16 Jun Fighting racial injustice, promoting immeasurable value

The Youth Opportunity Center exists because of our heartfelt belief that all people have immeasurable value, and it is imperative we take action to ensure this belief includes and improves the lives of people of color. Our collective team unifies to do all we can to restore young lives from events, environments, and/or decisions that have dramatically harmed and thwarted their ability to thrive and reach their potential. Our heart is to love and protect them and create an environment for healing and growth. The YOC acknowledges the injustice that African Americans face in this nation, and is committed to ensuring people of color feel and experience their immeasurable value in our facility, in our community, and in this nation.

Acceptance, diversity, and valuing the inherent worth of all, has been a part of our core values throughout our history. Individually and collectively, we are far from perfect and fall short of our ideals in many ways. It is with humility and sadness that we feel compelled to condemn racial injustice in all forms and specifically condemn the horrific actions that caused the death of George Floyd.

Sadly, words only mean so much. At the YOC, the events of the past few weeks have reminded us of the importance of taking time to pause, listen, reflect, assess and act. We aim to be intentional about our response and take it beyond words into action. While we continue to reflect on the best ways to fight systemic racism, we have already begun work to ensure that we determine where our blind spots are, and that our actions match our aspirations.