United Way aims to eradicate poverty in the Triangle through a focus on anti-racism

This article was written for our sponsor, United Way of the Greater Triangle.

On a national and local level, the nonprofit United Way is spearheading initiatives that aim to educate the community on becoming anti-racist and fund nonprofits and nonprofit leaders with systemic approaches to dismantling racism.

In accomplishing this, United Way is partnering with a number of local non-profits to support their anti-racist work.

At MAAME (Mobilizing African American Mothers through Empowerment), the organization works to provide Black, Indigenous and people of color, with quality perinatal, maternal and postpartum care.

"It's imperative for us to empower Black, brown and other communities of color to make informed decisions about their health care, starting with maternal health," said Maya Jackson, founder and executive director at MAAME. "Many communities of color are struggling to find accessible and quality access to maternal health care, in which they are heard. Implicit bias within the medical field and public health is an issue and has a significant impact on the type of care Black and other people of color receive during pregnancy and postpartum, which can have a negative multi-generational effect." According to the Centers for Disease Control, Black, American Indian and Alaska Native women are two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related causes than white women. Many of these deaths are preventable.

"We are seeing families dealing with various major health concerns that their providers are ignoring. If a birthing person is telling you that they are in pain, it shouldn't be viewed as a normal pregnancy discomfort, especially during the pandemic, in which most people are being seen via telehealth. We have seen families who were ignored during appointments rush to the hospital because the provider did not take time to listen to them," said Jackson. "One of the families that I was working with last year had that exact thing happen. There was a mom who was due with her fourth pregnancy and knew that her baby was coming. She went into the hospital, and the hospital staff told her to go home because she wasn't ready. She ended up having the baby at home with the EMTs."

"It doesn't matter what side of the socioeconomic spectrum Black and other birthing people of color are on. Class does not decrease deaths or these things from happening. Beyonce Knowles and Serena Williams almost died giving birth, so even these really wealthy and educated African-American women are having these issues," she continued. "But they have a team of people who can help them navigate these systems to prevent death and to provide them with other resources. What is happening to Black women and other birthing people of color who don't have a voice or the wealth to combat systemic racism in a hospital healthcare setting?"

At MAAME, Jackson and her team teach families to advocate for themselves and better navigate the process of finding the right provider for them. Since they are consumers in the healthcare system, they don't have to settle for inadequate care.

In partnering with United Way, MAAME has been able to secure additional funding. In fact, United Way provided $15,000 to supply resources to the community for a couple of months. With the items that were leftover, MAAME was able to launch a community giving closet that's now supplied by regular donations. So far, they've been able to host four baby showers with the supplies available from the closet.

MAAME isn't the only non-profit that United Way supports with resources and funds. At Book Harvest, the Durham organization provides reading materials and literacy support to families and children, with an emphasis on supplying diverse, inclusive books.

Through United Way's support, Book Harvest has been able to increase their collection. Additionally, the organization has taken steps on their own to become more anti-racist.

"In the midst of everything that happened last year, we kicked off the Harvesting Equity Project, which is a voluntary coalition of Book Harvest employees, and the whole idea behind it was to intentionally bring change within the organization, and therefore bring change within our communities," said Benay Hicks, communications manager at Book Harvest. "Along with that, we're restructuring the makeup of the board and the staff. We also brought in a facilitator to assist with difficult conversations and internal change. Throughout it all, we're working with the board, staff and volunteers so that instead of just talking about change, we're actually taking steps to make it happen."

In fact, two new employees at the non-profit are parents in the Book Babies program and bring an inside understanding of what the program needs and how it can improve.

While internal restructuring and reeducation is happening, Book Harvest is continuing to work within Triangle communities to provide inclusive books to children and families. For Hicks, that means adhering to the "mirrors, windows and sliding doors" approach.

"We're inspired by the work of Dr. Rudine Sims Bishop. She highlighted the need for books to be a reflection of the reader — so they need to mirror people and individuals like you. Then windows are an opportunity for you to look into the world that you might not understand," said Hicks. "Sliding glass doors refers to more of the emotional immersive experience, a journey into a different culture or a look at a different type of individual. Those books are what we request and what we look for, so we're putting books out there that are representative of different people and lifestyles."

According to Hicks, books purchased by Book Harvest go beyond just translation and color of skin. The team carefully researches and finds books that tell stories specific to certain cultures, countries, ethnicities, languages and more.

One of the main ways that Book Harvest gets the books out to the community is through Book Boxes, which operate as free libraries and are regularly resupplied by the organization. Additionally, Book Harvest throws special events when safe and able.

"Recently we had our Block Party in downtown Durham, and it was the most diverse event that I've ever been to in Durham. We had people from all walks of life, and a lot of that was because Book Harvest has created a diverse network of individuals, through a shared love of books," said Hicks. "Books are an equalizer. As long as everybody can have access to books — and books that represent them and also provide windows into other worlds — then it's definitely an equalizer."

At MAAME community education and outreach is also an integral part of the organization. Connections made through United Way and funds provided by United Way help them to get the word out about their services and their mission.

"We do a lot of community outreach events, whether it's our own or partnering with other community-rooted organizations. For example, we partner with Equity before Birth, which is a financial and paid leave advocacy program organization. We also partner with Tenco Birth and Wellness, which is a midwifery program here," said Jackson. "We also do partner with several local health providers who are being anti-racist within their work. Several places connected to Duke and UNC have been really phenomenal in ensuring that our organization has the training that we need to do this work within a community, then also letting us as an organization be the center of the work."

"We want these communities to thrive. With that, it's really important that more groups follow what the United Way is doing," she continued. "If people have access to funds to do the work, then you start to see an impact."

This article was written for our sponsor, United Way of the Greater Triangle.