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North Sound ACH

North Sound Accountable Community of Health

liz note

Dreaming Out Loud

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This phrase has been on my mind for several months. Just about every week I get to spend time with partners who are doing creative and important work that is fueled by passion and commitment, but not always supported financially to be sustainable. We try to imagine what it would take to make those efforts become the norm, to be part of the mainstream strategies that are supported by policy and revenue. Some examples follow from my last couple of weeks –  

I watched a film called Daughters, about a program in Washington DC that connects daughters with their fathers through a dance that occurs inside of the carceral facility where they are held. It is a moving story about the children and parents, but also an incredibly powerful portrayal of how dehumanizing the system can be – limits to in-person visits (called ‘touch visits’) and even facilities that do not allow any visitation at all. We can’t criticize others for inhumane conditions when we also do that here. The backstory behind the dance was gut wrenching to absorb. Yet, the filmmakers stated that 95% of the men who take part in the dance do not re-offend when they are released – the impact of one day of reconnection and being treated as full and important human beings.

For example, people who are incarcerated depend on for-profit systems in order to call family members; the average cost can be as high as $50 to $100 per month. And when their families don’t have those funds, that means there is no contact. Here is the average cost of calls for each state. So dreaming out loud – being treated as a human is healing, and our carceral facilities are not geared in that way, but imagine the power of abolishing what we do today, replacing it with something that is focused on healing people who make their way through jails and prisons. In the framework of targeted universalism – what could be our universal goal?

Washington is one of several states implementing a Jail Reentry benefit through its Medicaid program. It reopens their Medicaid benefit 90 days before release, allowing payment for clinical services to bridge from incarceration to community upon their release. Alongside this, North Sound ACH began a Community of Practice with community organizations who work with people while they are incarcerated, and walk alongside them after their release. (The participants named itself Re-Integration Community of Practice, rather than Reentry). One of those partners (Underground Ministries) shared their set of principles that underpin their work, and one of those is ‘dreaming in decades:’ recognizing that many people who have lived experience with incarceration see dreaming as a privilege that they don’t have – survival is overwhelming just by itself; dreaming is too far to reach. They aim to change that.

The North Sound ACH Partner Convening was on August 15, and each time we come together it is a slightly different combination of people, and growing more diverse each time. The Collaborative Action Network is growing and changing, aiming to find ways for partners to meet, learn about and collaborate with each other.  We have intentionally tried to keep our gatherings to about 200 participants, but as the network grows we have to decide about future gatherings – make them larger or hold more focused smaller convenings. (There are currently 170 organizations in the Collaborative Action Network, and more on the horizon.) We’ll be reaching out to you in the near future to help the thinking for that strategy.

North Sound gets invited to meetings across the country because of our guiding frameworks (honoring tribal sovereignty, equity, targeted universalism, belonging, the vital conditions for well-being, and leading with love.) But it is also because of you. In August we were invited to the Inland Empire for a conference with 600 attendees, and it was amazing because instead of me, we sent Cynthia Andrews from our team, Jason McGill (CEO for Northwest Youth Services and North Sound board member) and Kevin Riley (also a board member, and pastor at Mount Baker Presbyterian Church). I wanted the Inland Empire to hear from them about what we’re aiming for, and I can’t wait to invite you to share your stories as well. They got a standing ovation for speaking as themselves – and so would you!

My dream – that my children and grandchildren will want to live here, rather than looking for another place to live solely because that other place feels more welcoming, or makes them feel like they will be a better fit there. North Sound can be that place too, but we cannot do this alone, and it isn’t an easy journey. We must work together to make this region a place where all community members feel like they belong; where we all see each other as whole human beings; where we are loved.  

Thanks for joining us in this work!

Be well – 

Equity: Important Now More Than Ever

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Last summer we were getting ready to launch our first communities of practice, and had several conversations that retrenchment was just around the corner for investments in equity-focused work. A lot of organizations added DEI staff after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. By early 2023, many of those organizations were already walking back some of those commitments, either eliminating positions or asking DEI leads to add other responsibilities like strategic planning, HR, and other business practices to their roles. 

I carry a lot of curiosity about whether organizations who committed to equity, actually knew what they were committing to in the first place. Equity is much more than a trendy term to use in communications, a banner to wave to show that one is responding to a crisis, or a current event. Rather, it is (or should be) a body of work that will strengthen organizations and our communities if we put the required investments of time and dollars in. There is nothing easy about this, and there is no single strategy that will ‘achieve’ equity. There are too many long held beliefs, barriers and roadblocks in the way. That said, it is also possible to make visible and lasting progress. 

A close friend, Diana Bianco, introduced me to a term almost 20 years ago – “to what end?” I can’t count the number of times that I say that out loud. If you don’t know what you’re after, how will you know if you ever get there? 

I read an article this week about several large companies who are reducing or eliminating their commitments to DEI, including companies whose products we use every day. My intention is not to call them out here; they are not alone in making decisions to remove references to equity. They are simply examples of why the work we do is so important – equity is more than a word. 

  • “We’re going to lead with inclusion, because we need a world where inclusion is front and center. And that means inclusion for all, not some people. Everyone has a right to feel that they belong in the workplace and that they are included.”  They further stated “By putting inclusion first, we aim to address the existing flaws in DE&I programs, which have caused societal backlash and increased polarization,” then emphasizing its continued commitment to promoting equity within its “inclusion” strategy. (SHRM)
  • “True systems-change work associated with DEI programs everywhere are no longer business critical or smart as they were in 2020”, while in another spot they said “our commitments to DEI remain the same.” (Microsoft)

How can your commitments remain the same when you cannot say the word out loud? 

This is beyond disheartening or disappointing. I understand that companies don’t want anyone to be uncomfortable. Inequities are present every day – not just in the past, but perpetuated today and will continue into the future if we don’t name what needs to be changed. That’s why they need diverse leaders, who are tasked with leading those initiatives and deep systems change. But having a group of diverse leaders is a visual representation of hiring practices; having teams who are tasked with advancing equity is a whole other matter. It means that you value the work itself.  

Large companies have the power to change minds, and when they are faced with discomfort they should use that opportunity to educate, not backpedal; leaning into discomfort instead of stepping away. (Well, they could be using it as an opportunity for education if not for two things – they’re reducing their DEI staff, and the IRS tax laws make it illegal for a for-profit company to take any action that could reduce their market share or return to shareholders.) 

Equity is about everyone – and if there are people who feel left out, it is a lack of understanding about what an equitable approach can accomplish to better the lives of all community members. We have to know where we are headed (the ‘to what end’) and then we can lay out the steps we’ll take along the way. We cannot just begin taking steps and think they’ll get us to some  unstated goal. The word ‘equity’ is not the reason people are uncomfortable; the notion of change that will somehow leave them out or give them less is scary. So let’s address that. 

I’ll end with something my oldest said to me when he held his first job after graduate school. He was lamenting how much technology he had access to in his graduate program that was not accessible in the firm where he was working. As a young architect he didn’t have 3D printers or a device that he could take into the field as he was managing a project. “Mom, they only have desktops!” After he described the scenario I asked why that was and his response stayed with me, “the principals of my firm were taught by professors who were born at the turn of the last century.” I had to sit down and do the math to catch up. That is how structural racism stays in place – it is not about the long ago history (that some want to bury), all that history is sitting with the leaders we have today, including me.

If we want a future that embraces us all, we must be brave enough to build new structures, not continue to rebuild what made sense in the early 1900s. 

I’m glad to be with you on this journey and look forward to seeing you in August. Registration for the Partner Convening is open! 

Be well –

Embracing Our Multifaceted Identities

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There are more than a few voices whose words I turn back to time and time again, especially when things feel harder than on other days:

  • “We need to practice – which is different than something being ‘a practice’, or thinking of ‘best practices’; we need to practice each day.” – Clarice Bailey
  • “Practice does not make us better; it makes us different.” – Ruth Wilson Gilmore 
  • “I lead with my vulnerability.” – Alex Sanchez

Our team is definitely being called upon to practice. Like many of you, we are learning into anti-racism, anti-blackness, antisemitism, Asian hate, islamophobia, homophobia, xenophobia, and more. And trying to bring in our principles of leading with love into that mix. Some days are uplifting and joyful, but often mixed with sadness, disappointment, and anger with the hateful things happening around us in communities. 

We have a policy of ‘no politics in the workplace’ and we’re struggling with how that manifests itself when my workplace is also my home. Ironically, we often offer more trainings to partners than we do to our team, so we’re doing some internal focused work too. That makes us feel vulnerable, but we are practicing so that we can be different. We’re on the journey from here to there. 

June is a great example of the multiple and intertwined identities we hold. In addition to celebrating graduations, end of the school year, and Father’s Day, did you know that June also brings:

  • Immigrant Heritage Month
  • Black Music Month
  • LGBTQIA+ Pride Month 
  • Men’s Health Month
  • Caribbean-American Heritage Month
  • National PTSD Awareness Month
  • National Loving Day
  • Juneteenth
  • Summer Solstice
  • National HIV Testing Day 
  • And many, many more 

We all carry a varied mix of identities, making us amazing and interesting people. I identify as female, am a daughter, sister, mother, and grandmother; descended from slaves purchased by the Danes to work on sugar plantations in the Caribbean and from French settlers in the Caribbean. My maternal grandfather was one generation removed from slavery and was a composer and musician. Both of my parents were born on islands in the Caribbean. My parents were married, but if not for the Loving v. Virginia case, their marriage could have been illegal when they moved to the mainland. I’ve raised three children into adulthood with my partner Nancy, and was previously in a traditional marriage before divorcing. I have mixed race children by birth and adoption, a daughter-in-law from Busan, Korea, and a grandson who I often describe as being half Korean and half everything else. Yet we are connected by love and care for each other in ways that cannot be measured.

It is only from the outside that I’m asked to name myself with one identity, a desire to label me as one thing or another, incapable of seeing the multiplicity that exists within each of us. It is within my personal circle that this multiplicity is unearthed and treasured.

The June events listed above are significant to me and my family. We love each other because we cannot imagine choosing a different way to approach our lives. We see what makes us different, yet we are tied together by the richness of our own experiences, our connections, and our love. It is not naive to believe that love is powerful. It is what allows me (and us) to see the humanity in another person, no matter what assets they have or struggles they bear. 

We tell partners that we want to lead with love, and sometimes we realize we haven’t yet incorporated it at all levels of our work. We can get stuck in self-criticism and looking for others to blame. I hope we can also see these moments as an opportunity to lift new ideas and try new ways to be different.

Having once tried to teach myself to play the guitar, I know that I can only practice in a space where I don’t feel I will be judged if I’m imperfect. I hope we can provide that kind of space to each other, where we can be imperfect while we practice and learn, individually and together. That, too, is pretty powerful: the space to grow and become different.

We look forward to seeing in six short weeks at the August convening. Details coming soon!

Be well –