Our commitment to diversity & inclusion

Our Statement of Inclusion:

The Ion Center recognizes the intersecting identities of each individual who comes to us for services. When we support someone who has been impacted by power-based personal violence, it is part of our agency’s fabric to remember the additional traumas they may have experienced due to economic status, racism, sexism, ableism, religious discrimination, ageism, homophobia, transphobia or xenophobia. These traumas stack, compound, and can weave themselves together before even considering the generational trauma that exists in individuals belonging to groups who have been historically oppressed. The Ion Center’s services are offered with regard and reverence for these identities and for the different traumas that one’s identities may carry.


The Ion Center’s Anti-Racism Plan:

Organizing Statement 

We are organizing Ion Center staff, volunteers, and our Board of Directors to pursue equitable systems and policies that achieve anti-racist practices by creating a culture of accountability, diversity, equity, and inclusion by dismantling behaviors that support and maintain intersectional forms of racism.

Education

We are organizing Ion Center Staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors to pursue awareness and accountability to achieve the tools needed to proactively combat inequity and prevent resulting violence by facilitating education through discussion, reflection and storytelling.

We will use the following tacticsTo reach this milestoneBy Who is responsible
Determine budget for experts/educators through researching grant opportunities, applying for funding, and identifying agency funds that can be used for this purpose Finance 70% of trainingJune 2021Ion Center Finance, Education, and Finance related Leadership members
Create, finalize, and distribute surveys/review previous survey resultsDetermining education topicsJuly 2021Education Pillar Team
Determine and approve experts/educatorsFinalization of topics/educators August 31st 2021Ion Center Education Leadership and Education Pillar Team
Determine date(s) of sessionsDistributing session schedule to staff/volunteers/b.o.dJanuary 2022Education Pillar Team and Site Supervisors
Facilitating sessions75% (at least)staff participationMay 2022Education Pillar and Site Supervisors
Research, identify, and develop resources about interaction of trauma and Identity To equip staff to discuss impact of identity and trauma with clients seeking services April 2022Ad-hoc committee made up of interested staff; Education Pillar Team
Develop language and information about the intersection of trauma and Identity for external community and professional trainings. 1: To ensure that agency DEI/Anti-Racist stance is communicated to community partners and professionals and training on this topic and its intersection with our work is provided
2: Use information to shape bystander intervention education for staff/volunteers/Board of Directors.
March 2022Professional/Community Education  Development Team,  Education Pillar Team, Prevention Team

Relationships

We are organizing Ion Center staff, volunteers, and Board of Directors to further pursue familiarity, comfort and trust in our community by identifying specific underserved populations in order to foster genuine relationships with lived experience and experts within those specific populations, engaging our community in programs, volunteering, and outreach.

TacticTimeWho


Identify relationships in our community that we want to nurture and grow. Identify specific underserved populations we want to provide more outreach to in our community
June 2021 September 2021DEI Committee Relationships Pillar


Make list of events in the BIPOC community that we could be attending or are not currently awareHold meetings with BIPOC community leaders to build trust and rapport
September 2021 December 2021DEI Committee / Relationships Pillar Leadership and Staff
Host quarterly forums with BIPOC community leaders who are helping us continue to be inclusive with our agencies DEI workION Center staff become involved with at least 5-10 BIPOC community events or activitiesHost at least 1 event a year focusing on the BIPOC communityMarch 2022 June 2022December 2022DEI hosts forums all staff for community events and outreachDEI hosts Yearly Event

Systems Change

We are organizing Ion Center board, staff, and volunteers to pursue systems change within our agency to achieve internal systems and policy reform by identifying procedures that continue to enable systemic racism and actively ameliorate these practices.

We will do this by actively reviewing hiring procedures, staff guidelines (such as appearance and dress code), holiday time-off, and other related policies  

TacticTimeWho
Identify 1-2 policies that impact staff, volunteers, and clients each that could be modified to create a more equitable and inclusive environment. 3 MonthsSystems Change  team
Create a cross-functional group to analyze the policies and make recommendations to better meet the needs of clients, staff, and volunteers. 6 MonthsSystem Change team will organize Cross-Functional group, the group will make changes 
Create changes to policies based on feedback of cross-functional group. Obtain feedback from clients, staff, and volunteers regarding policy changes through a focus group. Present to the board our changes for consideration. 12 Months – Two yearsSystems change team to organize focus group, CEO

Evaluation

We are organizing Ion Center staff to solicit voices, feedback, and experiences from staff, volunteers, clients, and the community to pursue an accurate analysis of the organizations’ DEI efforts to achieve intersectionality of racial equity and community development by December 2022. 

ActionByWho
Create an evaluation team beyond the DEI Evaluation Pillar.
June 2021Evaluation Pillar
Compile a list of constituents that need to be evaluated. 
June 2021Supervisors, Volunteer Coordinator, and Christy B. (Board)
Create an evaluation tool that is relevant to each population. December 2021 Evaluation Team
Review previous surveys taken and city and county data that is relevant (DEI, QCC, Law Enforcement) December  2021 Evaluation Team
Create an evaluation plan for each member of the Evaluation team.December  2021 Evaluation Team
Conduct evaluations based on evaluation plans.August  2022 Evaluation Team
Analyze the feedback from evaluations.November 2022 Evaluation Team
Present findings to DEI Committee November 2022 Evaluation Team

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