On April 25, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Chicago and Dallas radio stations had more than just music, weather, traffic and talk on the air. They are among the 13 cities targeted by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development new Spanish-language radio campaign to promote awareness of Fair Housing laws.

HUD says the goal of the new campaign is to make residents, property owners and managers (as well as homebuyers, realtors, borrowers and lenders) aware of federal law as prohibiting discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability.

"Our latest Housing Discrimination Study found that Hispanics experience discrimination one in four times that they attempt to rent a home," said Carolyn Peoples, HUD's Assistant Secretary for Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity. "As a result of the findings, we have placed additional emphasis on education and outreach to the Hispanic community."

In the past two years, HUD awarded $850,000 to organizations with established ties to the Hispanic community to provide bilingual Fair Housing materials and services. Last year, HUD allocated of $1.7 million to address discrimination against Hispanics in six states where the Hispanic population is large and rapidly growing.

The campaign is the result of a coordinated effort between HUD and the Hispanic Radio Network. HUD has also targeted the ad for broadcast in Charlotte, Raleigh, Orlando, San Diego, Bakersfield, Fresno, Austin, Houston, Odessa and Amarillo.

"One measure of the effectiveness of these campaigns is the number of complaints filed by Hispanics," said Peoples. "A similar campaign last year resulted in HUD and its partners seeing a 31 percent increase in complaints alleging discrimination against Hispanics. Awareness is the first step in preventing housing discrimination."

Commenting on HUD's outreach to Hispanics, Arturo Vasquez, Hispanic Radio Network Chief Operating Officer, said, "We are happy to partner with HUD on getting information out to Latinos about their rights under the fair housing law and what they can do if they feel they are being discriminated against."

Anyone who believes they have experienced housing discrimination is asked to call HUD's Housing Discrimination Hotline at (800) 669-9777. They can also visit HUD's Fair Housing Web site at www.hud.gov/fairhousing

For more information, contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 451 7th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20410 or call (202) 708-1112.