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Washington State FAIR HOUSING UPDATE |
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by Dixie Shaw, Olympia Operations Manager, Washington State Human Rights Commission On Friday, September 8, 2006, the Washington State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC) held an open house celebrating its new satellite office in Vancouver, WA. The WSHRC scheduled this event as an opportunity to meet people who live or work in Vancouver, and to celebrate its new location. Attendance was beyond expectations, and included a good mix of public officials, representatives from advocacy groups and other stakeholders. The open house featured a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by a brief program featuring staff for Governor Chris Gregoire; Senator Craig Pridemore and Representative Bill Fromhold of the 49th Legislative District; Earl Ford, President for the Vancouver Branch of the NAACP; Todd Reeves, Superintendent of the Washington School for the Deaf; Lynnae Ruttledge, Executive Director of the Washington State Division of Vocational Rehabilitation; Commissioner Kathy Baros Friedt, Chair, and Marc Brenman, Executive Director of the Washington State Human Rights Commission. The newly opened Vancouver office is located at the Washington School for the Deaf, in Room #108A of the Epperson Building, 611 Grand Blvd, Vancouver, Wa. Mai Kim Ly, Civil Rights Investigator, who is based in Olympia, will be traveling to Vancouver each Wednesday to staff the office and conduct education and outreach in the area. While the WSHRC has historically served Southwest Washington through our toll-free number, (800-233-3247) and visits from staff, the WSHRC is excited about having a physical presence in the Vancouver area to better meet the public's needs. The WSHRC enforces the Washington Law Against Discrimination, prohibiting discrimination in employment (employers with eight of more employees), housing, places of public accommodation, and credit and insurance transactions, on the basis of race, color, creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, including gender identity, marital status, age (over 40), the presence of any sensory, mental, or physical disability, the use of a trained dog guide or service animal by a person with a disability, retaliation for opposing an unfair practice, filing a whistleblower complaint with the Washington State Auditor, or filing a nursing home abuse complaint. Complaints can be filed by contacting WSHRC representatives at 800-233-3247 or by visiting our web-site and filing a complaint intake inquiry on-line at www.hum.wa.gov/CQ. Current members of the Board of Commissioners are Kathy Baros Friedt, Commission Chair, Olympia; Ellis Casson, Seattle; Deborah Sioux Cano-Lee, Olympia; Jerry Hebert, Kitsap County; and, Shawn Murinko, Spokane. The Executive Director of the WSHRC is Marc Brenman. Please visit us on the Internet at www.hum.wa.gov. OCR Fair Housing Home Page | Your comments about this Web site Updated: Oct. 20, 2006 King County | DES | OCR | News | Services | Comments | Search Links to external sites do not constitute
endorsements by King County. |