We stand in solidarity with worldwide protests demanding racial justice & Black Lives Matter movement.

Posted on | by Kati Hannigan

In response to the police brutality and racism that caused the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and countless other Black people and people of color, we want to make it clear that we stand in solidarity with the worldwide protests demanding racial justice and the Black Lives Matter movement.

 

Our work – fighting for the health, education, financial stability and resilience of EVERY person in our Central Oregon community, reducing the incidence and impacts of childhood trauma through the TRACEs movement, integrating the practices and policies based on the science of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), being trauma-informed, and integrating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) – necessarily requires that we embrace and fight for racial justice.

 

We stand firmly against racism and oppression, and we are listening and learning. We will continue to dismantle racism where we see it – in the work we do and the ways we serve our Central Oregon community. We commit to using our position in the community to affect systemic, community-wide change in the areas of implicit and systemic racism. We want you to join us.

 

Actions:

 

  • Programs: We understand the psychological and physical factors that make the trauma of racism a very real public health issue. Our collective impact aims to break the cycle of generational poverty and historical oppression in Central Oregon through our TRACEs work.  We support programs across Central Oregon that fight for the health, education, financial stability, and resilience of EVERY person in our Central Oregon community, that are nurturing resilience and reducing the effects of trauma, and that incorporate DEI.  We are investing in things like stable housing, mental health services, and community organizations… things that make up a community’s true safety net.

 

  • Grant Access: As a grantor, we need to make sure EVERYONE knows about the grants we provide to nonprofits in our region. Please share or apply for grants from these funds here. We welcome ideas on how we can increase awareness about available funds.

 

  • Leadership: We recognize that the leadership in our organization does not reflect the diversity it should. We commit to changing that. As staff positions transition, we will actively look to fill new positions with diverse candidates whose lived experiences enrich how we serve our community.  You can read more about the changes United Way Worldwide is instituting to directly address racial equity and ethnic discrimination here.

 

  • Board Recruitment: In the past 18 months, we’ve been trained on DEI issues, and we recognized at that time that our Board of Directors didn’t reflect the people we serve, and that wasn’t fair. We’re working on making board participation more accessible to more members of the Central Oregon community. We’d like you to join us to share your voice.

 

Contact us to share your thoughts and get involved.