Everything is Connected: #BlackLivesMatter

The murder of George Floyd brought a spotlight on a horrible truth that we see play out every day: Our society and institutions brutally punish people of color – particularly Black Americans. The systemic forces disproportionately pushing people of color into homelessness (1) are rooted in the very same injustices subjecting entire communities to neglect, poverty, imprisonment, and murder.

As a convener and funder whose mission is to end and prevent homelessness, Destination: Home is committed to racial equity and housing justice. Not only do we stand with the many organizations leading the fight to eradicate the structural racism, we’re committed to advancing this fundamental objective in everything we do:

  • As we build housing, we must address historical and contemporary housing discrimination issues that continue to prevent people of color from having a home.
     
  • As we prevent homelessness, we must call out and address the structural inequities inherent in our jails and prisons, child welfare systems, and other institutions that disproportionately exit people of color onto the street.
     
  • As we design programs to advance economic mobility, we must ensure equal opportunity and outcome, and rectify policies and practices that continue to hold people down.
     
  • And as we build new systems and solutions, we must listen to, learn from and co-create with those who have experienced the injustices we mean to eliminate.

Everything is connected, and as we continue fighting for housing justice in the most inequitable region in America, we must also commit to dismantling the institutions and systems that continue to disproportionately oppress Black and Brown people. 

We will never stop fighting. #BlackLivesMatter

In Solidarity,

The Destination: Home Board & Staff

Arleen Arnal
Jan Bernstein Chargin
Roger Biscay
Maia Bishop Bookoff
Chad Bojorquez
Ray Bramson
Louis Chicoine
Ingrid Granados
Katherine Harasz
Jennifer Loving, CEO
David Low
Miguel Marquez
Jacky Morales-Ferrand
Maureen Reyes Damrel
Claudine Sipili
John A. Sobrato
Ben Spero, Board Chair
Robert Stromberg
Nicole Taylor
Ted Wang
Gary Wipfler

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(1) A January 2020 report published by Destination: Home and SPARC, Race and Homelessness, found that Black/African American individuals in Santa Clara County are disproportionately represented in the homeless population (16.9%) compared to their numbers in the general population (2.5%). Read the report

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