We believe that Black Lives Matter. The FamilyWorks community is reeling in outrage and grief over the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, and Ahmaud Arbery (and countless others). We acknowledge the centuries of anguish that our Black communities have had to endure. We are in solidarity with the protestors who are crying out against police injustice in Seattle and across the United States. We are committed as an organization to dismantle white supremacy and institutionalized racism within our community.
Our mission is to connect individuals and families to nourishing food, essential resources, and a caring community, so people can build resiliency to meet life’s challenges. Since our beginnings we have followed participant-driven family support principles, focusing on:
1) – providing dignity and strengths-based empowerment programs that affirm cultural and racial identity,
2) – responding to emerging family and community needs, and
3) – advocating for systems and services that are fair, responsive, and accountable to those served.
We are listening to our food bank constituents right now who expressed a desire to have their voices heard by policymakers. Many told us that a stamped and pre-addressed postcard to their elected officials would be a welcome method to voice their concerns. We want to continue to facilitate various methods of advocacy with and for our community.
Our work at FamilyWorks can’t happen without an understanding of historical and current systemic forces of racism and oppression. Our ongoing anti-racism and equity work within the Staff, Board and Volunteers will be amplified as we carry out our food, resource and family support programs.
We demand a just society for our Black, Indigenous, and other Communities of Color.
In addition to continuously educating ourselves of the racial constructs that are set up to oppress People of Color, we need to learn how to have challenging conversations around race as a larger community. We believe that change needs to happen now. One place to start is to talk together and to talk to our children about race. We wanted to share with you this link to the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History & Culture. What we do, and what we say, matters.
FamilyWorks Staff and Board
P.S.
Vote like it matters:
https://www.whenweallvote.org/
Spend like it matters:
https://intentionalist.com/
Take action like it matters:
https://relentlessschoolnurse.com/2020/06/02/the-anti-racist-resource-guide-by-victoria-alexander-med/
Donate like it matters:
We encourage you to donate to community bail funds, legal defense funds, and advocacy organizations that are working with elected leadership, policymakers, and others to eradicate police injustice.
Here are a few national organizations to consider:
https://www.joincampaignzero.org/
https://www.naacpldf.org/
https://www.splcenter.org/
https://eji.org/
and in Seattle:
https://blacklivesseattle.org/
https://www.nwcombailfund.org/