In this time of pain, uncertainty, and change, the Community Health Center Association of Connecticut (CHCACT) stands in solemnity and solidarity with the Black community.

Across our state and nation alike, Black communities deserve the opportunity to thrive. CHCACT is committed to helping all communities do just that: by recognizing the inequities inherent in our environment and making the decision to do better.

That decision—the choice to do right by our neighbors—is one that our constituent health centers have embraced from their inception. The community health movement was founded on the idea that “health” does not begin with a diagnosis or end with a prescription.

“Health” is being able to go for a jog in one’s neighborhood.

“Health” is having consistent access to nutritious food.

“Health” is the ability to call local law enforcement without a second thought.

For a person to be healthy, their community must afford them access to the resources that fulfill their physical, medical, and social needs. Connecticut’s community health centers are passionately dedicated to increasing that access, and CHCACT is dedicated to supporting them.

The mission of the Community Health Center Association of Connecticut is to improve the health and wellness of all. In doing so, we must take special note of the Black lives that remain in a position of inequity. Going forward, CHCACT will continue to support Connecticut’s health centers in their efforts to improve health access. We will take steps to educate others, lead our peers, and learn from this moment.

We will do what we can to make our state a better place.

This statement is solely from the staff of CHCACT and in response to the current national discourse on equity.