Olympia proclaims April Fair Housing and Child Abuse Prevention months; community speakers urge action

The Olympia City Council on April 14 issued proclamations marking April as Fair Housing Month and Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month, and heard brief remarks from community partners and advocates.

The council read and signed a Fair Housing Month proclamation noting the Fair Housing Act’s 1968 enactment and urging local efforts to reduce housing discrimination. Krista Linson, senior housing program specialist for the city, introduced two community speakers who addressed the council.

"Fair housing is not just a policy. It's a promise," said Steve Chung, president‑elect of the Thurston County Realtors Association, thanking the city for the proclamation and describing industry efforts such as implicit bias training and home‑buyer outreach. Cassandra Wyckoff, test coordinator at the Fair Housing Center of Washington, urged the city to boost education and enforcement: "Housing is not a luxury. It's not a reward for good behavior," she said, and called for fair housing education for property owners, managers and boards.

Councilmembers noted federal rulemaking at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and local programs, including Washington’s covenant homeownership initiative, and thanked staff for submitting public comments opposing regulatory changes they said would weaken protections.

The meeting also recognized Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Month. Jill Severn accepted the proclamation and connected early trauma to later housing instability, urging preventative work. Shelly Willis, executive director of Family Education Support Services, explained that the pinwheel is a national symbol for child abuse prevention and encouraged planting pinwheels around the city to raise awareness.

The proclamations are symbolic actions that the council framed as part of a larger set of commitments and partnerships: staff and community partners in Olympia and Thurston County will continue programmatic and educational work referenced during the meeting. The council’s formal action was the adoption of the proclamations; no new ordinance or funding was enacted at the meeting.