Community Housing Partners is committed to being a strong and effective partner to communities and individuals confronting social, environmental, and economic injustices.
Equity and Inclusion Team
CHP seeks to create an environment with a shared understanding of systemic injustices, to raise awareness of implicit and explicit bias, and to develop an organizational framework for advancing equity and inclusion. Established in 2015, CHP’s Equity and Inclusion Team evolved from a nascent committee working to define itself to a cohesive team of 15 staff members from across the company with a clear purpose: to hold CHP accountable for our commitment as an organization to be a strong and effective partner to marginalized communities and individuals confronting injustices.
CHP recognizes that conditions, access, and opportunities differ for everyone, and that these differences are a result of both intentional and unintentional decisions that have been made and continue to be made across every aspect of our society. We are working through the development, implementation, and application of equitable and inclusive policies and practices that influence every aspect of our work.
The following three goals guide this work:
Communications and engagement: To promote an environment of shared learning and to create an awareness of systemic injustices
Learning and development: To improve the intercultural competence of CHP employees and thus their effectiveness
Organizational commitment to equity and inclusion: To ensure that equity and inclusion priorities are incorporated into all of CHP’s internal and external work
Prioritizing Equity
Equality is about equal inputs (e.g. resources, support, and opportunities) and assumes that everyone starts from the same place, whereas equity is about equal outcomes (e.g. performance, achievement, and health) and assumes that conditions are not the same and everyone starts from different places. CHP is working to bring an equity framework to all that we do — from our major strategic priorities to the countless small decisions we make every day. As our organization continues to learn and grow, we will also seek opportunities to re-think our work through the lens of equity and inclusion.
Our Work
In December 2019, five CHP staff members began an 18-month NeighborWorks training focused on Race, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (REDI). Facilitated by the Portland-based Center for Equity and Inclusion, the first convening sparked a deeper awareness of the severity of racial inequities and disparities within the United States and led to the Equity and Inclusion Team prioritizing equity.
In March 2020, CHP began using the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI), an internationally recognized model to measure cultural competence and inclusion. Following an initial assessment survey among CHP’s leadership team, we organized a second assessment in August 2021 to measure our progress.
In June 2020, CHP hosted an organization-wide discussion forum on race following a national response to the tragic killing of George Floyd and countless similar events. CHP also released a statement condemning acts of racist violence and standing in solidarity of those who speak out against racism and injustice. We continued this work by providing staff with resources and educational opportunities focused on systemic racism and implicit bias.
In 2021, CHP created an organizational equity statement (see above) to accompany our mission and vision statements, revised our core values to include equity as an organizational value, and introduced an equity and inclusion lens for staff to use as a tool to recognize disparities and prioritize equity in our work. (View CHP’s equity and inclusion lens.)
CHP launched a quarterly Inclusive Insights staff newsletter in 2021 with each issue focused on a current event related to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The newsletter is printed and distributed at CHP properties and offices and is available in both English and Spanish.
In keeping with our commitment to continuous improvement and to ensure that our actions are informed by employee feedback and experiences, CHP released the “Your Voice @ CHP” platform in November 2021 to provide multiple ways for employees to be heard.
Diversity, equity, and inclusion remained key priorities when organizational leaders created CHP’s 2022-24 Strategic Plan. Among our objectives will be to prioritize investments in communities and individuals confronting social, environmental, and economic injustices.
In 2022, CHP debuted a Conversation Starters toolkit for department and team leaders to lead diversity-focused discussions every month with their staff.
Equal Employment Opportunity
CHP is an Equal Opportunity Employer and seeks applicants who can offer diverse viewpoints, experience, talents, and culture to promote our organization’s mission of creating healthy and sustainable affordable housing.
CHP makes documented good faith efforts to utilize Minority, Women’s, and Small Business Enterprises as subcontractors in conducting our business. CHP also endeavors to utilize MBE/WBE/SBE businesses for procurement (materials, supplies, and services) in connection with our projects.
Fair Housing
CHP is an equal housing opportunity provider. We comply with all federal, state, and local nondiscrimination laws and operate in accordance with the rules and regulations governing Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity in housing and employment.
From our roots as a volunteer organization serving housing needs in Appalachia, CHP has grown into a multi-state organization nationally recognized for our capabilities and commitment to innovation and continuous improvement. Although CHP’s footprint has greatly expanded over the decades, our mission continues to focus on creating homes and communities that are healthy, sustainable, and affordable.
