residents
facing housing
insecurity.
• Counseling on fair housing
questions
• Investigation of discrimination
• Writing Reasonable
Accommodation requests
• Negotiation
• Possible Legal Representation
• Community presentations
• Community outreach and
education
WHAT WE BELIEVE
FAIR HOUSING SERVICES OFFERED
DISPUTE RESOLUTION
PROGRAMS
• Community outreach and
education
• Counseling on the law and
options
• Conciliations/mediations
• Court mediation in housing
court, small claims and civil
harassment
• Multi-lingual assistance
• Information and resource
referrals
We are very often the
life-line, last option for
desperate residents
facing housing
insecurity.
Typical housing disputes
resolved by Project Sentinel:
• Eviction
• Habitability
• Privacy
• Mobile Home Parks
• Rent Increases
• Deposit Returns
• Neighbor to neighbor
WHAT WE BELIEVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROGRAM:
TENANT-LANDLORD and HOUSING COUNSELING,
CONCILIATION and MEDIATION
MORTGAGE / FIRST-TIME
HOMEBUYERS
HOUSING COUNSELING SERVICES
• First Time Home Buyer Education
• Reverse Mortgage Counseling
• Foreclosure Prevention
Counseling
• Financial and Credit Counseling
• Pre and Post Purchase Counseling
We are very often the
life-line, last option for
desperate residents
facing housing
insecurity.
Classes meet HUD requirements for
BMR program and Down Payment
Assistance program participation
We are very often the
life-line, last option for
desperate residents
facing housing
insecurity.
• We provide civil rights enforcement, and
we conduct neutral dispute resolution
• We serve tenants, landlords and
homeowners
• We focus on the underserved, the most
marginalized, the hardest to reach
• We will educate the uninformed, help
those in need and prosecute predators
• We partner with everyone: consumers,
providers, advocates, government, and
non-profit agencies
WHAT DISTINGUISHES PROJECT SENTINEL?
OUR QUEST TO SERVE
Seldom do we say we cannot help. There is
usually something we can do. If the client asks for
the impossible, we explain why we can’t meet
their expectations, and if available, where they
might find what they need. Every client is treated
with the utmost respect, care, and supported
however possible.
THANK YOU!
Arthur Tapia, Fair Housing Managing Attorney
[email protected]
Laura Diaz, Fair Housing Community Outreach Coordinator [email protected]
https://www.housing.org/
(800) 339-6043