Black Lives Matter.
Supporters of SHC,
Somerville Homeless Coalition stands in solidarity with protesters and organizations fighting to dismantle pervasive structural racism in our country. George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade – these are the most recent of a long list of names that ring in our hearts and minds as we process the senseless violence, police brutality, and racial injustice exacted on Black Americans.
As an organization we acknowledge that homelessness, police brutality, and the disproportionate effects of COVID-19 on communities of color are all aligned to the same racial injustices. While we work to mitigate the effects of racism and white supremacy in the lives of our clients, we must also recognize that we, as an organization, ensure that we are actively anti-racist. We need to do the work of self-examination, education, and improvement. We dedicate ourselves to this work and will provide updates to our community, whom we hope and expect will hold us accountable.
The Board of Directors started by acknowledging that our board is not diverse and pledged to change this with strategic intent moving forward. We also commit to fostering a culture that reflects the diversity of our client base through our staff led DEI committee, holding us all accountable to learning, training and promoting inclusion and belonging within our environment, and, reflected in our policies and programs.
SHC would like to point you towards a non-comprehensive list of resources and organizations in support of ending anti-blackness in the United States.
Safely Support Black Lives Matter Online
— The SHC Board and Executive Team