Glossary
North Sound Community Action Network
About the Glossary
As a learning resource, the North Sound Collaborative Action Network library provides a place for both local knowledge and stories, as well as scholarly writings and models from around the world. It is a living library, being added to by you, adapting to the needs of our community as our world changes. This glossary includes words, concepts, and ideas frequently used in the Network and from our collaborators. We know that language matters, and some words can have different meanings, and even perspectives. This glossary is meant to guide all of us in using terminology with a shared definition and understanding, helping to foster trust and transparent partnerships. If you have a word to add to the glossary, please contact us at Communications@NorthSoundACH.org.
- Ableism
The discrimination of and social prejudice against people with disabilities based on the belief that typical abilities are superior. At its heart, ableism is rooted in the assumption that disabled people require ‘fixing’ and defines people by their disability. Like racism and sexism, ableism classifies entire groups of people as ‘less than,’ and includes harmful stereotypes, misconceptions, and generalizations of people with disabilities.
Source:
https://www.accessliving.org/newsroom/blog/ableism-101/ - Abolition
(In the context of the Prison Industrial Complex) Abolition is a political vision with the goal of eliminating imprisonment, policing, and surveillance and creating lasting alternatives to punishment and imprisonment.
Source:
What is the PIC? What is Abolition? – Critical Resistance - AI/AN
Demographic term to describe the indigenous peoples of the lower 48 and Alaska in the U.S. Often abbreviated to AI/AN. Whenever possible, refer to the subject by their Nation.
Source:
Walker, Richard Arlin; Jacobs, Jackie; Galanda, Gabriel S.; Gong, Louie. Indian Country Stylebook, Washington State edition. 2020. - American Indian/Alaska Native [AI/AN]
Demographic term to describe the indigenous peoples of the lower 48 and Alaska in the U.S. Often abbreviated to AI/AN. Whenever possible, refer to the subject by their Nation.
Source:
Walker, Richard Arlin; Jacobs, Jackie; Galanda, Gabriel S.; Gong, Louie. Indian Country Stylebook, Washington State edition. 2020. - Belonging
Belonging is knowing that you matter to a group of which you are a part. It is being valued for what you contribute and embraced for who you are. It is understanding your agency and influence within the group. Belonging is the affective/emotional consequence of truly being included.
Source:
Kimberly Barrett, Ph.D - Compassionate Consulting. Presentation at North Sound ACH Partner Convening, August 2022 - BIPOC
An acronym used to refer to Black, Indigenous and people of color. It is based on the recognition of collective experiences of systemic racism. As with any other identity term, it is up to individuals to use this term as an identifier.
Source:
https://environment.uw.edu/about/diversity-equity-inclusion/tools-and-additional-resources/glossary-dei-concepts/ - Black, Indigenous, and People of Color [BIPOC]
An acronym used to refer to Black, Indigenous and people of color. It is based on the recognition of collective experiences of systemic racism. As with any other identity term, it is up to individuals to use this term as an identifier.
Source:
https://environment.uw.edu/about/diversity-equity-inclusion/tools-and-additional-resources/glossary-dei-concepts/ - Bridging
Bridging is making meaningful connections with an individual or group that you believe to be different from you in some significant way for a common good. The common good or shared purpose can vary widely. It might be simply to expand our understanding of cultural diversity, or it could be to work on solving a common social problem or political dilemma. First and foremost, bridging is about understanding.
Source:
Kimberly Barrett, Ph.D - Compassionate Consulting. Presentation at North Sound ACH Partner Convening, August 2023 - Care Coordination
Care Coordination helps community members to navigate fragmented and disorganized systems of care and services. Care coordinators work with community members to identify ways to address clinical and social needs. Care coordinators come from a range of partner organizations include health systems, community clinics, social service agencies, public health, fire and EMS departments and more.
- Collaborative Action Network
Hosted and coordinated by North Sound ACH, the Network is a collection of individuals and organizations that agree to a set of common beliefs, objectives, and agreements to work together to advance change for North Sound communities. This multifaceted work welcomes and recruits from traditional healthcare sectors, community-based and grassroots organizations, government agencies, advocates and radicals, and more.
Source:
North Sound ACH program - Colonialism
The process of European settlement, violent dispossession, and political domination over the rest of the world, including the Americas, Australia, and parts of Africa and Asia.
Source:
Colonialism (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy) - Community-Centric Fundraising
Community-Centric Fundraising is a fundraising model that is grounded in equity and social justice. We prioritize the entire community over individual organizations, foster a sense of belonging and interdependence, present our work not as individual transactions but holistically, and encourage mutual support between nonprofits.
Source:
https://communitycentricfundraising.org/ - Cultural Appropriation
The non-consensual/misappropriate use of cultural elements for commodification or profit purposes – including symbols, art, language, customs, etc. – often without understanding, acknowledgment or respect for its value in the context of its original culture.
Source:
https://environment.uw.edu/about/diversity-equity-inclusion/tools-and-additional-resources/glossary-dei-concepts/ - Equity
Just and fair inclusion into a society in which all can participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. Specifically, health equity means that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. This requires removing obstacles to health such as poverty, discrimination, and their consequences, including powerlessness and lack of access to good jobs with fair pay, quality education and housing, safe environments, and health care.
- Gender-Affirming Care
Any single or combination of a number of social, psychological, behavioral, or medical (including hormonal treatment or surgery) interventions designed to support and affirm an individual’s gender identity.
Source:
Gender incongruence and transgender health in the ICD - Gender Identity
Distinct from the term “sexual orientation,” refers to a person’s internal sense of being male, female or something else. Since gender identity is internal, one’s gender identity is not necessarily visible to others.
Source:
https://environment.uw.edu/about/diversity-equity-inclusion/tools-and-additional-resources/glossary-dei-concepts/ - Pronouns
In English, our most commonly used pronouns (he or she) specifically refer to a person’s gender. For queer, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and transgender people, these pronouns may not fit, can create discomfort, and can cause stress and anxiety. A recent study showed that in transgender youth, using correct pronouns and names reduces depression and suicide risks. Pronouns may include she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, ze/zir, zirs, among many others. As with any other identity term, it is up to individuals to use this term as an identifier.
Source:
https://lgbtlifecenter.org/pronouns/#columns-1
https://transstudent.org/graphics/pronouns101/ - Gender Pronouns
In English, our most commonly used pronouns (he or she) specifically refer to a person’s gender. For queer, gender non-conforming, non-binary, and transgender people, these pronouns may not fit, can create discomfort, and can cause stress and anxiety. A recent study showed that in transgender youth, using correct pronouns and names reduces depression and suicide risks. Pronouns may include she/her/hers, he/him/his, they/them/theirs, ze/zir, zirs, among many others. As with any other identity term, it is up to individuals to use this term as an identifier.
Source:
https://lgbtlifecenter.org/pronouns/#columns-1
https://transstudent.org/graphics/pronouns101/ - Harm Reduction
Harm reduction is a set of practical strategies and ideas aimed at reducing negative consequences associated with drug use. Harm Reduction is also a movement for social justice built on a belief in, and respect for, the rights of people who use drugs.
Source:
Harm Reduction Principles - Health Disparities
A particular type of health difference that is closely linked with social, economic, and/or environmental disadvantage. Health disparities are inequitable and are directly related to the historical and current unequal distribution of social, political, economic, and environmental resources.
Sources:
https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/health-equity-healthy-people-2030
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/disparities/index.htm - Implicit Bias
A prejudice or an assumption that we unconsciously make about another person based on common cultural stereotypes, rather than on a thoughtful judgment.
Source:
https://hr.cornell.edu/culture/inclusion-belonging/learning-and-development/dei-glossary - Indigenous
People who share ancestral relationships and ties to the physical land and resources they currently occupy or from which they have been displaced due to historic colonization and conflict.
Source:
https://hr.cornell.edu/culture/inclusion-belonging/learning-and-development/dei-glossary - Institutionalized Racism
Occurs in an organization. This includes discriminatory treatment, unfair policies, or biased practices based on race that result in inequitable outcomes for whites over people of color and extend considerably beyond prejudice. These institutional policies typically do not mention any racial group, but the intent is to create advantages. An example is a school system where students of color are more frequently distributed into the most crowded classrooms or underfunded schools and out of the schools with greater resources.
Source:
https://hr.cornell.edu/culture/inclusion-belonging/learning-and-development/dei-glossary - Intersectionality
A social construct that recognizes the fluid diversity of identities that a person can hold such as gender, race, class, religion, professional status, marital status, socioeconomic status, etc.
- Land Back
A movement that has existed for generations with a long legacy of organizing and sacrifice to get Indigenous Lands back into Indigenous hands.
Source:
https://landback.org/ - LGBTQ+
An inclusive term for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and additional identities including intersex, asexual, Two-Spirit, non-binary, and more. As with any other identity term, it is up to individuals to use this term as an identifier.
Source:
https://environment.uw.edu/about/diversity-equity-inclusion/tools-and-additional-resources/glossary-dei-concepts/ - Medical Racism
Medical racism is the systematic and wide-spread racism against people of color within the medical system. It includes both the racism in our society that makes Black people less healthy, the disparity in health coverage by race, and the biases held by healthcare workers against people of color in their care.
Source:
https://www.ywcaworks.org/blogs/firesteel/what-medical-racism - Member
A person and/or organization who joined the North Sound Collaborative Action Network to enhance their equity journey.
- Multisolving
Where people pool expertise, funding, and political will to solve multiple problems with a single investment of time and money.
Source:
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/the_magic_of_multisolving - Neurodiversity
The awareness that every person’s brain operates differently. Neurodiversity encourages people to recognize that everyone may have different methods of learning or remembering information, as well as different ways of processing information and socially interacting with others. Examples of neurodiverse identities include, but are not limited to, people who identify as experiencing autism, ADHD, ADD, dyspraxia, dyslexia, sensory-processing sensitivity, and Tourette’s Syndrome.
Source:
https://hr.cornell.edu/culture/inclusion-belonging/learning-and-development/dei-glossary - North Sound Community Hub
North Sound ACH supports a regional Community Hub for care coordination. This hub receives referrals from across the five counties for individuals and families having difficulty navigating needed clinical and community services. The Hub contracts with a network of Care Coordination Organizations (CCOs) to streamline referrals to services and eliminate duplication. The Community Hub has infrastructure in place to monitor and evaluate health outcomes, partner performance and achievements, and lift up opportunities for collaborative quality improvement initiatives.
Source:
North Sound ACH program - Partner
A person or organization who is in formal partnership with North Sound ACH; can also be member of the Collaborative Action Network.
- People-first language
When talking about identifies, people-first language can be used as it avoids defining a person in terms of their disability, such as “people with disabilities” rather than “the disabled,” “special needs” or other terms; or “people experiencing homelessness” instead of “the homeless.” However, some advocates prefer identity-first language (“a disabled person”). Asking people about their preference in terminology is a best practice.
Source:
https://www.apa.org/about/apa/equity-diversity-inclusion/language-guidelines - Prison Industrial Complex [PIC]
The overlapping interests of government and industry that use surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social and political problems. PIC helps and maintains the authority of people who get their power through racial, economic and other privileges.
Source:
What is the PIC? What is Abolition? – Critical Resistance - PIC
The overlapping interests of government and industry that use surveillance, policing, and imprisonment as solutions to economic, social and political problems. PIC helps and maintains the authority of people who get their power through racial, economic and other privileges.
Source:
What is the PIC? What is Abolition? – Critical Resistance - Race-based medicine
The misuse of race as a corrective or risk-adjusting variable in clinical algorithms or practice guidelines. Race is a social, not a biologic, construct, and the use of race as a proxy for factors such as genetic ancestry is scientifically flawed.
Source:
Eliminating Race-Based Medicine | Pediatrics - Racism
A false classification of people that is not based on any real or accurate biological or scientific truth. The construct of race was created to classify of human beings with the political, economic, and social purpose of giving power to those classified (at that time in history) as white people and to legitimize the dominance of white people over non-white people.
Source:
https://www.cde.state.co.us/choice/antiraciststrategiestodisruptracialinequitiesdrworkbook - Reentry
Reentry is the process by which a person in correctional confinement prepares for release and transitions back into the community. (This term is used in Medicaid Transformation Project documents; also reintegration)
Source:
Five Things About Reentry | National Institute of Justice - Reintegration
“Reentry is just helping people acquire the things that they need: if you need housing here is it, if you need transportation here’s an orca card, the employment we found you a job, you should be well on to your success. But reintegration is walking a person through the additional things that ultimately come as a person-resulted change in their life, right? How do you build better relationships with your family, with your community, how do you not allow anxiety or panic attacks to really overwhelm you when you find yourself in community spaces where you don’t feel like you belong, right? … So loving a person through the process, the entire process, especially in regards to the criminal justice system, its important.”
Source:
Network Learning Session: Incarcerated & Justice Involved Equitable Solutions - YouTube - Restorative Justice
Restorative justice has roots in Aboriginal and Native American practices in North America and New Zealand. It is built on a system of bringing victims and perpetrators of harm together to take accountability, forgive, and heal. It’s a collaborative and cooperative process that involves goal setting and taking action to repair the harm that one has caused.
Source:
How is Transformative Justice Different from Restorative Justice? - Social Determinants of Health [SDOH]
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. SDOH can be grouped into 5 domains: economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context.
Source:
https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health - SDOH
Social determinants of health (SDOH) are the conditions in the environments where people are born, live, learn, work, play, worship, and age that affect a wide range of health, functioning, and quality-of-life outcomes and risks. SDOH can be grouped into 5 domains: economic stability, education access and quality, health care access and quality, neighborhood and built environment, and social and community context.
Source:
https://health.gov/healthypeople/priority-areas/social-determinants-health - Social Justice
Social justice constitutes a form of activism, based on principles of equity and inclusion that encompasses a vision of society in which the distribution of resources is equitable and all members are physically and psychologically safe and secure. Social justice involves social actors who have a sense of their own agency as well as a sense of social responsibility toward and with others.
- Stigma
The negative social attitude attached to a characteristic of an individual that may be regarded as a mental, physical, or social deficiency. A stigma implies social disapproval and can lead unfairly to discrimination against and exclusion of the individual. Bias - partiality: an inclination or predisposition for or against something.
Source:
https://dictionary.apa.org/stigma - Bias
The negative social attitude attached to a characteristic of an individual that may be regarded as a mental, physical, or social deficiency. A stigma implies social disapproval and can lead unfairly to discrimination against and exclusion of the individual. Bias - partiality: an inclination or predisposition for or against something.
Source:
https://dictionary.apa.org/stigma - Targeted Universalism
Targeted universalism means setting universal goals pursued by targeted processes to achieve those goals. Within a targeted universalism framework, universal goals are established for all groups concerned, and the strategies developed to achieve those goals are targeted, based upon how different groups are situated within structures, culture, and across geographies to obtain the universal goal.
Source:
https://belonging.berkeley.edu/targeted-universalism - Transformative Justice
A community process developed by anti-violence activists of color, in particular, who wanted to create responses to violence that do what criminal punishment systems fail to do: build support and more safety for the person harmed, figure out how the broader context was set up for this harm to happen, and how that context can be changed so that this harm is less likely to happen again [...] A truly transformative justice would mean that a single survivor coming forward to tell their tale of harm years ago would actually have been believed (the first time). We would immediately focus on addressing the harms perpetrated, centering on the concerns and experiences of the person who was harmed. Next, we would also focus on the person responsible for the harm - but without disregarding their humanity. This means we have to acknowledge the reality that it is often hurt people who hurt other people. Understanding that harm originates from situations dominated by stress, scarcity, and(...)
- Tribal Sovereignty
Sovereignty is a legal term for a fundamental yet complex political agreement – meaning to have the authority to self-govern. Organizations must understand that treaties, sovereign agreements, and treaty adjustment laws provide for ongoing inherent rights through providing services that are critical to the survival of American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) nations. There may be federal policy about tribal sovereignty, but making it a priority and putting tribal sovereignty at the forefront during decision making and program implementation is often a challenge for non-Tribal organizations.
Source:
https://northsoundach.communitycommons.org/cc_resource/tribal-sovereignty-contextualization/ - Tribe
A term first used during the colonial era to describe indigenous nations. Capitalize Tribe to distinguish use for a nation of indigenous peoples. Use the nation's name for itself when possible and appropriate, e.g. Samish Indian Nation.
Source:
Walker, Richard Arlin; Jacobs, Jackie; Galanda, Gabriel S.; Gong, Louie. Indian Country Stylebook, Washington State edition. 2020. - Vital Conditions
The Seven Vital Conditions for Well-Being is a useful framework for conceptualizing holistic well-being and the conditions that give rise to it, as well as identifying levers for community change and improvement. Vital conditions are properties of places and institutions that all people need to participate, prosper, and reach their full potential. We encounter them on day one and depend on them every day of our lives. They persist over generations. The seven vital conditions for well-being are: Basic Needs for Health & Safety, Lifelong Learning, Meaningful Work & Wealth, Humane Housing, Reliable Transportation, Thriving Natural World, and Belonging & Civic Muscle.
- Basic Needs for Health & Safety
Physical and mental well-being starts with access to fresh air and water, nutritious food, and the security of a stable home. People also need healthy relationships - with freedom to express gender and sexuality - and a life free from violence, injury, and toxic stress. Access to routine and critical health care is also an important factor to maintaining health and well-being.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Humane-Housing-as-a-Vital-Condition - Vital Conditions: Basic Needs for Health & Safety
Physical and mental well-being starts with access to fresh air and water, nutritious food, and the security of a stable home. People also need healthy relationships - with freedom to express gender and sexuality - and a life free from violence, injury, and toxic stress. Access to routine and critical health care is also an important factor to maintaining health and well-being.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Humane-Housing-as-a-Vital-Condition - Vital Conditions: Belonging & Civic Muscle
Having fulfilling relationships and social support that people need to thrive. It’s about being part of a community and contributing to its vibrancy. Social support through friends, family, and other networks contributes to our practical and emotional needs, enhances mental well-being, helps us navigate the challenges of life, and reinforces healthy behaviors.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Belonging-and-Civic-Muscle-as-a-Vital-Condition - Belonging & Civic Muscle
Having fulfilling relationships and social support that people need to thrive. It’s about being part of a community and contributing to its vibrancy. Social support through friends, family, and other networks contributes to our practical and emotional needs, enhances mental well-being, helps us navigate the challenges of life, and reinforces healthy behaviors.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Belonging-and-Civic-Muscle-as-a-Vital-Condition - Vital Conditions: Humane Housing
Safe places to live, and living in diverse, vibrant communities that lead to full, productive lives. People are able to thrive with access to secure, consistent places to live, homes and neighborhoods that are safe from hazards, and neighborhoods that provide access to food and other basic needs, opportunity, and resources that promote healthy living.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Humane-Housing-as-a-Vital-Condition - Humane Housing
Safe places to live, and living in diverse, vibrant communities that lead to full, productive lives. People are able to thrive with access to secure, consistent places to live, homes and neighborhoods that are safe from hazards, and neighborhoods that provide access to food and other basic needs, opportunity, and resources that promote healthy living.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Humane-Housing-as-a-Vital-Condition - Lifelong Learning
Providing a good education for all that ensures all people, regardless of age, background, or ability, are set up for success, and have the opportunities to reach their full potential. It’s about an education that launches people into meaningful careers, with ongoing opportunities to learn and grow.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Lifelong-Learning-as-a-Vital-Condition - Vital Conditions: Lifelong Learning
Providing a good education for all that ensures all people, regardless of age, background, or ability, are set up for success, and have the opportunities to reach their full potential. It’s about an education that launches people into meaningful careers, with ongoing opportunities to learn and grow.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Lifelong-Learning-as-a-Vital-Condition - Vital Conditions: Meaningful Work & Wealth
Personal, family, and community wealth provides the means for healthy, secure lives. That includes good-paying, fulfilling jobs and careers, and financial security that extends across the life span. People’s lives and self-worth flourish when doing productive, rewarding work. The ability to accumulate adequate wealth shapes the living standards not only for individual families and communities, but for generations to come.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Meaningful-Work-and-Wealth - Meaningful Work & Wealth
Personal, family, and community wealth provides the means for healthy, secure lives. That includes good-paying, fulfilling jobs and careers, and financial security that extends across the life span. People’s lives and self-worth flourish when doing productive, rewarding work. The ability to accumulate adequate wealth shapes the living standards not only for individual families and communities, but for generations to come.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Meaningful-Work-and-Wealth - Vital Conditions: Reliable Transportation
Moving between home, work, school, stores—and more—in daily life. Transportation options influence access to jobs, social mobility, and our health. Active transportation—walking, biking, and transit use—helps us incorporate physical activity into our daily lives. Designing compact communities and sustainable transportation systems ensure people are able to get where they need to go no matter a person’s means, mode, or ability.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Reliable-Transportation-as-a-Vital-Condition - Reliable Transportation
Moving between home, work, school, stores—and more—in daily life. Transportation options influence access to jobs, social mobility, and our health. Active transportation—walking, biking, and transit use—helps us incorporate physical activity into our daily lives. Designing compact communities and sustainable transportation systems ensure people are able to get where they need to go no matter a person’s means, mode, or ability.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Reliable-Transportation-as-a-Vital-Condition - Thriving Natural World
Having clean air, clean water, clean land, and well-functioning ecosystems. A healthy environment is one that is free from environmental hazards, one that is resilient to future changes and threats, and one that fulfills our needs to connect with nature.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Thriving-Natural-World-as-a-Vital-Condition - Vital Conditions: Thriving Natural World
Having clean air, clean water, clean land, and well-functioning ecosystems. A healthy environment is one that is free from environmental hazards, one that is resilient to future changes and threats, and one that fulfills our needs to connect with nature.
Source:
https://www.communitycommons.org/collections/Thriving-Natural-World-as-a-Vital-Condition - White Supremacy
The belief that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races. This belief upholds the social, economic, and political systems that collectively enable white people to maintain power over people of other races.
Source:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/white%20supremacy