LITTLE ROCK — A Little Rock homeless shelter was cleared Friday by the Arkansas Fair Housing Commission regarding a discrimination complaint by a man with HIV and his wife.
Jason and Tanecia Neal and the commission staff said Our House evicted Jason Neal on March 17 after one day at the shelter because he had HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.
After an all-day hearing, the commission voted 4-3 in favor of finding the shelter innocent of violating the state fair-housing act.
The Arkansas Fair Housing Commission is an enforcement agency that works with the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development to enforce fair-housing laws. The commission employs a staff with investigators to help with the task.
Georgia Mjarten, executive director of Our House, and case manager Justin Sanders each testified that they rushed a decision to evict Jason Neal because they thought wrongly that he needed specialized care.
They said they had allowed residents with HIV previously and have a resident now with HIV. Had they known Neal didn't need any special treatment, they would have let him stay, they said.
Assistant Attorney General Don Barnes said Our House had no reason to think that Neal needed special care.
The commission staff, led by Executive Director Carol Johnson, said Mjarten and Sanders evicted Neal partly out of fear he would contaminate the shelter's eating utensils.
Sanders and Mjarten denied they had said that, and the staff produced no documents substantiating that claim.
The commission staff sought $43,000 in damages and $44,000 in penalties, the maximum allowed by law for four counts of discrimination - two each for Jason and Tanecia Neal.
Our House attorney Dan Herrington accused the commission staff of being overly aggressive against Our House. He said there was no evidence for a finding regarding Tanecia Neal because she never was rejected for residency. Herrington said one count regarding Jason Neal was wrongly filed because he wasn't denied additional services at the shelter.
Herrington said Jason Neal should have stated his case about not having special needs to Our House staff members and asked Mjarten to reconsider. But he said Neal instead left the center upset and later asked for $50,000 to settle the complaint.
Some commissioners raised concerns that while Our House might have been guilty of discrimination, they weren't sure that Arkansas' fair-housing law covers homeless shelters.
Herrington said the Our House staff will receive additional counseling about housing laws.
Mjarten said Our House was founded 22 years ago by area churches and receives some federal funds. It houses about 120 homeless people at any given time.
Arkansas, Pages 12 on 08/29/2009