Reflecting on Housing in Solidarity with Black Lives Matter

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Dear HOPE Community,

At HOPE, Inc., we pledge to pursue our mission with an actively inclusive and anti-racist world view. The ongoing killings of countless members of the Black community continue to be a devastating reminder that our society has a long way to go to redress the systemic racial inequalities that plague our country.

Today, housing disparities contribute to this broader social injustice perpetrated against Black, Brown, and other people of color. At HOPE, we believe that everyone deserves to live in a safe and affordable home. These housing disparities reflect systemic issues such as the racial wealth gap, homeownership divide, inequity in access to credit, and according to the Urban Institute, persistent housing discrimination against marginalized communities. HOPE addresses social injustice by providing housing for one of the most vulnerable and underrepresented groups in our society, people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). Today, people with I/DD are disproportionately underserved by the real estate market and are often denied accessible housing.

However, there is more we must do. We are committed to being an organization that supports those who are underserved and discriminated against, and we will demonstrate this in the following ways. We will start by increasing the time we spend as a team intentionally learning the history of housing market inequities and reflecting on how we can improve our culture of inclusion and advancement. But most importantly, we pledge to increase the diversity of our partnerships with Black, Brown, people of color and women-owned businesses and will continue to explore ways to go above and beyond our required fair housing mandates to ensure equal access to HOPE homes.

To be clear, this message reflects our core values at HOPE. Integrity and respect guide our organization’s internal conduct as well as our relationship with our residents, partners, and stakeholders. We stand with the families affected by these recent killings and all those who continue to be negatively affected by systemic racial discrimination.

Onward,

The Staff and Board of HOPE, Inc.