In order to foster an open space for partnership, knowledge creation, and compassion within our multi-cultural spaces, the CSHE (Community Solutions for Health Equity) community developed values that serve as our guides for engagement.
Each value is a reflection of the lessons learned, the challenges overcome, and the victories shared. They are born from collaboration, where trust is built through shared experiences. As with every piece of our formation, CSHE’s Values articulate the essence of our community, reminding us that our culture is knowledge and that we have a space to share our whole selves within our spaces.
Having these values has transformed CSHE spaces in profound ways. They promote transparency, which fosters an environment where trust flourishes. Our values create a shared framework for engagement, ensuring that both community knowledge and institutional competencies are equal in respect and consideration.
Our CSHE Values:
- Moving at the speed of trust
- Making space for life
- Entering spaces as both students and teachers
- Working to ensure community knowledge and institutional knowledge are on equal playing fields – the sweet spot
- The process is the product
- We strive for excellence, not perfection
- Showing up as our whole, authentic selves
- Trusting in our own power – we have the tools we need
- Respecting the power brought by others
- Authentic relationships are building blocks for transformation
- Centering Black leadership
- Language justice
- Cultural self-study and cultural translation
- Rejecting false sense of urgency, trusting the process
- Small scale growth
These values are more than words—they are the foundation upon which we embody the transformation we seek from our health care systems. They remind us of our collective power, and the endless possibilities that emerge when we come together with purpose. In the journey towards health equity, these values light our way, guiding our work towards a brighter tomorrow.
