Community Agreements
Our 2024 Community Agreements
We treat each other with respect.
We use pronouns.
We tell our stories and we honor each other's stories.
We respect each other: the many places we come from, the talents we bring, and the ways we are all learning. That also means respecting each other’s time -- We begin and end meetings on time, communicate our needs, and share an agenda for any meeting in advance.
That means leaving behind the assumption that we can identify someone’s gender by their appearance.
We all have a stake in this life, and something to gain in coming together. We tell our individual stories to connect with each other and understand the many different ways our crisis impacts us.
We believe in taking risks.
We are not afraid of being uncomfortable, and know the greatest change can happen when we step into this discomfort together. We invite others to step into risk.
We acknowledge intent but center impact
Any of us may say or do something harmful without intending. We acknowledge that intent but focus on the impact our words or actions have on our community members. Recognizing impact and being accountable to repairing harm allows us to grow and ensures our spaces can be safe for others.
Labor is shared, not expected
We value each other’s labor and respect boundaries when it comes to capacity. Urgency, rooted in Capitalism and Supremacy, often leads us to respond to a crisis in a way that is reactionary. We understand it's crucial to organize thoughtfully, considering our own capacity and that of our community.
We’re committed to making sure that everyone feels welcome and safe within our spaces.
We’re committed to investing in each other, to working on our relationships with each other, to always turn toward each other, and to work through conflicts and disagreements. Any member can request a support with conflict resolution by reaching out to Michelle Q. Slavik (michelle@oceanflow.co) or Kelsey Ellis (kelsey@wavesofgrief.org)
Anything worth doing is worth evaluating
We’re committed to compassion, connection, and changing narratives - and know that will be a long term struggle. To succeed, we’ll need to both bring our best and know that we will always have room to grow. We honor time to debrief & evaluate actions, events and the ways we individually show up to the work.
We center joy, rest and appreciation in our work
We value taking care of ourselves and those around us, and acknowledge this looks different for each person. While we are committed to systemic change and doing the work, we are also making time and space to celebrate with each other, build a relational community, appreciate each other’s contributions, take time off and support each other in resting.