The Westchester COAD hereby pledges to recognize and honor diversity, equity and inclusion through 1) the dignity of each person impacted by disaster and 2) each person’s right to non-discriminatory services. To the extent necessary to provide non- discriminatory services with integrity, we pledge also to promote diversity, equity and inclusion, including racial justice, in our organizational structure, policies, and practices as well as professional standards.

As part of this pledge, our organization will:

• Treat all disaster survivors first as human beings who have the right to receive assistance which honors their dignity.
• Abide by New York State Human Rights Law and, when applicable, NYC Human Rights Law/Local Laws.
• Establish a procedure for Westchester COAD, your organization and any partners we deploy (paid or volunteer) to read and abide by this pledge, and to address violations, intentional or unintentional, through processes that educate rather than penalize.
• Recruit, hire, train, mentor and deploy personnel (paid or volunteer) based on capacity and skills.
• Treat volunteers with dignity and assign them meaningful work according to their competencies, whenever possible.
• Train and assess personnel (paid or volunteer) for their assigned roles, including appropriate cultural and religious competence and cultural humility.
• Whenever possible, deploy personnel based on impacted-community needs and reflecting community demographics.
• Offer trainings and share resources that address anti-discrimination, cultural competency, religious competency, and special needs competency, along with DEI and anti-discrimination professional development. 
• Provide services to all who need them and who consent, screening only by donor and/or program eligibility and without discrimination based on any other grounds (perceived or actual) including, but not limited to:
  • Ability (F, S, C)
  • Accent Age (F, S, C)
  • Arrest/Conviction Record
  • Beliefs/Faith or Religion (F, S, C)
  • Citizenship Status (C)
  • Cultural/Religious Expression/Dress
  • Ethnicity Gender Expression or Identity (F, S, C)
  • Housing Status
  • Language
  • Personal Health Choices (excluding those harmful to others)
  • Political Party or Beliefs
  • Sexual Orientation (F, S, C)
  • Race (F, S, C)
  • Religion or Religious Accommodation (F, S, C)
  • *(F,S,C) designates protected classes under federal antidiscrimination laws (F), New York State Human Rights Law (S), and/or New York City Human Rights Law (C).

In summary, we undertake to do no harm, including that of perpetuating discrimination based on prejudice regarding differences. We value diversity, equity, and inclusion.