anti-racism statement

ABH Asserts Itself as an Anti-Racist Institution

Recent events in America, namely the vicious killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others – and the vital civil unrest that followed have demanded us as healthcare providers to reflect upon our varied roles in the Chicagoland community to generate a response plan, one that is proactive and squarely aimed at crushing racism in all its visages.

As clinicians, educators, supervisors, and more broadly as catalysts for dismantling racism in our personal and professional lives, we know racism to be a pervasive and malignant force that devastates human lives.

We know racism to be insidious for our brothers and sisters of color as it threatens their human spirit, systematically excludes them, creates health disparities for them and their communities, and in its most virulent form, it propels violence against them, often cutting their lives short.

We know that racism is embedded within the history of our nation, the State of Illinois, the City of Chicago, as well as within our local communities and our peer/family networks.

However, at Andersonville Behavioral Health, we stand with you and Black Lives Matter in the fight against racism — in session and in the community.

At ABH, we clinicians are deeply saddened by the recent events, yet we believe it is critical to not merely get lost in our sorrow and frustration. Despite the appropriateness of these emotions, we believe we must rise above an emotional response to formally make a commitment to our patients, our partners, and the larger community that we pledge ongoing racial literacy for our staff.

At ABH, we also commit to serving tirelessly as advocates for our Black and Brown patients, dedicate ourselves to ongoing diversification of our professional staff, and we vow to a create the most respectful and safe space for people of color to speak fully and openly about their lives when working with us in psychological assessment and psychotherapy.

In solidarity, Dr. Steve Migalski