Mission Moment – Racial & Social Justice Efforts

About Our Racial & Social Justice (RSJ) Work

YWCA agencies across the nation are on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, stand up for social justice, help families, and strengthen communities. We share this one mission because we know racial and gender equity is inextricably linked.

“The racial and social justice work is here to highlight how to live out our mission and what needs to be done to make progress on that mission,” says Lara Estaris, Equity Coordinator.

At YWCA Spokane, we have a long history of standing up to opposition and persevering in our commitment to our mission. We reaffirmed our racial and social justice work last year by adding a full-time Equity Coordinator to our sta­ff. In this new position, Lara has been critical in refining, imagining, and applying new direction and purpose to this area of our work.

“We recognized that to really live into our mission to eliminate racism that we needed to dedicate full time staff­ing and leadership to the work,” writes Jeanette Hauck in YWCA’s 2022 Impact Report. The addition of an Equity Coordinator helps bring focus to our social justice work and collaborate with other community organizations doing this important work already.

Our Approach

As the goals of the Equity Coordinator took shape, the question quickly became if our focus should be broad or singular. Do we focus more deeply on a single issue or do we uplift different topics that do not get as much attention? “You can either go deep or you can go wide,” says Lara. “We had to get clear on our approach and priorities.”

We have decided to learn about and from the many wonderful community individuals and organizations already leading racial and social justice work and amplify their efforts, instead of trying to become the expert on a single issue. As an agency, we can uplift and amplify organizations that are leading the way. We can help bring the community together to have courageous conversations, while continuing to educate the community on how various equity topics are interwoven and affect survivors of domestic violence.

“We’re really here to connect the dots on how domestic violence (DV) affects everyone and everything,” Lara adds. “DV touches all these different parts of a person’s life, like their access to housing, food, or healthcare.”

RSJ Efforts In Action

Equity For All 2023

As an agency, we have created opportunities and provided a platform to hear from local experts leading the work. We invite the community to participate in these courageous conversations to learn more about issues pertaining to equity and justice.

Over the years, we have invited and inspired countless activists, advocates, and allies to join us in the movement to eliminate racism through our annual Stand Against Racism event. We renamed this powerful event Equity For All this year to be more inclusive in the movement and inspire everyone to take part in advancing justice in partnership with us. Learn more about this annual Equity For All event.

We also have courageous conversations through our virtual roundtable discussion series called Pathways Forward. We’ve covered topics such as economic justice for women, youth violence prevention efforts, and are set to host one on disability pride this July. Pathways Forward engages the community in conversations with local experts, leaders, and YWCA staff members.

Another important aspect of our racial and social justice work is our monthly RSJ Spotlight Series, started in 2022 by Rachel Dannen, former Community Engagement Associate. Each month, our Equity Coordinator, Lara, sits down with an organization or individual in our community to spotlight the work they do to create real and lasting change for a more equitable Spokane.

“The spotlights are another way we can highlight a person or organization in the community that is doing this work,” explains Lara. “The people featured are super appreciative of being highlighted and form a new connection as well!”

Collaboration

Tamika Lamere (Co-Chair of RSJ Learning Community) and Lara Estaris (YWCA Equity Coordinator)

Collaboration is one of YWCA’s main values. We value forming strong relationships and spaces for individuals, organizations, and the community to work towards a shared vision of justice, freedom, and dignity for all.

The Racial and Social Justice Learning Community is an intentional space, where we have real conversations about systemic issues that impact the clients we serve. Together, we can deepen our understanding about inequitable systems, what to do with our awareness, and how to step into action. The Learning Community is now making decisions on where to focus their energy, and how to continue to build community.

Open enrollment for the RSJ Learning Community runs June 1st – 30th, 2023. Learn more at ywcaspokane.org/rsj-community-interest.

Our annual Racial Justice Challenge will begin in September. Once you sign up, a new challenge will be shared via email Monday – Friday each week. As each day is released, the content will be made available on our website at ywcaspokane.org/challenge. The Racial Justice Challenge provides not only critical information and historical context to better understand systemic racism; we hope it proves to be a catalyst for ongoing application in racial and social justice efforts that help to create a fair, just, and equitable community. Sign up and learn more at ywcaspokane.org/challenge.

Learn More

Explore our racial and social justice work at ywcaspokane.org/rs, including our events, blogs, activities, and learning opportunities! To learn about our racial and social justice efforts from 2022, check out the RSJ impact report!

If you would like to connect with Lara, YWCA Spokane Equity Coordinator, about how your organization aligns with our work and mission, please email her at equity@ywcaspokane.org.