Our Story
Mission
Founded in 2020, by Darryl “Wolfie” Chambers, the Center for Structural Equity (CFSE) works to achieve the mission of empowering and equipping communities to respond to structural violence and promoting structural equity to address social determinants of health.
History
CFSE evolved from grassroot movements, including the work of the Wilmington Street PAR Project and the Community Intervention Team (CIT) and is now 501(c)(3) nonprofit that employs credible messengers to lead efforts that promote health equity. Our social capital creates credibility and trust in the community that is not typically obtained by mainstream organizations and systems-based service providers. This has earned us a reputation for being able to successfully engage those labeled “the hardest to reach.”
Framework
CFSE operates from a Structural Violence Framework which argues that challenges experienced by low-income, Black and Brown communities, are a result of structural violence, not individual shortcomings or pathologies.
We define structural violence as a form of inequity where some social structure or institution causes harm by preventing people from meeting their basic needs (including, but not limited to, access to adequate education, safe and affordable housing, violence free communities, healthy food and livable wages).
We believe, to achieve structural equity, we must eradicate structural violence.
