Lacuna Loft has waited to offer our own words over the past week.  As an organization led by a white woman, I have spent this time listening, learning, and unlearning so much about how I was brought up, how the world actually works, and how myself and Lacuna Loft fit into that complicated puzzle.

The fact of the matter is though, that Lacuna Loft must announce where we stand, how we feel, as an organization, in this tumultuous time.

Black Lives Matter.

Our virtual doors have always been open to anyone facing cancer as a young adult.  For the past 5 years, young adult cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers have spent time in our virtual rooms connecting with one another, validating one another’s experiences, and showing up for each other when other survivors present were at their lowest points experiencing cancer and working hard at survivorship.  In our programs, people share their words and their experiences with courage and vulnerability.  Together, we have left space for strong words and strong circumstances with grace, offering love at each point along the way.

But today, that is not enough.  Today and every day from now on, Lacuna Loft recognizes that Black Lives have been left out of conversations around health, housing, fair and just treatment with police, and more.  Lacuna Loft and I will continue to listen, seek to provide support in an anti-racist way, continue to include young adult cancer survivors of color in our conversations, and we will collectively continue to learn and unlearn.

Lacuna Loft stands with Black Lives.  Black Lives Matter.

• Mallory Casperson, CEO + Founder