Equity Initiatives
Many services, programs, and policies systematically discriminate against people with diverse racial, ethnic, and gender identities. When people of color-especially Black Americans-experience challenges with substance use, mental health, housing, homelessness and trauma, their efforts to seek support are further undermined by racism, discrimination, and stigma.
Equity is a strategy to address those disparities and achieve fairness for all. At C4 Innovations, we start with racial equity because racism permeates every institution and system in the US, denying millions the right to a fair and just society in which they can thrive and prosper. Through partnership with communities and people with lived experience, we incorporate person-centered, recovery-oriented, and trauma-informed approaches to understand factors that drive inequities and achieve transformative outcomes.
Our approach is informed by established theories of change for dismantling structural racism and frameworks for aligning cross-systems contributions-including A Guide to the Accountability for Equitable Results Framework*-that ensure lasting, measurable, equitable results across programs, practices, policies, institutions, and systems.
We Can Help You
Together with communities, we assist government agencies, non-profits, for-profits, and other organizations and systems in addressing:
Learn More about partnering with us.
"The facilitators were able to construct an open, honest conversation about race in our society and how we can make change, even if it seems overwhelming." -Participant in an Ohio training
"I have been to other racial equity trainings. This training helped to connect some of that learning and take it to another level. The facilitators did a great job allowing space for folks to share." -Participant in an Ohio training
Our Experts
Nina Darby, Racial Equity Subject Matter Expert
Examples of Our Work
Addressing Institutional Bias & Racism to Achieve Organizational Equity
Institutional bias and racism perpetuate inequities. C4 is partnering with the African American Behavioral Health Center of Excellence to run a learning collaborative that will take a specific and actionable look at what organizations can do to be anti-oppressive, racially equitable, and rooted in authentic inclusion practices. Participants in the learning collaborative will examine the inter-connectedness of institutional bias and stigma as well as steps to address these forms of oppression, reduce harm, and increase engagement with treatment. More about our equity and recovery work.
Analyzing Potential of Assessments to Perpetuate Racial Inequities
C4 examined the potential for Coordinated Entry System assessments to perpetuate racial inequities for people seeking housing assistance. In partnership with Building Changes and several Continuums of Care, we reviewed data to determine whether people of color differed from white people on prioritization scores, whether there is a statistically significant association between race and being classified into a specific vulnerability group, and the effect of race on high prioritization scores. Our findings point to the pressing need for change in Coordinated Entry System assessments and prioritization processes to ensure racial equity. Read the analysis and recommendations. Learn more about our work on equity and homelessness.
Learn More
- Advancing Racial Equity in Housing & Homeless Services, Part 2: starts September 14, 2023
- Trauma-Informed Supervision: Centering Equity: starts November 9, 2023
- Advancing Racial Equity in Recovery and Behavioral Health (PDF)
- Morning Cup of Equity-podcast series
- Race Equity and Recovery-podcast series
- Power Hour: Roadmap to Racial Equity in Behavioral Health and Recovery Organizations-webinar recording (58:45 minutes)
- Equity and Recovery at C4 Innovations
- Coordinated Entry Equity Demonstration Project
- Bringing Racial Equity to Homeless Response Systems
- Coordinated Entry Systems Racial Equity Analysis of Assessment Data (PDF)
- Race Equity and Homelessness-podcast series
- Equity and Homelessness
- Equitable Coordinated Entry Systems
More about our expertise and our training and technical assistance approaches and offerings.
*The Annie E. Casey Foundation. (2019). A Guide to the Accountability for Equitable Results Framework. Baltimore, MD: Annie E. Casey Foundation. Retrieved from www.aecf.org.