Diversity and Inclusion Statement

In order for a community to be truly healthy, all members of that community must have fair and equitable access to community benefits and services, live without fear of bigotry and prejudice, and experience full representation and participation in its activities and governance. The Returning Veterans Project is committed to making Oregon and Southwest Washington communities more equitable. We pledge that our organization will consider increased equity—both in terms of the veteran communities we serve and the missions of the organizations with whom we partner— as a primary goal and an essential component of our mission to advance community equity.

To ensure that our actions reflect our intentions, we resolve to:

Work to ensure Returning Veterans Project staff, donors, board members, volunteers, and other partners reflect the diversity and breadth of our communities.
Work to understand the histories underpinning intolerance and unfairness and the institutional structures perpetuating them. We will not reinforce those histories and structures.
Pursue opportunities that reflect a diversity of cultures and experiences.
Acknowledge that we are generalists operating in a culturally specific world. We will pursue cultural competency, seek to understand the perspectives and needs of other cultures and communities, while seeking to avoid the projection of our values and needs onto others.
We aspire to be humble, learn from our community, and build community trust and partnerships.
Work to develop, incorporate, and practice cultural competency to help staff, board, and volunteers build more awareness for equity issues in our community.
Comply at all times with our nondiscrimination policy that ensures our organization does not discriminate based on race, ethnicity, color, sex, religion, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression, disability, marital status, genetic information, veteran status, or other factors protected by law.