United Communities is first and foremost a grassroots effort to connect individuals in Weymouth, MA with the services they need. This seems like a simple mission, but in this day and age, it is not.
We’ve spent the last two decades living and working with people who experience poverty, substance use disorder, and many challenges that come from living in black and brown bodies in a town with a white-centered narrative (ask a Cabo Verdean family about what it was like to register for public school here and you’ll get an idea of what we mean by that).
Our founders are Indigenous, Cabo Verdean, and Black. We seek to center the lived experience of people in Weymouth not because we’re trying to follow protocol, but because we are living and have lived these experiences ourselves.
As a result, we are not your typical non-profit. We prioritize spending our time with YOU instead of playing power games with those who might provide grant funding. That doesn’t mean that we don’t value the work of larger, better funded non-profits. We often work with them and may even refer you to them! United Communities as a whole just doesn’t fit solely in that world. We’d rather stand in between and offer you a bridge to it.
We know people with historical trauma don’t trust systems of power. We’ve been burned by them before. By hosting our own directory not only do we get to vet who we might send you to, we also give you the opportunity to offer honest reviews of your experiences so that they are held accountable to provide quality service, and others coming behind you can know what to expect.
We are here to help you with no other motive than the things we share in common as humans who have been through many difficult situations and don’t always know who we can trust.
If you feel a little lost just surfing through our directory, please reach out to us. We are happy to talk with you, meet you somewhere in Weymouth, and help you figure out next steps.
In service and hope,
United Communities