Our initiative

Unite To Heal PA 

YWCA's of Greater Pittsburgh, Tri-County Area, York, and Lancaster are partnering on an initiative to engage our respective communities in acts of racial healing. We define racial healing as the process by which the acknowledgement of past wrongs is necessary, as well as the recognition of the lasting effects racial trauma has had on us as individuals, within our institutions and communities. The work of racial healing requires truth telling, acknowledging one another’s humanity as we move forward to better our communities and society.

We acknowledge the healing journey can be arduous, but we believe we can transform our communities through collective impact leading us closer to healing and progress. We invite you to be a part of this initiative.

Our primary tenet is to facilitate healing conversations that will lead community residents to work together toward healing solutions and initiatives for their own communities. In active partnership with organizations and community residents we can begin to mitigate the lasting effects of racism and racial trauma. Acknowledging that racism is indeed a public health crisis our mission to engage with communities in healing conversations can serve as a catalyst to bring not only remediation to communities but to the individual as well.