Love, inclusion and trust.

Those three qualities drive jamele adams and his teammates on the Natick Freedom Team.

The team, which was formed 10 years ago, provides support for anyone targeted by bias. The Natick Freedom Team led by volunteers, serves as a non-partisan community-based organization.

The group was founded by adams, a town resident who saw incidents of hate and asked a question: “How do we look at victims and show them the love they need?’’

He also knew he was not alone in his concern. “There are people in the community who feel for them and want to support them. The Freedom Team can’t be just one group, one organization.’’

Team members serve as a resource for people who have experienced threats, harassment or violence related to race, color, sex, gender, sexual orientation, ethnicity, national origin, religion, disability or class.

The team provides a confidential, neutral space for people to be heard, helps clarify the desired outcome for a situation and helps people identify options and next steps 

Since forming in 2016,the team has navigated racist threat letters, school incidents, antisemitic graffiti and anti-LGBTQ+ church vandalism.

Just last month, Natick Police investigated two separate incidents of racist and antisemitic graffiti.

Providing a listening ear to people who feel targeted is crucial team members say. 

“We want to be there for folks,’’ Christine Guthery said. Her organization, Spark Kindness, has a similar goal of kindness over hate and the importance of individual interactions.

Battling hatred can be done “one person at a time,’’ adams said. Team members take action when people need to be heard. “We’re walking the walk,’’he said. “It’s real, it’s not rhetorical.’’

In addition to providing support to people who have been targeted, the team encourages who witness hate-based actions to be “upstanders, not bystanders.’’

Team members work at “helping people have the tools in that moment to do something,’’ Guthery said. 

After all, she noted, the person targeted is not the only one harmed in hate incidents.

Those who witness or are otherwise close to the incidents can also feel like targets, she said. 

Not everyone wants to get directly involved, because some situations can be unsafe. But even “comforting the target’’ of the hate can make both the target and the “upstander’’ feel better, she said.

Reporting the incident is crucial, Police Chief James Hicks, who is also part of the team, said.

These incidents may not always rise to the level of a crime, he said. When they do, he said, “it’s often not the first time’’ the person has targeted others. That makes reporting crucial, he said.

“The more we speak about it before it happens, there’s prevention that can happen,’’ the chief said.

Adams said he has dedicated his career as an educator for more than 30 years to “bringing people together.’’

The team forwards that goal.

“Often these issues are complex,’’ he said. “We can have complex perspectives. In a world that feels very divided, our role is to empower people.’’

Anyone who witnesses an incident of bias is asked to call the hotline at 508-647-9548. Learn more about the team at www.natickfreedomteam.com.