A significant portion of this article is an excerpt from a letter signed by over 275 Asian Pacific Islander American community organizations, businesses, and leaders to the Mayor of Seattle and Seattle City Council dated June 22, 2020. Main authors are: Chrissy Shimizu, SuYoung Yun, and Gabrielle Nomura Gainor. When advocates call to defund the … Read more
Dear Neighborhood House, Like many of you, I watched in horror and disgust how yet another unarmed Black person was killed by a police officer. George Floyd’s murder on May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis, MN comes on the heels of Breonna Taylor’s death in Louisville, KY on May 13, 2020, shot by police officers with … Read more
In English, we often use pronouns to refer to someone in the third person. These pronouns have an implied gender – such as “he” to refer to a man or “she” to refer to a woman – and these associations aren’t always accurate or helpful. We often make assumptions about the gender of person based … Read more
“The low jobless rates of the past several years masked just how precarious the financial picture was, Deguchi said. The reality was that many people, particularly in immigrant communities and communities of color, were balancing multiple low-wage jobs just to get by, and the coronavirus has now toppled that house of cards.” Read the full … Read more
COVID-19 has had an impact on almost all of us. We’ve had to change how we work, socialize, practice our faith, and recreate. But for communities of color, these impacts can be devastating. According to data released last week by Johns Hopkins University, African Americans are much more likely to get sick and die of COVID-19. In … Read more
“Chinese virus” or “kung flu” are racist terms that put Asian and Asian Americans at risk of hate crimes. After the international news broke about the coronavirus and Washington’s first case confirmed on January 21, immigrant and refugee community leaders and organizations noticed an alarming increase in bias and harassment against Asian American communities. The … Read more
This is an unprecedented time for all of us and throughout this crisis, our priority remains the health and safety of our staff and wellbeing of our clients. Neighborhood House is still open and still serving our community. We continue to offer critical services over the phone, via email, and utilizing social distancing. Neighborhood House’s … Read more
The following is an excerpt from 2020 Fakequity Pledge, published January 2, 2020, on Fakequity, a blog written by Erin Okuno. To see the full list and subscribe to the blog, go to fakequity.com. 2020 is here, the start of a new decade. In the 2020 Fakequity pledge list, I’ve organized the list by how we live … Read more
Black History Month (BHM) started as “Negro History Week” in 1926 under the leadership of Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. The second week of February focused on coordinated efforts to teach Black history in our nation’s public schools. Then in 1970, black students and educators at … Read more
Dear Neighborhood House, I was shocked and saddened to learn about the events that occurred at the US-Canadaborder over the weekend, in Blaine, Washington. Many Iranians and Iranian-Americans weredetained by US Customs and Border Protection for prolonged questioning as they werelooking to cross the border to return to their homes in the US. Civil rights … Read more
I support Beyonce Black St. James, the performer that was invited by All Home to speak and perform at the recent All Home Homelessness System Conference. Several Neighborhood House staff attended this conference and found the information at the conference extremely valuable, and her performance empowering. LGBTQ People of Color are underrepresented in the research, service … Read more
When I set out to write this article, I began by looking at data. I looked up the homeless rate of POC (People of Color), specifically the impact on the Black community compared to the White community. I read about the infant mortality rates of Black mothers here in Washington state compared to White mothers. … Read more
Indigenous People’s Day is a day to honor and celebrate the original people and cultures of our land. Indigenous history and culture have often been excluded or misrepresented, which contributes to ongoing oppression. Indigenous People’s Day ensures that important and challenging histories are not erased. My family’s story helps me remember why this is important. … Read more
“When Leah Post started using a tool meant to prioritize the most vulnerable people she worked with for a shot at housing, she noticed something was off. People walking through the doors of her human services organization were disproportionately people of color. But the assessment tool she was using, a mouthful called the Vulnerability Index — Service Prioritization Decision Assistance Tool, or VI-SPDAT for short, regularly prioritized white clients.” Read the full article at … Read more
Neighborhood House is a multicultural agency working to disrupt the forces of poverty, inequality,and injustice. This monthly column is intended to promote awareness of equity issues in our regionand in our work. This month, we’re providing an overview of a measure that Washington voters will decide on inthe upcoming 2019 elections. What is Referendum 88? … Read more
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Seattle, WA 98144