CAI Statement of Support for the Buffalo Community

CAI offers our support to the residents on the east side of Buffalo, NY, who have been impacted by the racially motivated, senseless violence that took place on Saturday, May 14, 2022. We offer our support to all in Buffalo and around the world who grieve racial terrorism.

CAI tackles the toughest health and social issues that confront priority populations and communities most impacted by racism. Racism has no place in our society, and what happened on Saturday was driven by white supremacy fueled with hatred ideologies. As a trusted apolitical partner of the community, we are here to support the Black community in Buffalo, NY, the City of Good Neighbors, as they grieve and endure the loss of life, safety, and trust. CAI stands with the Black Lives Matter movement.

We are a diverse, mission-driven nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of health care and social services delivered to marginalized populations worldwide. We understand it is our responsibility to leverage our influence and act accordingly. It is not enough to know what is right. It is not enough to say what is right. We’re committed to the following actions as we continue to prioritize institutional antiracism in our work:

• We will continue our commitment to a workplace culture in which shared values are determined by all and where leadership and staff alike are held accountable for reflecting those values.
• We will expand these values to expressly identify CAI as an antiracist organization.
• We will engage our community residents, stakeholders, funders, partners, and clients to prioritize antiracism in each one of our projects.
• We will never set aside our values to appease potential funders.
• We will continue to practice hiring that allows our clients to see themselves reflected in our staff and that ensures diversity.
• We will engage in conversations within our workplace to explore, understand, and address our own implicit bias.
• We will strengthen our collaboration with residents that have lived experience in the planning, development, and implementation of strategies that dismantle systemic, institutional, and structural racism and promote equity.

CAI recognizes that this tragic event occurred at TOPS Supermarket, located within a food desert where many residents in the community shop for healthy foods, prescription medicine, and basic needs. CAI will be making a monetary donation to the African Heritage Food Co-op to address food insecurities in the area.

We’re proud of our extraordinary and dedicated team in Buffalo, led by Stan Martin.

Learn more about CAI’s community work in Buffalo through projects including HOPE Buffalo, the REACH Ferry Good Health Project, and the Tobacco-Free Coalition of Erie and Niagara Counties.