At The Advocate’s Table, we honor the past while walking boldly toward a future shaped by courage, compassion, and lasting change.
Sometimes, the best way to reflect on complex truths is through the simplicity of a story. The following story is fictional and does not depict any specific person or organization.
A woman named “Selah” lived in a town where two bridges connected her people to vital lifelines: healthcare, opportunity, and healing. Years ago, one of those bridges collapsed under the weight of broken promises and poor leadership. The collapse left deep scars. Some vowed never to cross that bridge again. Others built new paths. Some stayed behind, carrying the hurt in every step they took.
Selah chose something different.
She did not forget the betrayal. She did not erase the hurt. But she believed that standing still in pain could never build the future her people deserved. So, she gathered her neighbors, demanded a seat at the rebuilding table, studied every blueprint, and used her voice to ensure that the new bridge would stand stronger, wiser, and more just than before.
Her story is just one path of healing. Others walk different paths. Some need distance. Some need time. Some choose new bridges altogether. Every journey is valid. Every healing story matters.
At The Advocate’s Table, this is the spirit that guides how we choose where and how to lend our support.
Many communities across cultures have experienced harm from institutions meant to protect or serve them. Health disparities, in particular, have left lasting scars across generations:
- Black women are about 40 percent more likely to die from breast cancer than White women, despite having similar incidence rates. Source: Cancer Disparities In The Black Community
- Hispanic and Latino communities face higher rates of cervical cancer incidence and death compared to non-Hispanic White women. Source: CDC Health Disparities
- Native American populations have the poorest five-year cancer survival rates compared to all other U.S. racial and ethnic groups. Source: NCI Health Disparities
- Asian American communities experience significant barriers to healthcare, including linguistic disparities that impact access to timely cancer diagnosis and treatment. In one study, non-English-speaking callers had a 28% chance of securing an appointment compared to 94% for English-speaking callers. Source: Barriers to Healthcare -Asian Americans
These disparities are not random. They are the results of historical inequities, systemic racism, policy failures, and a lack of culturally competent care.
At The Advocate’s Table, we understand that healing cannot happen without acknowledging the roots of these injustices. Our vision is rooted in a simple but powerful belief: that access to quality healthcare, early detection, and supportive resources should never depend on your race, ethnicity, zip code, or income level.
Our mission is to create spaces of advocacy, education, and healing where voices that were once overlooked now lead. We center Black and Brown communities intentionally, while remaining inclusive of all groups who face systemic barriers. Through education on genetic testing, creative healing initiatives like mindfulness coloring circles, patient navigation, and advocating for inclusive research and clinical trials, we walk toward a future where disparities are no longer seen as inevitable but are addressed at their core.
We choose to work with organizations that demonstrate growth and commitment to health equity, even if their past was imperfect. We believe in holding systems accountable and in using our capabilities to help shape better outcomes rather than standing on the sidelines.
When we decide to support an initiative, we do not do so blindly. We ask deeper questions:
- Have those once silenced been given space to lead and not just participate?
- Are commitments to equity visible, active, and evolving?
- Can our collaboration push the mission forward for those who have been historically left behind?
If the answers point toward real, visible progress, then we step forward with caution, with hope, and with strength.
We recognize that living solely in the past can slow down future growth. Change is constant. Growth demands motion. Healing does not mean forgetting the past, it means learning from it and choosing to build something better because of it.
We honor every path of healing. We create space for those who need distance and space for those who choose to step in with courage and open hearts.
At The Advocate’s Table, we are choosing to build bridges.
We do this not because the road is easy, but because the future deserves better than the past.
“I am not a prisoner of the past. I am the architect of tomorrow. I carry wisdom, not wounds, into the spaces I create. I walk forward with courage, with compassion, and with the unshakable belief that change is not only possible, it is already underway through me.”
The Advocate’s Table: Rooted in Truth. Focused on Tomorrow.
Sources
- American Cancer Society, Cancer Disparities in the Black Community: https://www.cancer.org/about-us/what-we-do/health-equity/cancer-disparities-in-the-black-community.html
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Hispanic and Latino Health Disparities: https://www.cdc.gov/cancer/health-equity/hispanic-latino.html#:~:text=Hispanic%20women%20have%20a%20high,of%20dying%20from%20liver%20cancer.
- National Institutes of Health (NIH), Native American Cancer Health Disparities: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3544405/#:~:text=Native%20Americans%20continue%20to%20have,for%20females)%20%5B4%5D.
- American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), Linguistic Disparities and Asian American Health Access: https://ascopubs.org/doi/10.1200/OP-24-00498
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