About the equity committee

The A Home for Everyone (AHFE) Equity Committee was officially chartered in June 2018. It was previously the Equity Lens Task Force and was responsible for reviewing the initiative’s racial equity lens tool and making recommendations for its ongoing implementation. Task Force members found the task force's purpose and ongoing charter unclear.

In-depth interviews with several participants, conducted by an external equity consultant, found that participants saw value in developing an ongoing equity committee with a clear charge, structure, and role within the AHFE initiative.

With the full support of AHFE leadership, the AHFE Equity Committee was chartered to ensure that AHFE incorporates racial equity into its programs and policies. The committee’s goal is to eliminate racial disparities in homelessness and housing supports by integrating racial equity work across AHFE to ensure equitable programmatic and policy outcomes. The AHFE subcommittee offers guidance to the Coordinating Board, Executive Committee and Joint Office of Homeless Services (JOHS).

The committee holds several guiding values to inform its work on racial equity:

  • Racial equity forms the foundation of our work.
  • We will address the most complicated and difficult issues surrounding racial justice, and not be satisfied with addressing the easiest issues to resolve.
  • Identities are intersectional and complicated.
  • Voices and perspectives of those with lived experience guide our recommendations and committee’s function.
  • Co-production of committee work and recommendations informs our work.

Meeting Frequency

Meetings will convene monthly on the 3rd Monday from 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM Please check the calendar for upcoming meetings and locations.

Membership

The following guidelines in the charter provide some direction on the Equity Committee’s composition and structure:

  • The Equity Committee should consist of up to 20 members. Most should be Coordinating Board members.
  • At least one (1) Equity Committee member should also be a member of the Executive Committee or designated staff to an Executive Committee member and should act as a primary liaison to the Executive Committee.
  • In general, no more than one (1) representative per nonprofit agency or organization should be allowed on the Equity Committee. In some circumstances, more than one staff member from an agency may join by permission of the Equity Committee; however, if voting is used in decision-making, only one representative from that agency may vote. Community members from the Coordinating Board are not considered representatives of the organization or agency for which they work.
  • The Equity Committee can break out into ad hoc or ongoing subgroups, as needed to accomplish the committee’s work.

Note - For any policy issues that may become a conflict of interest, participants would need to follow recusal policies as outlined in the AHFE governance charter.