SOCIAL JUSTICE, ANTI-RACISM & INCLUSIVITY STATEMENT

We Strive for Equity, Empowerment and Belonging

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A New Hope Academy is committed to building a culture of equity, inclusion, and active resistance against hate, racism, and systemic injustice. As a nonprofit organization led by Maria Laquerre-Diego, we intentionally foster an environment where mental health professionals and clients alike feel seen, supported, and empowered, especially those whose identities have historically been excluded or devalued.

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Our work centers on cultural humility, social justice, and the pursuit of collective liberation. We recognize the ongoing impact of power, privilege, and oppression and actively challenge these forces through our policies, training, and community practices. We are guided by feminist and multicultural frameworks and grounded in the values of our professional ethics.

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We explicitly affirm and support individuals and communities who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), LGBTQIA+, neurodivergent, disabled, immigrants and refugees, and those practicing diverse faiths and spiritualities. We acknowledge the importance of honoring intersectionality, recognizing that race, gender, disability, sexuality, culture, language, and economic realities shape people’s lived experiences in complex ways.

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We are not neutral. We stand firmly against white supremacy, ableism, transphobia, xenophobia, and all forms of systemic harm.

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Our Commitments
We hold ourselves accountable through:

• Ongoing training in cultural responsiveness, anti-racism, and justice-centered practices

• Creating access to professional development for providers across identities and experiences

• Cultivating leadership, supervision, and training spaces that reflect the communities we serve

• Valuing lived experience as expertise

• Inviting participants to voice what they need, accessibility, safety, representation, connection, in order to feel affirmed and included in our spaces

 

We don’t just aim to be “safe.”
We aim to be empowering. Inclusive. Transformative.
This is a space where your full self belongs.​​