We at BestSelf would like to express our solidarity with the Black Community and to express explicitly that Black Lives Matter. We are deeply saddened and angered by the murder of George Floyd. We acknowledge that George’s murder, and the murders of other Black individuals – Amhed Aubrey, Breonna Taylor, Nina Pop and sadly countless others – are directly tied to systems of structural oppression and racism that are embedded within institutions and have been present for hundreds of years.
Our nation, community, employees and clients are hurting; therefore, we are being explicit in our support as we know that silence is complicity and unacceptable. We, as a behavioral health organization, advocate against stigma and for the whole health of each person. The National Council on Behavioral Health states, “Unless we end the violence in Minneapolis, address social injustice issues throughout the country and come face to face with racism in our communities, we will never be fully healthy – physically or mentally.”
We know that due to structural racism and racist policies that Black individuals and people of color experience adverse effects of racism that are manifested across all spheres of life including housing, finances, physical health, mental health, incarceration rates, and mortality rates. Racism is a direct violation of the values held by our organization.
Our vision statement is “Empowering everyone to be their Best Self,” and we cannot hope to achieve this without addressing the origins of these adverse impacts. To that end, we pledge the following:
- BestSelf, as an organization, will take an anti-racist stance in all areas: policy and procedure, hiring, and training.
- BestSelf will maintain an active Racial Equity and Inclusion Committee whose mission is to continually examine current practices, ensuring racial equity is the focus in all of our work and most of all, hold the organization accountable to the standards set.
- BestSelf will use our resources to continue supporting businesses owned by Black individuals and all people of color.
- BestSelf will continue to offer employees at BestSelf training and opportunities to learn more about racial equity as well as provide safe forums to discuss racial equity issues and concerns
We are here to support our staff, our clients, and our community during this time. We know that this type of support takes hard work, active listening, openness to feedback and willingness to change, and we are committed to this. To that end, we are educating ourselves and providing resources to others to educate themselves, as each and every one of us needs to take accountability and responsibility for self-education. Taking direct action is also essential.
The time for change and action is upon us. Racism has no place in our society. Black Lives Matter!