This past year, our country faced race and equity issues that require conversation and change at every level. In an effort to truly understand these issues and affect change, Easterseals has begun Race, Equity and Anti-Bias training, which will be provided to every staff member. The process will include conversations about race, equity and bias within Easterseals and the communities we serve. These conversations will help guide future trainings to address concerns and issues within our organization.

The training will occur in small groups to help ensure that staff feels comfortable to discuss their experiences and their concerns about these issues. The trainings are being facilitated by Andrea Lawful Sanders. You can learn more about her at https://alawfultruth.com/about/

The following post is by Mildred DelValle Morales, a Speech Language Pathologist at our Early Intervention Center, in which she shares her perspective on the training.

I have been working for Easterseals of SEPA for 4 years now and have met a wonderful group of peers that address each day with passion. Many of them I can say are now my friends. Working every day in an intensive roller-coaster of emotions, adventures, challenges, celebrations and paperwork can be overwhelming if you take it on by yourself. Feeling part of a team was my first expectation when I started working at Easterseals and it has truly been a dream come true. I couldn’t serve the population we serve without such a supporting staff.

After 25 years in my profession as a Bilingual Speech and Language Pathologist, I can honestly share that I feel like a student. I learn from everyone around me including the kiddos we serve every day. As part of this agency, I am used to attending trainings but this year’s Anti Bias training really touched my heart. I guess we all expected the same type of training where you listen and ask questions, but this time it was different. I felt as if I was participating of a retreat where I had the chance to know about others true stories and how everything happening now in our community impacts what they do. Feelings can easily be dismissed by stating a word or simply describing it with a sentence but sharing your feelings and thoughts as part of a conversation where we all participate as equals, is refreshing. During the training I was able to transport myself to my childhood even when others were sharing their own experiences. I found myself feeling excited, happy, mad, emotional as I listen to my coworkers shout out the truth about what is true in their lives. I did hold back many times so that I could listen to others, because I grew and added to my experience of life as they shared theirs. I can’t wait to meet again and continue this journey building relationships, learning from each other and coming up with strategies that will allow us to see with new eyes.

Feeling thankful and excited at what is to come!