What we're doing
Health Equity
Health Equity Exists when there are no unnecessary, avoidable, unfair, unjust or systemically-caused differences in health status. There is strength in numbers, and for equity to be a reality, voices must be heard and skills developed to create fair opportunities for all people to be healthy.
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Racial Injustice
Racial justice exists when there is not only the absence or alteration of systems that create and perpetuate racial disparities in areas including health, education and wealth, but the presence of fundamentally different systems that operate on behalf and inclusive of communities of color.
Racial injustice is historically the leading driver of health inequity, and most significantly affects communities of color who live on a low income. It is driven by systemic racism, which includes imbalanced power dynamics, unjust policies and a lack of civil discourse. Therefore, the interruption, dismantling and shifting conditions that are intentionally and unintentionally racist is the key pathway to achieving health equity.
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What are we doing?
We support individuals and organizations as they develop and strengthen the skills necessary to advocate for and promote a more equitable health environment—one where our policies reflect our priorities, and health is in reach for everyone. Our goal is to support a variety of advocacy measures that help make health equity for all a reality.
Indigenous Land Acknowledgement
Sunrise Community Health respectfully acknowledges the indigenous history of our country, state, and region. We recognize that our clinics reside upon the traditional territories of the Ute, Cheyenne, Arapaho, and Lakota Nations and peoples. Further, we acknowledge that the 48 tribes historically tied to the state of Colorado have made innumerable contributions to our region. We are called to honor their contributions and to continue learning how to be better stewards of the land - in addition to serving all of its people.
The Cheyenne Nation originally held territory around the Wit'adn'yohE' River (Fat river), now called the South Platte, where Greeley and surrounding towns currently sit. The Northern Arapaho spent most of their time camping and hunting within the Cache la Poudre (Hokooxúú-niiciihéhe’ meaning ‘tipi pole creek’) and Big Thompson (Hiiico'o meaning ‘the pipe’) river valleys near the current day cities of Loveland and Fort Collins and the surrounding towns.
The land that Denver sits on also originally belonged to the Arapaho Nation, as laid out in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie. When gold was discovered in the late 1850s, white settlers arrived in the area in large numbers and began asserting their right to the land, leading to the Treaty of Fort Wise in 1861 and cessation of land by some tribal leaders. In 1864, the Sand Creek Massacre resulted in the deaths of hundreds of Arapaho and Cheyenne people, and soon after these nations would be relocated out of Colorado. Today there are two native reservations in Colorado; The Southern Ute Reservation https://www.southernute-nsn.gov/ and the Ute Mountain Ute Reservation https://www.utemountainutetribe.com/
Currently in Colorado, the number of American Indian/Alaska Native residents is approximately 50,000, representing just under one percent of the state’s population.
For more information, visit the following resources: