“Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another.” (Romans 12:15-16)
November 20 marked Transgender Remembrance Day. Maura White, our Association Marketing and Communications Director, posted a beautiful message on our social media pages, raising awareness of the plight of the trans community. The statistics are startling: 90% of the trans community face harassment on a daily basis, are four times more likely to live in poverty and have a 40% greater likelihood to attempt suicide. As Maura noted in her post, 2021 saw the greatest number of transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people lose their lives to violence. Though they face tremendous oppression in their daily lives, more people are becoming aware of the discrimination the trans community faces, and are committed to fostering “safe and accepting environments for them.” Maura closed her message with our Y’s promise: at the Y, we believe our communities are strongest when everyone is included and has the opportunity to reach their full potential with dignity.
“We believe our communities are strongest when everyone is included and has the opportunity to reach their full potential with dignity.”
These are familiar words to our Y. In 2018, we published our strategic plan, declaring that we provide “space and opportunity so all can thrive in every season in life.” For the past twenty-one months, we have been taking a closer look at our promise, challenging ourselves to bring these words to life, and truly build an environment that welcomes all and enables all to thrive. Though the pandemic has been painfully disruptive, we have been steadfast in our belief that within this disruption lies opportunities. One of those opportunities has been to reaffirm our commitment to our mission statement: to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build healthy mind, body, and spirit for all. It is critical for our organization, particularly amidst the uncertainty of this period, that we are clear who we are and what our purpose is, and to fulfill that purpose. Being true to who we claim to be is our only way forward.
The pandemic has drawn our attention to a number of painful truths, such as how unhealthy many Americans are, and how this crisis has magnified the disparity between those who have access to resources, and those who do not. When Susan Buell and Janele Nelson created the Community Café for COVID victims last year, a subgroup was formed for Spanish-speaking people. We learned how grateful the participants were to receive guidance and be able to access vital services. Prior to being part of the Café, they were isolated and gripped by fear, but having someone to guide them through the medical world completely changed their lives. Having someone who understood them, and could connect with them, instantly put them at ease and helped them to find a healthy path forward. It was also a reminder to us that we had work to do to make our Y more inclusive. It has been the primary focus for our Y, and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion steering committee. Chris Spivey has taken on the leadership of this work, along with Emily Morisawa, Don Brevik, and myself. The committee has done a good job establishing the framework for our organizational plan and recently decided to include more of our staff to join in on the effort. This is an important step for our Y; we need more staff involved to effectively advance this work forward. The steering committee welcomes Amber Mosley, Senior Program Director from the Center for Community Impact, and Jenn Amos, Director of Groups and Retreats at Camp Seymour. In addition, two subcommittees have been formed to lead the work to help diversify our staff and to connect with the communities we serve. We have received a great response from our staff to help lead this work.
A month ago, our Y was invited to be part of a community forum in Lakewood that was “designed to expand the momentum around community engagement through intentional partnerships to foster community connection in the context of equity.” Alongside the Clover Park School District and Pierce College, our Y was part of a community collaboration that signed the We See Lakewood Joint Resolution, committing to address unconscious bias, systemic barriers, and racism. It was a powerful alignment of community leaders, recognizing that real progress in building an inclusive and equitable community can only happen in true partnership, or as Ron Banner, superintendent of Clover Park School District, so passionately exclaims, “Locking arms. We are so much stronger together.” Similarly, we are part of a community collaboration in Puyallup, working with the Puyallup campus of Pierce College, Puyallup School District, and the city of Puyallup. This is a very important opportunity for our organization. It is powerful to align with other community leaders in this critical work; to effectively serve the community, we must address these issues together, providing access to all, particularly those with the greatest need, who historically have not had access.
Every Wednesday, for the past twenty months, the DEI steering committee has been getting together, creating a framework to help our organization become a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive organization. Sitting in the meetings, I am inspired to watch and listen to the passion Emily, Chris, and Don have for this work. They are deeply committed to driving this work forward. This is transformational work, but it does not move quickly. Chris will often say, “We are on a journey, but we are further along than we were a year ago.” Two weeks ago, I was in a discussion with Kim Schulz, Scott Smith, Brian Flattum, and Tara Bywater, discussing the January promotion. As we discussed possible promotion options, I realized there was a different tone to the conversation. The group spoke about equity and whether the offer would provide access to all. It was a big step for our organization; we were looking at how we wanted to operate through a different lens, an equity lens. This was transformational.
It is amazing to realize all that we are trying to do in the eye of a hurricane: improve the staff culture, strengthen our membership model, find new ways to deliver services to our communities, and hold ourselves accountable to being an organization that is welcoming to all, and truly mean all. At the end of Maura’s social media post, she expressed our intention of being inclusive of all: “We see you, we support you, we welcome you.”