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North Sound ACH

North Sound Accountable Community of Health

Liz Baxter

Last Week of October

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At this year’s Washington State Public Health Association conference, I had the honor of being on a panel with two incredibly brave and gracious human beings – Genaro Sanchez, with O.U.R. Journey, and Joseph Hunter, who works with a partner ACH, Thriving Together North Central Washington, where they shared their stories about what reentry and healing look like, and how often we put community members in one single box, and never let them emerge and grow. A farmworker is one box, but we don’t often think of them as leaders, business owners, and influencers. For Genaro and Joseph, they shared their lived experience in the systems of incarceration and addiction AND showed their journey of healing. Their ‘lived experience’ spans much further than one box – both are organizational leaders, mentors, trainers, board members, students, parents, and so much more. Sharing space with them provided me hope and sustenance which allowed me to prepare for the next day and the day after that. Feeling so much gratitude. 

As we head deep into the fall, many in the community are awaiting the next announcement about cutbacks, shutdowns, reduced benefits, and additional requirements for limited services. North Sound ACH is meeting with leaders across the region who work in spaces around food, especially after recent announcements that SNAP benefits will not be paid in November. We are preparing scenarios for our board’s budget decisions, trying to find ways that we can leverage any discretionary funds that we hold – asking where can we best be of help? In thinking of a possible January Convening, one possibility is to have it be focused around the question we pose often – who is looking for help, and who can step in and be of help? Because at the end of the day, it is most often communities that step in to help others in the community. 

Human beings hold many truths at one time, and it can be incredibly exhausting. For example, I want my family to be happy and healthy, and I am angry for what the future might hold for them. I want to enjoy the change of seasons, and I am so concerned about those who are in unstable housing, and how budget changes will only increase their vulnerability. I have hope for our future, not because of who might be elected, but because of you and the work you do, even when your own positions might be threatened with reductions and cutbacks. We see you and hear your voices. 

As you look to each other – whether in your own organizations or out in the community – know that many people are hurting, some which is visible, but often it is invisible. We/they bring brave faces and smiles forward. Humans have the capacity to hold multiple contradictions in place, and then sometimes one of those contradictions can topple us. Coming from a large family, it could be the birth of a new grandchild on the same day that another family member attempts suicide; another gets married while a cousin overdoses. Both of my parents passed on birthdays of a grandchild, and those young people talk about how the core memory of their birthdays changed. 

We hold a lot, and I ask that as we head into shorter daylight hours and a typically stressful time of year, that we give grace for the burdens we each carry. Be kind, be curious, be courageous, and most of all be present if someone needs us. In April of 2023, there was a New York Times article that stayed with me. It offered a question you could ask if a friend, colleague, or family member was struggling or upset – “do you want to be helped, heard, hugged?” Compassion comes in many forms, and we will need compassion as we fight the tangible and necessary fights to help communities get the food, health care, housing, and other supports that we desperately need. 

Congressman John Lewis is on my mind as well, encouraging us to engage in “good trouble, necessary trouble” to fight for justice, challenge injustice, and stay rooted in nonviolence and peaceful resistance. It is going to take us all to make this a reality, even – or maybe especially – when it is hard. 

Thanks for all you do –   

Fall 2025

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It could be a reflection of my long life, but time seems to be moving faster these days and this past month was no exception. We’ve held a multi-site Film Festival, attended many partner events and galas, welcomed new staff to bolster the Community Hub team, and more! 

Getting to hear you all describe your work is inspiring. One example – the Community Boating Center ribbon cutting ceremony celebrating their solar panel installation. It was a beautiful evening, and the message I carried for a long time: “It isn’t about boats; it’s about the people.” From adaptive equipment that helps wheelchair users get into the water to the first crew going out that was all folks who are blind, they also partner with Lummi and Nooksack Tribes, local schools, and organizations serving communities that don’t have easy access to the waterways that surround us – with an intentional focus on youth of color. It was a reminder of what community truly means. (Seeing a former North Sound ACH colleague, Rocio Castillo-Foell in her role at PSE leading efforts around community engagement was an added bonus!) 

Photos courtesy of Liz Baxter / North Sound ACH

Another memorable invitation came from Rosalinda Guillen to visit the women-owned, women-run co-op farm in Everson. Seeing the amazing operation, and hearing their dream to build a community center and a home for the live-in manager at the farm was incredible! The signage “Otro Mundo es Posible” (Another World Is Possible) – speaks to me in my heart.  

We also celebrated Children of the Setting Sun’s 10 year anniversary – another milestone as they plan and build their amazing cultural and community space in downtown Bellingham. Several of us got to do some painting of a mural in the alley. It is a special feeling to have your handprints on what is being built. 

And there is so much more that you all are doing!

The inaugural North Sound Voices Film Festival was also pretty amazing. We were way out over our skis as they say when we decided to give this a go 😊, but were fortunate to have a dedicated team and partners who helped shepherd the process. Seeing the final screenings, then getting to hang out with the filmmakers and artists who shared their stories was true building community and relationships. Those eight films may seem unique, telling stories of people of color, immigrants, farm owners and a black trans experience but they are intended to highlight that this is what our community looks like if we really look closely enough.

I was asked many times “what comes next?” and to be honest a lot of that depends on y’all. With a growing Network, we have at least 250 stories that could be lifted up. We cannot say we work on behalf of the community unless we can actually see everyone in the community. 

Photos courtesy of Liz Baxter / North Sound ACH

Lastly, one evening I had the joy of listening to live music. As the musicians (Itamar Erez and Hamin Honari) were returning from an intermission Hamin said “I hear and forget. I see and remember. I do and I understand.” In my humble opinion, live music touches our bodies in ways that recorded music is limited in doing. When the world feels chaotic around me, I need things and events that reach past my brain and communicate with my soul, my inner being. I hope you get those opportunities too. We are living through experiences that are actively trying to divide us, to make us stand to the left or to the right. Our team stands with you because we are aligned on values. Moving forward, we’ll need each other in ways we can only just imagine. Take advantage of every opportunity to turn toward each other.   

August Note from CEO

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I wish that you all could have joined us at Tulalip for the August Convening. I know that is a ‘big’ wish because of family and work priorities, but being in space with others committed to positive change across the region is nourishment for the soul. We are so grateful to those of you who were able to join, and we missed all of you who couldn’t be there (although we would need a room that holds 400 if you all showed up at the same time!). We still felt your presence and your impact.

As many of you shared last week, we are living in times of intense fear, stress, and shrinking resources. The more that fear surrounds us, the more humans want to separate and isolate – at a time when we need each other even more. The Convenings give us a chance to be with others who want to connect, collaborate, and bridge instead of breaking.

In addition to highlighting the work of some partners, we began discussions about a potential community ‘space.’ We’re very loosely referring to it as a community campus, but we still have a lot to explore before describing it in shorthand. Participants lifted up values and ideas that could guide a design process, including how this space could serve us collectively across the region and network – and there will be further opportunities for you to lean in and guide the process.  

Before he left, Darrell Hillaire (Children of the Setting Sun) said “this feels like movement building.” We were in a room where folks had divergent opinions and ideologies, yet showing how we are stronger together than we are apart. Thanks to Spring Cheng, we were able to not only move, but allow our emotions to burst forth with strength, not weakness. Our voices were shifting the energy in the room from helplessness to power.

I had a few takeaways – plus the dozens of ideas that y’all shared with me 😊 – and thought I would share a couple of them here:

  • Shout out to Faith Brown, with the Center for Independence, who challenged us to keep expanding our concepts of inclusion and accessibility. We were grateful, not only for the reminder, but the offer to help. That is what building a network can look like.
  • I got to share a table with a young staff person (Noah) from O.U.R. Journey. When we were doing the breakouts Noah shared ideas about how we can optimize outside space (space for picnics, basketball courts, gardens) that would draw young people, and suggest we have a garage that could be used for young people with car trouble to come and learn how to work on their own vehicles from others interested in teaching them.
  • Spending time with folks who were at their first convening, wondering what they had walked into, and talking with others who were at our very first convening back in 2018. Both perspectives brought insights about how we can offer space for partnership while the world around us continues to change. I will sometimes say to our team that the Network is not like a Costco membership. With every partner who joins the landscape changes. And it isn’t about us (the ACH) as much as it is about you, and what you all can do together that you cannot do alone.

We will be pulling together a planning group to continue the discussions about what a collective space could look like and encompass. For those of you in the room, Milenko asked participants in the room to think big. For those who weren’t able to join, we’ll be sending you some questions in the coming months so that you can add your thinking into the mix. More to come!

Thank you for all you do. Thank you for offering help to the community, to us and to each other. Thank you for showing up, even when there are dozens of other things demanding your time and attention – critical and important things. And in the face of adversity coming from so many directions, thank you for taking the time to turn to each other and remember that we are not alone on this journey.

Stronger Together, This Summer and Beyond

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This past month I went to an event featuring Clyde Ford—an author, software engineer, chiropractor, psychotherapist, and boat captain (wow)—who shared stories about cruising the Inside Passage. On the surface, it was an evening about boating the Northwest waterways, but it was so much more: the history of people of color and sailing, who has a right to be on the water, the assumptions we make about privilege and inclusion, and how we build community.

Bryan Rust from the Community Boating Center and Denice Rochelle from The Bronze Chapter (two Network members!) opened the evening by speaking about expanding opportunities for people of color—of any age or ability—to get out on the water and build connections in this special place we call home.

It was a great reminder for all of us to say yes to the invitations we receive from each other.

On another note, Cynthia Andrews and I traveled to Concord, California, to talk about North Sound with community leaders there. After nearly two years of planning with community, Contra Costa was hosting its first ACH convening and invited us to reflect on what we’ve learned over the past nine years—especially around equity and leading with love. We came away with deep insights and inspiration from them as they embark on their own journey, and as always, it was a joy to share the incredible work you do.

Photos Courtesy of Stacy Wegley

Note: Washington is still the only state with ACHs (nine) covering the entire state, but California has funded 36 so far. This booklet outlines their work, with a map on page 3 showing where those ACHs are located. Washington’s ACHs also have a coalition where all nine regions collaborate to build a fabric of care and connection across the state. The WA Coalition of ACHs has launched a new website where you can explore the regions and our collective work.

Photos Courtesy of Liz Baxter

For the first time since moving north nine years ago, Nance and I visited the Skagit Tulip Festival—which, of course, inspired a flurry of garden cleanup and planting in our own little yard. Our trip came just one week after the ICE raid at Mt. Baker Roofing in Whatcom County. As we wandered the gardens in awe, we couldn’t ignore the knowledge that many of the farm’s workers were showing up under unimaginable stress. They are part of our community—and threats to them are threats to all of us.

We are surrounded by contradictions. Community members being detained and facing deportation. Global conflicts intensifying. Summer heat and wildfires already impacting parts of the country. Even when these issues feel far away, they are deeply local because of the diversity and interconnection within North Sound communities.

We’re also living through a growing backlash against equity and diversity. Some in our communities are at risk of losing jobs, housing, and even safety—facing a rising sentiment that they (we) don’t belong or haven’t earned what we’ve worked for. But we do belong. We are here, in every community.

Please take advantage of time together this summer and beyond. That’s the reason for the ACH and the Collaborative Action Network: to help us connect, see one another, and be seen. These connections are what will carry us through chaotic times and help us build toward the future we imagine.

Outside forces may try to divide us, but we must resist that pressure. We are not just trying to win campaigns—we are fighting for our collective future, and for those who come after us. That’s why we gather. We are stronger together.

Building an Ecosystem

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I have lost track of the number of times I’m asked: 

“What is going to happen with Washington’s waiver?” 
“Will there still be funding for Medicaid programs?” 
“Do we have to change our program, our goals, etc. because of shifts at the federal level?” 

The short answer is usually some human version of the shrug emoji. It is hard to minimize the impact when people in our communities are being detained – without warning, without reasons, and without any understanding of the process that will follow their detainment. Families are being disrupted; jobs and incomes lost. 

Can I imagine myself in that scenario – an unmarked vehicle, armed individuals without identification, unwilling to answer questions, being handcuffed and taken away from my job, my family, at a store, a community center, my home?

If we cannot imagine that for ourselves, a family member, a neighbor, a friend – terror, trauma, agony – then we cannot be the strongest advocates, bearing witness to what is happening in our neighborhoods. 

So, let’s go a bit wonky for a few moments: the complexity for North Sound ACH is that our organization is strong, and hopefully can withstand the policy changes that may come our way. But North Sound ACH is also part of a network that currently has more than 230 organizations across the region. 

If the network has tendrils connecting us, then what happens with any group of partners should be of concern to us all. We are either building a connected ecosystem, or we are simply aware of each other. I’d like to think that we are building deeper ties to each other and therefore we care as much about what is happening to others as we do about ourselves. 

One of my mentors, Michael J. Garland, D. Sc. Rel., introduced me to Elinor Ostrom’s work around the Commons, which has in turn influenced the ACH strategies. The sustainability of North Sound ACH is built upon how well we connect and build relationships with one another. That connection makes us stronger; especially at a time when forces try to separate us, and have us mistrust others around us. 

The stressors coming to communities from federal, state, and local decision makers may tempt us to build fences and defend our precious spaces. But in the long run, we have to be together, and find ways to work together. It is only in those connections that we will all get to thrive. 

Version C

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Last week marked the beginning of Spring, which came after switching our clocks yet again for Daylight Savings Time. I hope that we all realize that the days don’t change because of clocks – they change because of how our planet is in orbit in relation to the sun. Spring comes regardless of a clock. 

We have increased daylight hours, hopefully getting a little warmer each day. In our household we eagerly await watching plants begin to bud, trying to remember if that particular plant is something coming back from last year, or is it a volunteer that landed in the yard.  

Spring is this magical time of opening, renewal, and rebirth as we move from the Spring Equinox – that moment when both the northern and southern hemispheres get an equal amount of light because of the earth’s axis. I chuckle because when I was young I was taught that the seasons changed on the 21st of December, March, June and September. It wasn’t until I was older that I learned that the “first day of spring” wasn’t because of a calendar, so it might fall on a different day each year – mind expanding information! 

Folks are eager to get outside. People are planning vacations, planting gardens, and outdoor markets. Work and play will be taking us outdoors. We hope we see you as we are out and about. 

As we move into spring, I am feeling burdened by the impact of local, state, and national decisions, especially when these decisions directly affect community members, neighbors, colleagues and family. Washington’s budget deficit is forcing cuts and layoffs, and those reductions cause communities to face reduced access to food, housing, transportation, health care and more. 

I often turn to voices from current and past leaders as I wrestle with my own emotions:  

“Do not be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief. Do justly now, love mercy now, walk humbly now. You are not obligated to complete the work, but neither are you free to abandon it.” Talmud

“The human heart is the first home of democracy. It is where we embrace our questions. Can we be equitable? Can we be generous? Can we listen with our whole beings, not just our minds, and offer our attention rather than our opinions? And do we have enough resolve in our hearts to act courageously, relentlessly, without giving up – ever-trusting our fellow citizens to join with us in our determined pursuit of a living democracy?” Terry Tempest Williams

“In a real sense all life is inter-related. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly. I can never be what I ought to be until you are what you ought to be, and you can never be what you ought to be until I am what I ought to be… This is the inter-related structure of reality.” Martin Luther King, Jr

“It is in the shelter of each other that people live.” Irish Proverb

“To refuse to participate in the shaping of our future is to give up. Do not be misled into passivity either by false security (they don’t mean me) or by despair (there’s nothing we can do). Each of us must find our work and do it.” Audre Lorde

I can get pulled into a debate about whether I am impacted if someone bans the word “woman” but that’s distracting (me) us from more important questions. I’ve written before about moments when I feel this internal primal scream being lifted up. And for me, as spring starts here in the Northwest, I got caught in images of people who were being prepared to be deported, watching their faces and heads shaved, then bent over as they were led into cages, and bent over as they walked up the steps into an airplane. 

And I had to accept a hard truth, this too is my country – treating people without humanity, without dignity, without due process. I realize that you may see the same images quite differently than I do. So much trauma – to those being deported, and to the staff (also human beings) who are being directed to treat other human beings in such a way. I am at a loss as to how shaming, demeaning, and dehumanizing anyone gets us one minute closer to justice and safety.  

We live in multiple realities at the same time. We can appreciate the changing of the seasons, recognize that our planet is alive, and that we can keep our cultures and communities growing and thriving. 

And we have some pretty serious work ahead of us too. For North Sound, we’ll continue to turn toward each other, to lift up love and opportunity and belonging, to resist anyone who asks us to “other” people in our community. We will never be a region where everyone feels like they belong if our starting point is to try and figure out who doesn’t. 

We are grateful to be in space with you and we thank you for just doing all the work that you do.