Organizations in the U.S. that provide health care to people who experience homelessness recently issued a report about their work to change their discriminatory practices.
You might think that the last place to look for discriminatory practices is these organizations, which deliver services on the front line. However, as the report relates, when they looked, the discriminatory practices were there to see.
The report also discusses the actions they took in response to their findings. This is important because policies and programs needed to change. It isn’t something that can be addressed simply at the level of an individual.
Recognizing that an organization needs to change is one thing: figuring out how to operate differently is another. Here again, the report offers examples that health providers have found lessened discriminatory practices in their service delivery.
The authors stress that the examples in this report are just that, examples. However, they also point out that the idea of confronting such a challenge can be very daunting. By suggesting ideas and examples, it helps others to get started along with things that might be adapted or adopted elsewhere.
The authors are also clear that they aren’t finished. Instead, they are working to make their organizations more responsive to the people they serve on an ongoing basis. The report is offered partly to help others get started.
Why does this report matter?
When the health organizations that prepared this report looked at how they provided services they found that they were perpetuating racist practices, despite their best intentions. Many of the changes discussed in this report apply to organizational structures and policies, which are common across many organizations, regardless of the services they provide. If homeless-serving agencies looked internally, would they also find discriminatory practices? And what about non-profit housing providers that manage housing for people with very low incomes? The examples and ideas in the attached report shine a light on what to look at and ways to do it.
This report is about discrimination in the United States. Experience suggests that its content would also apply in other countries. For example, news and research has demonstrated that the impacts of COVID have been more pronounced among Black people, Indigenous people and People of Colour (BIPOC) in pretty well every country covered by English language media.
Nor is this limited to COVID infections. For example, there is considerable evidence that as a matter of procedure, the police are more likely to stop a person who is Black, Indigenous or person of colour than a non-BIPOC person.
Finally, the report is written in accessible language. Although it covers a lot of ground, it is relatively short. Anyone considering what their next steps might be in dismantling their own racism will find it useful. Read more at the National Health Care For The Homeless Council: The Longest Journey Starts with a Single Step: Reflections on Antiracism in Organizations Serving People Without Homes
