All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center stands with the Black Lives Matter movement. We support its demand for social justice and meaningful, deep change to the systemic and structural racism that plagues our country and communities.

In May, we witnessed 8 minutes 46 seconds that forever altered our lives – as George Floyd lost his life on a street in Minneapolis. His killing at the hands of the police, and the many before, force us all to confront its pain and injustice as it highlights the systemic racism embedded in the founding of our country. 

This moment in time is important – it invites us to confront our own biases and start a dialogue to challenge them on a fundamental level in order to strive for racial equity and for social justice. This moment calls for all of us to stand in solidarity with those who have been wronged by racism and all who speak up and fight for a just system.

Our work at All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center has been tied to these values for 64 years. As an agency, we have served as advocates and continue to speak up for children who experienced trauma, for disadvantaged young people, for families living in poverty, and for those who often don’t have a voice. 

We are proud of this heritage and we are humbled by the opportunity to fight for an equitable community and society in our country – one that is anti-racist and vocal about inequalities. We also view this movement as a call for our agency to re-examine our approach to equality and inclusion – and ensure a continuation of an internal dialogue with our staff and board, as well as an external discussion with our stakeholders, for the betterment of our organization.

Committing to this change, All Faiths Children’s Advocacy Center is implementing the following action items:

  • Update our strategic initiatives to include and emphasize equality and inclusion throughout our HR and programmatic systems.
  • Challenge ourselves and our partner agencies to point out and act against racism in child welfare systems.
  • Engage in a discussion at the board and staff level about racism, racial equity and how that pertains to our work as a non-profit in the social sector.
  • Create advisory groups that can inform and enrich our internal dialogue and discussion with our community.
  • Ensure that the composition of our staff and board reflect the community in which we operate and ensure that the organization mirrors the community in which it operates.
  • Partner with local and national agencies to advance diversity and inclusion as it pertains to minority groups across our service area.
  • Serve as a training institute and resource center for all who need it.
  • Join the City of Albuquerque in their effort to build a Community Safety Department that supports residents through involvement of social agencies and mental health professionals regarding public health issues. 

We welcome you to this change and invite you to add your voice to the conversation. 

Sincerely,

Krisztina Ford

CEO/President
allfaiths.org