Within our local communities, as well as the broader addiction treatment and mental health communities, we have recommitted to providing a safe environment for the discussion of diversity and equity issues. 

Our goal is to establish and maintain a positive, safe, and healthy work and treatment environment through:

• Promoting continuous learning and self-examination on issues of inequity by encouraging open communication.
• Celebrating the essence of diversity, equity and inclusion and their relationship to Ashley’s mission, vision and values.
• Taking action in creating equity for all members of the Ashley community.
• Acknowledging the roles of race, ethnicity and gender as social determinants in health, including in achieving and sustaining recovery.

Ashley’s Racial Equity Committee

The Racial Equity Committee was established to make Ashley a more equitable workplace and treatment environment. The committee, which includes a cross-section of staff including top-level leadership, meets biweekly to discuss and take action on designated equity initiatives.

Building an equitable culture

Our strategy was formed using Equity in the Center’s publication Awake to Woke to Work: Building a Race Equity Culture. By beginning with a communal acknowledgment of the existence of privilege and inequity in our lives and those of our colleagues, we’ll build empathy, develop an action plan and accountability loops, and communicate and operationalize the plan.

The committee encourages the broader Ashley community to participate in events and discussions when possible and to provide feedback on how it can continue to better improve the entire organization.

Additional resources

In addition to the Awake to Woke to Work framework, the Racial Equity Committee has made the following learning and development resources available to the Ashley community.

Support Groups for Patients & Alumni

Common Solutions: As part of Ashley’s PRIME Project (Peer Recovery In Minority Communities), our IOP Peer Recovery Specialist will facilitate a regular Common Solutions Peer Support Group providing a safe, comfortable setting for minority participants to share lived experiences and resources. Resources may include alumni and guest speakers, all of whom will be required to sign non-disclosure and confidentiality agreements designed to protect the privacy of participants.

Meetings will be held Fridays from 5:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Contact Lem Satterfield at 443-760-3456, ext. 459, to join!

Movies and Videos

• Just Mercy: the true story of a young lawyer who battles to defend and free a man facing a death sentence for a crime of which he was proven innocent.
• If Beale Street Could Talk: the original book by civil rights pioneer and author James Baldwin about a young couple in 1970s Harlem fighting to stay together while facing incarceration, adapted into a critically-acclaimed film.
• When They See Us: the Netflix Original that retells the story of the Central Park 5 and their lives during and after incarceration.
• Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man: Youtube series.
• What is Cultural Appreciation (And How It’s Different From Cultural Appropriation)
• Cultural Appropriation vs. Cultural Appreciation

Books

• After Life by Alice Marie Johnson
• How to be an Anti-Racist by Ibram X. Kendi
• White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo
• The New Jim Crow by Michelle Alexander
• The Stony Road by Henry Louis Gates, Jr.

Allyship resources:

• The Intentionality of Systemic Racism and Perpetual Trauma: The Effects of Poison-Privilege by Desiree L. DePriest
• Allyship: What it means to be an ally from Tulane University
• The Guide to Allyship
• What is Anti-Oppression from The Anti-Oppression Network
• Beyond Allyship: Motivators for Advantaged Group Members to Engage in Action for Disadvantaged Groups

Share your thoughts

We’re aware that achieving a truly inclusive and racially equitable environment within a large organization is often a complicated and intricate path. That’s why we warmly welcome feedback from all community members. To learn more or share feedback, please contact us with the following form: