Dear Friends and Colleagues,
Our hearts and minds at SamaraCare are filled with horror, grief and anger as we witness the racial inequality and injustice experienced by the black community and people of color. For nearly 50 years, SamaraCare has sought to bring hope and healing to all we serve, regardless of age, gender, race, sexual orientation, religion, ethnic background, or socioeconomic status. We recognize that systemic racism and racial violence are entrenched realities in our country, and the killing of George Floyd is the most recent tragic manifestation of racism’s lethal and oppressive consequences.
SamaraCare was founded as an interfaith mental health counseling organization with the core value of love for all human beings. Our belief is that love is not simply a guiding principle but is the only true mechanism for effective change in our world. SamaraCare is more than an organization or business, rather we seek to demonstrate love through action in the communities we serve. Our vision is that “nothing stands in the way of people getting the help they need to flourish.” We deeply want everyone to flourish in their lives and express again our hope that together with you and the communities we serve, we can end the suffering of racial oppression.
We each have a responsibility to dismantle the systems of racism and now is the time to pursue justice and mercy together. To that end, SamaraCare will add our voices to protest, resist and actively work against systems that abuse power and privilege in order to benefit only a select portion of our citizens. We will continue to challenge ourselves to exam how we might be contributing to such systemic racism and stay committed to working to ensure that our own culture is one of greater diversity, equity and inclusion. And, with your help, we will continue to provide excellent mental health care to all, including those in need of fee subsidy, because there is no health without mental health.
Sincerely,
Scott Mitchell, President & CEO, SamaraCare
Amanda Spear Hartley, PhD, Board Chair, SamaraCare
Comments are closed.