FOCUS Values

Throughout FOCUS, you’ll dive deep into the heart of New Haven, meeting with inspiring local activists and organizers. With neighborhood tours, discussion panels, and meetups with community leaders, you’ll get to know New Haven from every angle. Plus, you’ll roll up your sleeves and work on small group service projects with local non-profits. By the end of the program, you’ll have seen New Haven through many lenses and will be challenged to reflect on your role in the community.
 
But before FOCUS, we hope you consider the following guiding principles:

Justice

Fight for justice everywhere. Fix power imbalances where none ought to exist. Speak truth to power, even when it is uncomfortable or unconventional.
 
“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny.” – Martin Luther King, Jr

Love

Root your activism in love for your community. Everyone, including you, has a unique set of gifts that they bring to the table. Caring for others begins with caring for oneself. 

Humility

Have cultural humility – a process-oriented, not ends-oriented, approach to cultural competence. Beware of self-righteousness; avoid assuming you know more than you do.

Curiosity

Ask questions of yourself and others, but don’t lose hope when answers are hard to come by. Start with questions, not solutions. 
 
Ask: Why are conditions/systems the way that they are? Who made them that way? What needs to be done to make things better? What don’t I know? Who can I collaborate with?

Growth Mindset

Adopt a growth mindset, committing to ongoing self-evaluation with compassion. You don’t always need to change the world; sometimes, focus on how the world changes you.

Agency

FOCUS will provide guidance and support, but in the end, you must navigate personal development, Yale-New Haven relations, and college challenges on your own.

Authenticity

As best you can, act such that your intentions and impact are in line with your values and true beliefs. Be clear with yourself and others about your motives.

Active Citizenship

A resident-centered, relationships-based approach is key to community engagement and uplift. Yale is a center of knowledge, but not the center of knowledge in New Haven.