Owning our own story, personally and in the community

More than 70 Maybelle Center members, staff, and volunteers gathered for games, s’mores, nature walks, lunch, and laughs at our annual excursion to Wildwood Recreation Center in July. Most of our members don’t own a car, and many have physical challenges that make getting out into nature almost impossible. Thanks to you, many members say Wildwood is the highlight of their year!
More than 70 Maybelle Center members, staff, and volunteers gathered for games, s’mores, nature walks, lunch, and laughs at our annual excursion to Wildwood Recreation Center in July. Most of our members don’t own a car, and many have physical challenges that make getting out into nature almost impossible. Thanks to you, many members say Wildwood is the highlight of their year!

Embarking on a new journey requires us to take a posture of vulnerability as an organization and become comfortable with the unknown

We believe that every person has inherent worth and dignity. It’s one of our core values. But what does this mean on a practical level?

Simply put, it means that our staff and volunteers honor the personal journeys and lived experiences of our members and peers – even though they may be very different from our own.

But what about our own personal journeys and experiences? How much thought have we put into how they’ve shaped who we are today? We can’t help but view the challenges of others through the lens of our own experience. These unconscious stereotypes are part of being human.

We look forward to the day when all of us in our neighborhood - white and black, brown and Asian, and so many others – are all treated with the same dignity.

To do that, we must become aware of our own backgrounds, biases, and beliefs, and educate ourselves on our collective history. In doing so, we can better honor the lived experiences of our members, neighbors, and colleagues of color.

Thank you for joining us on this journey. Because we know that you believe as we do, that every person is worthy of dignity and deserves to live life to the fullest.

OUR JOURNEY TOWARD EQUITY & INCLUSION BEGINS

2016

  • In late 2016, our management team began a relationship with the Center for Equity and Inclusion (CEI) to begin exploring how our organization might best serve each of our members and the larger Portland community through equity and inclusion.

2017

  • An organizational equity team (e-team) was formed, including employees from Maybelle Center and Macdonald Residence to champion and begin embedding equity and inclusion within our organization.
  • The e-team participated in year-long equity training with CEI to begin exploring our individual role around undoing racism personally and within our organization.
  • Our entire staff (Maybelle Center and Macdonald Residence) attended a two-day training on equity to learn about our corporate history and reflect on our personal experiences.

2018+

  • We know that training is just the beginning of the journey. The real work begins as we develop procedures to apply our social equity lens across our organization. Ultimately, a more diverse and inclusive organization will allow us to more fully live out our core value of treating everyone with inherent worth and dignity.

WHAT WE’VE LEARNED

  • We knew it would mean asking questions to which we didn’t have answers. And while we know that vulnerability is the bedrock of healthy and flourishing relationships on an interpersonal level, applying this on an organizational level requires us to walk on unfamiliar ground – and that can sometimes feel intimidating.
  • We just dipped our toe into building healthy relationships across organizational divisions (Maybelle Center vs. Macdonald Residence) with our combined training. There are some structural differences that make bridging-the-gap challenging. It’s going to require more intentional work in the future.
  • We’ve seen intentional dialogue around how to approach the culture and work that Maybelle Center does, long after the trainings. This is one early sign that we’re committed to equity and inclusion for the long-haul.
  • Sometimes approaching our work with a social equity lens requires us to slow down our decision-making. But it’s worth it. Ultimately we will better serve our members and the larger Portland-community.

Originally published as part of our 2017 Annual Report. 

By Jillianne Bandstra

Jillianne never grew out of the childhood “But, why?” stage. This insatiable curiosity led her to get two masters degrees (Adult Ed. & MBA). Jillianne can’t think of a better way to spend an afternoon than listening to someone’s story and getting a glimpse of the unseen history that we all hold. She believes there is beauty and value in all our stories, even if they’re messy. Outside of her work as our Communications Manager, you’ll find her chasing middle-schoolers in her role as a Youth Director and stepping on Legos left by her two young boys.