Racial Equity

LifeWire is committed to the ongoing work of racial equity and social justice. We are actively working to change systems that perpetuate racism and inequality, beginning within our own organization. Over the last several years, we’ve taken steps to make our practices and policies more equitable. We’ve woven racial equity into our strategic plan and values, increased the racial and linguistic diversity of our staff and board, reviewed our policies and practices with a racial equity lens, and trained our staff, board, and volunteers on anti-oppression work.

Racial Equity Values

Our Racial Equity Values guide our equity work and hold us accountable. Our values were crafted from staff conversations and with feedback from staff and board.

Strategic Plan

We built our continuing commitment to racial equity work into our 2021-23 Strategic Plan. One of our goals is to cultivate racial equity and increased accountability at LifeWire through internal capacity building, measurement, hiring, training, and outreach with Black Brown Indigenous People Of Color (BIPOC) communities.

Racial Equity Change Team

The Racial Equity Change Team comprises staff from across the agency and works to improve policies and practices around racial equity both within and outside of LifeWire. Change Team members facilitate equity-focused training for all staff and create additional learning opportunities through collaborations with external resources. In addition to meetings and training, sub-committees focus on specific tasks that need targeted attention. Members also collaborate with members of our Board’s Equity Committee on agency-wide projects.

Training

Learning about racial equity is a lifelong process. New employees and volunteers who take our Advocacy Training course begin with a staff-led Anti-Oppression Workshop. Staff and volunteers are encouraged to read books from our Anti-Oppression Reading List. We devote time to racial equity and anti-oppression training at staff meetings. We also bring in outside trainers and facilitators to periodically work with staff and board.

Hiring

We acknowledge that systemic, institutional inequities and bias exist, creating barriers to achievement and well-being. LifeWire is committed to supporting the achievement of all regardless of race, disability, nationality, age, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, or religion. We encourage survivors of domestic violence and BIPOC individuals to apply.

LifeWire reviews and updates our hiring practices on an ongoing basis through an equity lens. We have made many changes, including updating the language we use in our job postings to decrease jargon and eliminate barriers. Interviewees are now given interview questions in advance and time to review them. Each hiring panel is representative of LifeWire as a whole. LifeWire’s staff community is represented by 76% BIPOC employees; 78% of managers and directors.

Retention & Promotion

LifeWire is committed to BIPOC representation at the leadership level through practices that build and promote staff from within the organization. This includes developing a mentorship program that connects staff with board members and community leaders. We are also addressing the mental and emotional well-being of staff by re-envisioning caseload capacity and workload expectations. And we are developing and incorporating safe space principles, including the use of a harm reduction process.

Racial Equity Values

Alignment

We acknowledge that our mission to end domestic violence cannot occur without addressing all forms of oppression and the systemic causes of them, both in ourselves and our society.

Recognition

As an organization, we strive to recognize and understand the abilities and capabilities of BIPOC and that we are not here to “save” or “help” them. Rather, we are committed to investing and partnering in our shared and individual journeys, recognizing that liberation for all is tied to equity.

Allyship

We recognize the moments and spaces where we have privilege and use that privilege to uphold these values.

Intersectionality

We recognize the possibility of compounding oppression survivors may face because of multiple marginalized identities.  We are committed to doing our best to meet people where they are at, and that the intersectionality of our survivors, staff, board members and volunteers may require flexibility, understanding, and creativity.

Commitment

We expect each board and staff member to engage in critical conversations on race and equity. By continuing our learning and actively engaging in our racial equity plan, we create capacity to honor and alleviate the emotional labor of BIPOC staff.

Leadership

Our leadership champions racial equity and expects the same from every board and staff member. We commit to creating the space and support for this work to happen.

Community

We build community by connecting meaningfully with other organizations. We partner together to recognize and invest equitably in people and communities who have been or are marginalized, underrepresented, or under-supported.

Accountability

We come together, both as an organization and as a part of a wider community, joining our voices, and intentionally holding ourselves and each other accountable. We work together purposefully, evaluating and aligning our policies, practices, and behaviors with our racial equity values.