As communities are coming together, uprising to protest the death of yet another Black life at the hands of the police, at Housing Families we have been reflecting on our role in dismantling the racism plaguing our country. We see the harmful consequences of systemic racism play out daily in the lives of many of our families whether it be health, educational or housing disparities.
Our mission of ending family homelessness will never be achieved if we don’t commit ourselves fully to breaking down the systemic racism and structures of our society causing people of color to disproportionately experience homelessness and housing insecurity.
Housing Families is taking this moment to step back and look at ourselves and our agency. We are reflecting, learning, and actively seeking to better our organization, our programs, and our ability to hear and support our families, our staff, and our community. We understand racism comes in many forms. Sometimes it is overt and obvious. Other times it is masked and silent. Whether latent or expressed, racism hurts and has deadly consequences on communities of color. We commit to being an anti-racist organization.
We condemn the social injustice and racism that we have witnessed. We support the Black community. We hear you and hold space for your grief and trauma. As you grieve, we grieve with you. As you fight, we will fight with you. As the call for justice becomes louder, we will use our voices to amplify the call, and we will use our status as leaders to humbly work towards the equity, justice, and the betterment of ourselves.
We continue to find inspiration and hope in our community, each other, and the families we serve.
Thank you for joining our efforts to make this world a better place for all families.
Sincerely,
Laura Rosi
Chief Executive Officer
Housing Families, Inc.