We All Rise: African American Resource Center, Inc. is a non-profit organization in Green Bay. They are a culturally specific, holistic healing agency that exists to serve the most marginalized population in Wisconsin, the African American community. They provide mental health and crisis services including a 24-hour crisis line. Mental health services offered include both individual and group sessions. They offer therapy services to individuals (adolescents, teens, and adults), couples, and families. They work with clients who come in with any needs they may have (housing, transportation, job searching and skills, safety, education, clothing, advocacy, etc.) and partner with them to find solutions and work toward healing.
Their work started back in 2017 when current Executive Director, Robin Tinnon, learned that less than 1 percent of African American youth were enrolled in after school programming. Robin began designing a curriculum that understands there is a unique need to increase protective factors between black youth/families and their schools and community. This led her to begin establishing a safe and unapologetic space where black youth could learn their history, increase their self-advocacy, and become more positive participants in healthy relationships. While running her 28-week curriculum, she quickly learned that to fully support youth, we need to support the entire family unit. We All Rise was born into existence shortly after. They secured nonprofit status in 2018 and opened their brick-and-mortar resource center in 2019 with funding from VOCA (US Department of Justice, Victims of Crime Act). After a full year of the resource center being open to the public, its programming served well over 800 individuals and families (including over 150 youth).
This past year was nothing like they thought it would be. They found themselves amid not only a global pandemic but also a national uprising. At the beginning of March 2020, they began a systemic shutdown to lessen the impact of COVID-19. The staff at We All Rise came together to have some very serious discussions, knowing that black folks (their focus population) would be disproportionately affected by the virus due to reasons such as inadequate housing (more likely to be living with multiple generations, or apartment living), lack of private transportation (more likely to use public transportation, and less likely to receive equitable car loans), inequities in health care (racism, historical erasure, discrimination, poverty, etc...), and underlying health conditions (hypertension, diabetes, heart disease). The reality for their agency was that their clients had already told them that the reason they had not sought the crisis and emergency services they needed to holistically heal previously was because of conditions such as racism, historical trauma, conflicting cultural beliefs, and lack of representation. The We All Rise staff recognized that they had a duty to become a new haven not only for their clients to trust in the CDC's recommendations but also to self-determine that they are an essential agency. In addition to serving over 800 individuals during a global pandemic with the help of local emergency relief funds, businesses, and individual donors, and most importantly a deep trust to serve people, they were able to make the following happen: secure long-term housing for over 150 clients and families, secure emergency housing for over 115 clients and families, and provide over 300 therapy appointments last year alone.
They continue to evaluate and adapt not only their work but also their organization and its impact on their clients and community. This led to the organization changing its physical location last year, moving to a space where they could serve their growing caseloads with integrity, confidentiality, and dignity. An important discovery they made over the last year was the need for additional black male support for their clientele. Thanks to their partners at Wisconsin State - Department of Children and Families (DCF); they were able to add two more incredible male advocates to the We All Rise team. This will allow them to create programming, groups, and other support specific to black male healing.
They currently have eleven staff members. They have a full-time Executive Director (therapist), two full-time psychologists, two full-time advocates (both sexual assault and crime victim advocate), a full-time lead advocate, a full-time BYA-WI community coordinator, a part-time BYA-WI prevention educator, and another three advocates that are part-time.
Their advocates are an extremely important and essential part of their work. They assist clients with anything from first time resumes to court accompaniment. They have committed themselves to the belief that their clients already have all the skills and tools they need to thrive but deserve support as they fight against racial inequities, systemic barriers, institutional racism, and everyday microaggressions. Day to day, their folks work side by side with clients to fill out housing, education, and job applications, develop resumes, assist with transportation, provide emotional support (encourage clinical as well as holistic healing), set goals, develop business plans, as well as meet their direct needs when walking through the door.
The vision of We All Rise is to create and help restore a vibrant African American community. Through uplifting, skill-building, and intentionally targeting root causes of systemic oppression, they actively promote the healing of all. We All Rise will promote this vision that calls for the collective liberation of African Americans navigating at the margins of society. This holistic approach inspires a village mentality that includes the following supports:
- Youth Services
- Victim Health Services
- Mental Health Service
- Skill building and Mentorship
- Housing
- Education Services
- Employment
- Transportation
- Family Support and Community Connectedness
- Emotional Health
- Legal Assistance
If you would like to learn more about, support, or volunteer with We All Rise, you can contact them by calling (920) 785-9115, or through their website at https://www.weallriseaarc.org/
Written by Robin Tinnon and Rachel Westenberg from We All Rise