Our Culture

Equity and Inclusion Framework

CCC’s equity and inclusion efforts are grounded in a framework that touches all corners of our organization. We are committed to change internally, in the community and for our clients.

To shift our culture, we are:

• Explicitly and publicly affirming our commitment to becoming an anti-racist organization
• Ensuring that our staff represent the clients we serve
• Fostering diversity through hiring, promotion and leadership pathways for BIPOC
• Enacting a zero-tolerance policy for racism in our agency
• Training all staff, leaders and board members to work toward equity and anti-racism
• Adopting a process that keeps staff in dialogue instead of a top-down approach

To improve our clients’ experience, we are:

• Increasing access to CCC programs for BIPOC
• Enhancing our culturally specific programs for Latinx and Black clients

To foster change in the community, we are:

• Advocating for policies that reduce over incarceration, shift funding from criminal justice to community-based programs and support health equity
• Working with community partners and government leaders to increase BIPOC access to housing, health and employment opportunities
• Publicly reporting data on our efforts to serve members of the BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ communities

Culturally Specific Programs

One of the key pillars of our equity work is offering culturally responsive programs and services. These include:

Puentes: Substance use treatment and mental health care for the Latinx community and Spanish speakers. Puentes supports individuals and their families in a way that reduces stigma and fear. The program’s staff are bilingual and bicultural. They understand Latinx values, family roles and community structures, so they can help clients gain insight into any cultural influences on their behavior.

The Imani Center: Mental health and addiction treatment, peer support and case management tailored to CCC’s Black clients. Using an Afrocentric approach, the Imani Center addresses growing disparities for African Americans by connecting participants to housing, employment and benefits, and other support systems within their cultural community.

Flip the Script: Support by and for African Americans exiting the criminal justice system. Flip the Script aims to break the cycle of reincarceration and ease reentry for Black Portlanders by providing housing, peer support, employment counseling and opportunities for systems change through advocacy.

Karibu: Individualized, culturally specific stabilization and treatment preparation (STP) services for Black/African American adults (18+) who are involved or at-risk of involvement with the criminal justice system and have behavioral health needs.

Our anti-racist commitment