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Advocacy & Equity
Overview
As part of our strategic direction, we are committed to advocating for policies and services that benefit underserved communities, repair systems of inequity, and promote racial, gender, and economic justice. Our staff and board members stand in solidarity with organizations providing upstream approaches that influence internal and external policies and legislation, change organizational practices, foster coalitions and networks, and educate providers.
North Marin Community Services (NMCS) embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion in fulfilling all aspects of our mission at all levels. Our policy agenda and strategies prioritize communities of color and recognize that all families may have been adversely affected by childhood experiences in the context of community environments. These environments include poverty, discrimination, violence, lack of opportunity, and more. The Building Community Resilience Pair of ACEs model helps us understand how education, programs, advocacy efforts and coalitions can change the trajectory of health and life outcomes. Using an advocacy framework, we integrate education, public awareness campaigns, participation in public forums, community organizing, coalition-building, and community mobilization into our work.
Our current advocacy priorities are based on the Building Community Resiliency Pair of Aces model, with an understanding of the Social Determinants of Health. Our advocacy areas include:
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (negative childhood experiences, including physical, sexual, emotional abuse, violence, neglect; substance use; violence, loss that harms healthy development of children and families; mental illness)
- Adverse Community Environments / Social Determinants of Health (poverty and discrimination, food, education access and quality, access to healthcare, housing stability, neighborhood and built environment, economic stability)
- Resilient Communities / Community Health and Safety (emergency and disaster preparedness, public health emergencies, climate-change action)