Racial equity and inclusion is front and center

In August, the Center for Urban and Racial Equity (CURE) completed a racial equity assessment of our agency. They conducted an anonymous staff survey, four focus groups (with staff, former staff and clients), interviews with senior leaders, as well as a review of our policies and procedures.

At our August All-Staff meeting, CURE presented the results and held small group discussions to gather feedback and answer questions.

Areas identified for improvement and attention include:

• Training and tools
• Hiring, promotion and retention practices
• Client engagement in both their care and agency decision-making
• Policies and procedures
• Delivery of care
• Measures of care quality
• Contracting and procurement

Here’s what we know: The work of racial equity and inclusion requires transformation in everything we do—from hiring to providing care to measuring success to building business relationships. And we need to have a plan to begin the methodical, long-term re-envisioning of our organization.

This fall, our Racial Equity Working Group, composed of the Staff REI Committee and executive leadership, is creating a Racial Equity Plan that identifies priorities and assigns responsibilities. This Plan will be critical to our strategic planning process, scheduled to begin in January 2022. During that time, we will also engage in a review of our mission statement and core values.

We look forward to sharing the Plan with you and thank you for being our partners in the work to making the Health Care for the Homeless community truly safe, responsible, respectful and compassionate.

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