Prompted by prevailing patterns of racial and economic segregation, widespread discrimination in the housing market and an inadequate number of fair housing enforcement agencies, 40 citizens organized the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council (MMFHC) in 1977. A private, non-profit, membership-based organization, MMFHC is comprised of men and women who share a desire to create open and inclusive communities throughout Wisconsin.​

 

In 1983 and 1984, a statewide investigation revealed prevalent discrimination statewide, and MMFHC responded by helping create a network of independent affiliate organizations in other parts of Wisconsin. Over subsequent years, however, locally-based fair housing organizations proved financially unsustainable. Because the need for fair housing services still exists throughout the state, MMFHC opened two satellite offices. The Fair Housing Center of Greater Madison opened its doors in 1998, and the Fair Housing Center of Northeast Wisconsin began its work in 2002.

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MMFHC clients experience high levels of success when seeking a legal remedy to discrimination they’ve faced. Of the thousands of complainants we’ve assisted, approximately 650 have chosen to file lawsuits. Of those 650, our clients have prevailed in all but 8 cases.

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For four decades, MMFHC has established an impressive record of accomplishments and assumed a leadership role in the struggle for equal opportunity in housing. MMFHC staff provide technical assistance, training, and consultation services to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the U.S. Department of Justice, the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the National Fair Housing Alliance and private fair housing agencies throughout the United States, and other local, state and federal organizations. MMFHC has received two Best Practices Awards from HUD, and was honored with a Trail Blazer Award by the Milwaukee Awards in Neighborhood Development Innovation program for its activities to address predatory lending practices.

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Since 2012, MMFHC has implemented a project called Investigative Support for Testing and Enforcement Programs (ISTEP), which is designed to improve the quality and consistency of testing investigations and enforcement actions across the U.S. This project, which has been supported by numerous consecutive HUD grants awarded to MMFHC through a competitive process, provides intensive training and ongoing technical assistance to non-profit organizations that operate fair housing testing programs all over the country. 

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