< Blog

Black Lives Matter

Posted June 15, 2020

We stand with those demanding justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Charleena Lyles, Ahmaud Arbery, and the countless other Black people who’ve been killed by the police and white supremacy. The loss of each of these people is part of a long history of institutionalized anti-Black racism. Like so many others around the world, we’re mourning. Some of us feel anxiety and fear, some try to find hope, some feel a seemingly unending rage, some feel all of these things. We write one statement, yet each of us has our own unique message.

At Plymouth, our Black residents, directors, staff, and board members live every day with the impact of racist policies and practices embedded within our criminal legal system. Our residents’ experience demonstrate that the criminal legal system catalyzes and prolongs homelessness. Police violence is a public health crisis, and police behavior in response to protests has escalated tensions, resurfaced trauma and caused more harm.

As the National Alliance to End Homelessness explains, African Americans make up 40% of people experiencing homelessness, despite representing only 13% of the U.S. population. This is due to the compounding disparities Black Americans face across all areas of society, including housing, healthcare, economic opportunities, wages, policing, and incarceration.

Now, when so many are struggling financially and government budgets are strained, it’s even more critical that our spending reflects our values. Our city and county general funds invest far more in the criminal legal system than in human services, housing, and other supports children and families. Time and time again, we see that a dollar invested in communities pays dividends. By addressing root causes, we uplift people instead of exacerbating suffering. It is the core of our Housing First philosophy. Everybody deserves a home.

Black Lives Matter. We need deep and thorough change, in Seattle and the rest of our country, to dismantle systemic racism and build an equitable future. It’s going to take all of us learning, listening, relinquishing power, investing in communities, amplifying the call for justice, and standing up.

We at Plymouth need to do better. We’ve made our own mistakes. Plymouth staff have raised their voices to our executive team, asking for change. We are grateful to those who courageously shared their experiences as well as how we can better support them.

We are committed to listening, learning, and taking action to make our organization, city, and country more just and equitable. In the coming weeks, we will be listening deeply to the needs of our staff, residents, and community so that we may take concrete steps to become an anti-racist organization.

As we do our own work to become an anti-racist organization, we also demand that city and state leaders do theirs. We echo a number of the demands of Black Lives Matter Seattle-King County and other local organizers, including COVID-19 Mutual Aid Seattle.

The following actions are just the beginning:

  • Do not prosecute protestors, those arrested violating curfew, and those living in encampments.
  • Establish a de-escalation team in the City of Seattle. A team dedicated solely to de-escalating tensions will be much more effective at supporting our community.
  • Decrease funding for the police and increase funding for health and social services. Protect and expand funding for community-led health and safety strategies to support full access to affordable housing, community-based anti-violence programs, trauma services and treatment, universal childcare and preschool, free public transit, and more.

In solidarity, 
Plymouth Housing

 

The following represent just a few of many available resources we are turning to in order to support our ongoing learning and action.