Milford United Way rejects racism and all forms of discrimination.
United Way of Milford is committed to building a future of greater opportunity and true equity with people who are Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, and Pacific Islanders. We are committed to uphold justice for people in the LGBTQ community, people living with disabilities, and people without status in this country. To achieve this vision, we reject and will not tolerate racism, ethnic discrimination, and any expression of discrimination stemming from one’s race, ethnicity, faith, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, sex, age, national origin and other identities. We act by tackling the structural barriers to equity from the long shadow of systemic racism and white supremacy that have impeded the health, safety and wellbeing of traditionally marginalized people of our society for far too long.
United Way of Milford commits to:
- Transforming systems and eliminating structural barriers in order to provide residents with every privilege and opportunity for self-actualization that they deserve.
- Requiring accountability and transparency at all levels – from our own organization to all institutions of government, including the police, and on a local, state and federal level.
- Advocating for justice and supporting partners and organizations advancing equity.
- Working to create support systems around families that address the needs of the whole person: economic stability health care and mental health, quality education including STEM, and a safe and secure community so that they can thrive.
- Elevating community voice and sharing power. We lift up the rich variety of voices in our community by fostering civic leadership and participation (e.g. census and nonpartisan voter registration). We will share power by continuing to diversify our staff, board and committees to reflect the community we serve. In addition, we will listen to our community and identify unmet needs in order to co-design solutions to address our unique issues.
- Engaging in further training to address our biases (conscious and unconscious), as we work hard, every day, to hold ourselves accountable for our impact resulting from these biases and not rely on our good intent. We will continue to have courageous conversations about race and equity in order to learn from and understand new perspectives, and rely less on our own point-of-view.
- Practicing the change we seek to realize in the way we interact with and treat each other.
United Way of Milford’s very existence is rooted in empowering the people and community we serve but now we must do more and shift power so we are no longer empowering people but recognizing the power in the community we serve. We must use our resources and carry out our work with the goal of helping to drive systemic changes that create a more just and equitable future that respects and celebrates the human dignity of every person in our community.
We are speaking out as one to condemn in the strongest possible terms all forms of racism, bigotry, xenophobia, and discrimination as noted above – including violence undertaken to advance related agendas of subjugation and fear. We are committed to working together in undertaking the urgent daily work of strengthening connections, centering those on the margins, and creating a future of greater inclusion and equity throughout the Milford community.