Earlier this year, the Fair Housing Center for Rights and Research tasked the Cleveland Global Shapers with the challenge to analyze the civil rights impacts of renter discrimination and develop a bias-free tenant screening model that could be implemented in the City of Cleveland. Throughout our research and development of this model, we found that education was one of the most lacking components - both in terms of tenants understanding their rights and landlords understanding the barriers which tenants may face. Additionally, despite the availability of expansive studies, people are generally unaware of how metrics such as credit score, eviction history, and justice involvement do not necessarily indicate how successful someone may be as a tenant.

We are creating an interactive educational exhibit to address this information gap. This exhibit will serve three primary purposes

1. Provide historical context - how did fair housing protections develop and how do they relate to Cleveland?

2. Educate renters on their rights - what protections do renters have and what is not protected? How does one even navigate the legal system?

3. Educate landlords on the experiences of renters and help shift how they view what makes a "good" tenant - build empathy and provide a space where we can change perceptions.

The exhibit will conclude by presenting attendees the option to play The Game of Rent, a role-playing game developed by Kelsey Oesmann of Nashville, TN that presents the challenges of renting.

Additionally, we plan to create a distilled version of this exhibit which can be packaged and presented at events such as housing clinics or landlord trainings.