I’ve been getting newsletters in my work email that have been comforting and inspirational. I’m going to share them here as I come across them. Just the best parts:
We recognize that the incoming administration has adopted platforms that challenge the values we hold close—values of inclusivity, accessibility, and compassion. Yet, in the face of these challenges, we stand firmer than ever in our dedication to provide quality, culturally sensitive care to every individual and family we serve. Our work remains focused on promoting healing, stability, and a sense of belonging for all, regardless of immigration status, origin, language barriers or the ability to pay.
The challenges ahead will only deepen our resolve. Together with our staff, board, supporters, community members, and partner organizations, we will press forward to build a more inclusive, just, and compassionate community.
And then again from the message from their executive director:
Although intolerance (including racism, sexism, classism, isolationism and other “isms”), is not a psychiatric diagnosis, it is a root cause of unnecessary psychological and emotional suffering.
Over the recent campaign season, the incoming administration employed rhetoric that vilified, dehumanized, and scapegoated the community we serve. How this rhetoric translates into the new administration’s actual policies could have a negative impact on public health by decreasing access to healthcare and social services, separating families, and dismantling legally residing immigrants’ and asylum-seekers’ protections and rights. While empty promises are often synonymous with political campaigns, the policies and actions targeting newcomers, promised by the incoming administration, necessitates that we recommit to the values that guide our work.
As I share these random thoughts pulled from these newsletters, I see how they relate or overlap with my own work, and how we might move forward in the coming months and years.