The events of 2020 have highlighted the racial inequities that are pervasive across all facets of our society, with the behavioral healthcare system being no exception. In response, Trustees of the Woodruff Foundation have adopted the following statement affirming the Foundation’s commitment to anti-racism and its future work to understand how it can help dismantle the systems and structures that contribute to poorer behavioral health outcomes among Black, indigenous and people of color (BIPOC).
Trustees and staff of the Woodruff Foundation denounce racism in all its forms and recognize that racism, spanning systems from medical care to housing to hiring, adversely affects health in myriad ways. The Woodruff Foundation is committed to helping to dismantle racism with a special focus on the impact it has had on behavioral health. We recognize our responsibility to work to understand how our future grants can help rectify the historic disparities in care faced by BIPOC.
We welcome your feedback on this statement and your suggestions for how we can best convert our commitment to anti-racism into action moving forward. To share feedback, please reach out to Karen Thompson-Shaheen at [email protected]