By David Purtell

david.purtell@salisburypost.com

Salisbury residents will have the chance to hear information about housing advocacy in the city on Thursday.

The city’s Housing Advocacy Commission will hold a workshop from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at City Hall at 217 S. Main Street.

Speakers will discuss discrimination in housing, tenant rights and responsibilities, and landlord and tenant laws, according to a press release from the city.

Chris Branham, with the city’s Community Planning Services, said the commission’s first workshop two years ago was well received, and that Thursday’s event is meant to share new information.

The commission was created in 2012 to help residents with their concerns about housing issues and to create ordinances for dealing with things like abandoned homes and people living in homes that aren’t up to code, Branham said.

Speakers for the event include:

• Richard Craig, an attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina in Greensboro, will discuss tenant and landlord laws for North Carolina.

• Willie Ratchford, executive director of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee, will discuss the concepts of fair housing and discrimination of tenants in the housing industry. He will share examples he has encountered while being in Charlotte with the Community Relations Committee.

• Jim Prosser and Emily Parker, with the Centralina Council of Governments, will talk about community based housing strategies.

Branham, who will also speak, said people will be able to ask questions after each speaker talks. Neighborhood leaders have been invited to the workshop, he said.

Dinner will be served at the workshop, and those who want to attend need to call 704-638-5240 to sign up.