On July 15, 2020, the Washtenaw County Continuum of Care (CoC) Board adopted a statement committing to understanding and addressing racial equity in the local homelessness response system.
In the statement, the CoC "recognizes that systemic racism exists in large part due to historical, perpetuated biases that create inequity within our community," and that "without intentional intervention, inequitable outcomes linked to race, socioeconomic status and other [positionalities] will persist." As such, the CoC uses this statement to set a mission "to intentionally and meaningfully engage with issues of racial equity in the homelessness response system to create positive, transformational change across the CoC."
By adopting this statement, the CoC aligns with the values and definitions outlined in the Washtenaw County Equity Policy and will focus on taking individual, institutional, and structural measures to address these inequities.
OCED manages the Washtenaw County Continuum of Care, a coalition of organizations and individuals responding to homelessness in our community. You can learn more by visiting www.washtenaw.org/coc or by reading the FULL EQUITY STATEMENT.