Rooted Community
Our Mission
Mission
Rooted Community is a community-centered organization prioritizing relationships, trauma-informed healing, and the humanity of our Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) community members harmed by racist systems of oppression.
Vision
A world where our system-impacted community members' humanity and home are ROOTED in a community committed to healing the experiences and trauma caused by violence and incarceration.
Origin
Rooted Community, formerly known as Rooted Reentry, came together at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in response to the health and safety of incarcerated community members.
What began as a mutual-aid response has grown into a coalition of programs serving people impacted by incarceration across the South Puget Sound region.
Theory of Change
Three stages, one continuous practice — how Rooted's work moves a community member from where they are to where they want to be.
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Problem
In our region, incarceration of BIPOC community members inflicts trauma far beyond any sentence. The harm reaches families, futures, and the community fabric we share — and tends to compound across generations and cycles of recidivism unless someone interrupts it.
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Approach
Rooted meets community members at every stage of the reentry and healing journey. Seven programs — from immediate-needs support to community circles — work alongside people where they are. We prioritize relationships over transactions, and we lead with the lived experience of community members who have been through the system themselves.
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Outcome
A community where system-impacted BIPOC people are home — housed, supported, in relationship, and treated as the full humans they are. Reduced recidivism is one measure. Restored humanity is the deeper one.