Advocacy

Advocacy Initiatives

Our Decision to Be Social Justice Oriented

We are committed to intentional action towards creating meaningful social change. We align firmly with our core value of advocacy and our professions' ethical standards. Similar to most institutions, we want to acknowledge that our profession has harmed populations due institutional discrimination, and we want to actively work towards dismantling unjust power structures and systemic oppression through accountable actions. In the Social Work Code of Ethics, one of the ethical principles is to challenge social injustice:

"Social workers pursue social change, particularly with and on behalf of vulnerable and oppressed individuals and groups of people. Social workers' social change efforts are focused primarily on issues of poverty, unemployment, discrimination, and other forms of social injustice. These activities seek to promote sensitivity to and knowledge about oppression and cultural and ethnic diversity. Social workers strive to ensure access to needed information, services, and resources; equality of opportunity; and meaningful participation in decision making for all people."

November's Focus:

We support the ACLU's petition to protect transgender healthcare and encourage others to sign as well. Gender affirming care is evidenced-based, medically necessary and live saving care.
We have donated to Planned Parenthood and support affordable, accessible and affirming reproductive healthcare.

October's Focus:

In honor of Indigenous People's Day, we are donating to the Wabanki Alliance and discussing President Joe Bidan's apology for Indian Boarding Schools, for more information read here.

September's Focus:

We are donating to Run4Life-Maine to support suicide awareness for veterans and military members.
We are supporting Black Lives Matter demand for reparations and donating to their organization.

August's Focus:

We are discussing the impact of the Supreme Court ruling to criminalize unhoused people for sleeping outside even when adequate shelter is unavailable. We support the National Homelessness Law Center's call for our country's leaders to invest in universal rental assistance and pass legislation to protect unhoused folks. To send your legislators an email in your support, see here.

July's Focus:

We participated in the US Pain Foundation's Action Day by emailing legislators urging them to support the Advancing Research for Chronic Pain Act by requesting that the Senate hold a full vote on the Support Act reauthorization which includes this bill and co-sponsoring it.
We supported the National Network to End Domestic Violence by urging congress to support the Crime Victims Fund Stabilization Act to help domestic violence programs keep their doors open.

June's Focus:

Happy Pride! In honor of our LGBTQIA staff and community, we are donating to SAGE who are committed to the advocacy and service for LGBT+ elders.
We are also donating to the Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention organization for LGBT+ young people.
We are contacting our representatives encouraging them to support The People's Response Act which approaches community safety by hiring mental health professionals and non-police workers to respond to mental health crises.

May's Focus:

We have written to the City Council Members in Augusta in our support of allocating budget funds to case management workers to address the unhoused population. Please attend the meeting on 5-16-24 or send them a letter of support to: council@augustamaine.gov
We are donating to Operation Olive Branch to support aid requests to Palestinian families.
We are donating to Southern Smoke Foundation and learning more about their program which provides free counseling services to folks in the food industry.

April's Focus:

We have donated to OUTMaine to support their Rainbow Ball Weekend.
We wrote to local senators in Virginia, to REJECT Amendment #139 and Amendment #174. These amendments eliminate over $7.4 million to services for victims of crime, including children.  Without this funding, we will see more (and longer) wait lists for trauma services, more domestic violence victims and their families who are turned away for lack of space at emergency shelters, and deeper and ongoing cuts to essential staff, hotlines, and frontline services for sexual assault, domestic violence, stalking and trafficking victims in every community across Virginia.

March's Focus:

We supported the Registry Act in Maine for Immigration Reform and discussed how immigrants in Maine are filling in the labor gap; NY Times Article about this can be found here.

February's Focus:

We are following the Supreme Court's decision on whether local anti-homeless laws are ‘cruel and unusual’ and support increased affordable housing and access to mental health and substance use treatment to address the homelessness crisis.
We are supporting protections for Indigenous children by favoring codifying the Indian Child Welfare Act at the state level; you can contact your Senators here to endorse your support.
We support interstate compacts that would allow social workers who have or are eligible for an active, unencumbered license in the Compact member state where they reside to apply for a multi-state license. In particular, support House Bill 326 that would authorizes that authorizes Virginia to become a signatory to the Social Work Licensure Compact.

January's Focus:

We have signed a petition with other mental health providers in favor of common sense gun reform.
We are spreading awareness of disaster relief resources for those impacted by the recent Maine storm resulting in damage to many folk's homes; Additional resource here.
We are writing to the Joint Select Committee on Housing in Maine to request additional funds be allocated to low barrier shelters so they are not closed; for more information see here.

December's Focus:

We have two pro-bono slots available from our licensed staff members for survivors and the family's impacted by the mass shooting in Lewiston. Please contact us for more information.