The LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance (The Alliance) has partnered with the Asian Real Estate Association of America (AREAA).
AREAA signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), allowing for joint efforts to combat discrimination and hate against the LGBTQ+ and Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities.
The Alliance also has partnerships with industry diversity groups such as the National Association of Hispanic Real Estate Professionals (NAHREP), dozens of state and local REALTOR® associations and industry leaders like the National Association of Mortgage Brokers and the National Association of REALTORS®.
The Alliance and AREAA will focus on raising awareness and supporting educational initiatives to foster safer housing environments for their communities while supporting each organization’s core missions of increasing homeownership rates among their constituents.
“This is a proud moment for AREAA as we can now provide even more support for LGBTQ+ AAPI consumers and our members who may face additional cultural challenges while living their authentic lives,” said Amy Kong, President of AREAA.
“Additionally, diversity, equality and inclusion efforts are gaining momentum, but there is still much work to be done in our nation, added Kong. “There is an African proverb that says, ‘if you want to go far, go together.’ For AREAA, working with the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance is the beginning of an important journey that will in fact takes us far—far from today’s climate of hate.”
But for many LGBTQ Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders and their families, navigating the intersection between the two identities can become a balancing act between finding strength in their lived experiences and family tradition and managing the burdens that can arise from an emphasis on putting family above the individual.
Kong pointed out that Stop AAPI Hate recently shared there have been more than 3,800 anti-Asian hate incidents in the U.S. since the pandemic began while HRC predicts that 2021 will be the worst year for anti-LGBTQ+ government action with more than 250 bills introduced in state legislatures around the nation.
“Our collaboration with AREEA will leverage our shared experiences as victims of discrimination and hate to create powerful synergies that will effect change,” said Ryan Weyandt, CEO of the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance. “It is well documented that homeownership rates for the LGBTQ+ community and the AAPI community are significantly lower than those for the general American population. This is largely due to housing discrimination, which often goes unreported and therefore unaddressed, along with a lack of understanding and education.”
Source: The Alliance
