<article class="content"> <p><em>Updated June 11, 2020:</em></p> <p>Founder Sloane Davidson speaks to the steps Hello Neighbor is taking to be an inclusive and anti-racist organization, committed to equality for all. <a href="https://www.helloneighbor.io/video-update-no-justice-no-peace">Watch video here</a>.</p> <hr> <p><em>Updated June 1, 2020:</em></p> <p>At Hello Neighbor, we are about loving and respecting others—regardless of race, religion, citizenship status or sexual orientation—and ensuring that our city is a place where all feel welcome and accepted.</p> <p>Inclusive Support is one of our <a href="https://www.helloneighbor.io/about/what-we-do">Core Values</a>, and being inclusive of our community would mean nothing if we didn’t clearly state that Black Lives Matter.</p> <p><strong>We must go beyond words and into action.</strong></p> <p>There is great strength when we come together as neighbors. We are a community that knows and recognizes the power of linking arms with and lifting the voices of those who have been silenced. We have learned that true growth and perspective comes from stepping outside of your comfort zone and taking the time to listen to the experiences of those who come from diverse backgrounds. To listen and not assume is a powerful tool for seeing real change.</p> <p>James Baldwin writes: <em>“Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”</em></p> <p>We will not sit idly by. We stand by our Black brothers and sisters in solidarity. We will continue to build a community based on belonging. We will continue to create space for discussion with our staff, mentors, volunteers, and refugee families that address the racial biases that exist.</p> <p><strong>Here are the action steps Hello Neighbor will take starting today and moving forward:</strong></p> <ol> <li>Writing and communicating to our community - including staff, board, supporters, mentors and refugee families - our commitment to equality and inclusivity.</li> <li>Creating space and programming with staff and also within our larger community to have conversations about race, inequality and our role as concerned citizens and as representatives of Hello Neighbor.</li> <li>Review all of our written policies to ensure they reflect our commitment to being an inclusive and anti-racist organization.</li> <li>Sharing Black voices, organizations and businesses in addition to those of immigrants and refugees. We are committed to using our voice and presence in the community to raise up voices that have systematically been denied a platform to speak.</li> </ol> <p>In 1979, a letter from the U.S. Bishops said this, <em>“Today’s racism flourishes in the triumph of private concern over public responsibility, individual success over social commitment, and personal fulfillment over authentic compassion.”</em></p> <p>Today, all of us at Hello Neighbor are recommitting to authentic compassion and upholding our responsibilities to our community. To our Black brothers and sisters: We hear you, we see you, and we are with you.</p></article>