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."
September's Focus:
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.
November's Focus:
- We are deeply saddened by the tragedy in our community last month where an individual killed numerous community members. We are dedicating staff discussion to identifying actions, interventions and services that we can provide to support our state, as well as discussing the role of gun laws in this event. We have also donated to the Maine Community Foundation.
- We are encouraging members of the Maine community to attend a public forum at The University of Maine at Augusta, in the Auditorium of Jewett Hall on Thursday, November 2nd, 2023 from 9AM-1PM or provide written testimony (email: info.recoverycouncil@maine.gov/ subject: Written Testimony) on how to utilize opioid settlement funds.
- We are sending letters to our state representatives to encourage a cease fire in Gaza and allow humanitarian assistance.
October's Focus:
- We are devastated by the Palestine/Israeli conflict that has led to the loss of thousands of lives. In order to better understand this conflict, we are dedicating staff discussion and support to recent events, as well as encouraging the sharing of unbiased resources.
- We are donating to the International Red Cross who is also offering relief. We are donating to Haymarket Books who are offering free resources to help folks better understand the history behind current events.
- We continue to support Maui in the process of rebuilding and healing, and have donated to HAPA Maui mutual aid fund.
September's Focus:
August's Focus:
July's Focus:
- We are devastated by the flooding happening in Vermont that has harmed many farmers and community members; we have donated to the Vermont Community Foundation.
June's Focus:
- We support Mom's Demand Action and encourage folks to find an event near you to Wear Orange Weekend in an effort to raise awareness of gun violence.
- We are utilizing our team meetings to discuss better ways to embody decolonization and unlearn white supremacy, as well as develop action items to do so; we encourage folks to view the Privilege Wheel and together, we can better recognize our intersectional identities and our proximity to power.
- Happy Pride! We are encouraging folks to donate to Equality Maine and attend a PRIDE event near you.
- Happy Juneteenth! To learn more about the history of this holiday, read here.
May's Focus:
- We support and are planning to submit testimony for (L.D. 1343) Bill ”Act to Protect the Reproductive Freedom of Maine People by Preempting the Field of Abortion Regulation”.
- We are also supporting and submitting testimony for (L.D. 1613) Bill “An Act to Prohibit Profiling and to Strengthen Civil Rights in Maine”.
April's Focus:
- We are planning to attend and want to promote the Confronting White Supremacy Symposium on 5/20/23 hosted by Community Change, Inc.
- We want to acknowledge and support Portland Museum of Art's pursuit of collecting art from BIPOC teens/young adults. and creating a more inclusive and inviting space for all identities; we encourage folks to complete this survey to provide PMA feedback.
March's Focus:
- We are supporting calls to action to revise the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines for weight-related care which misguidedly endorses weight loss surgery and medication for children rather than focusing on screening and treatment for disordered eating
- We are continuing to discuss our opposition for anti-LGBTQ and transgender legislature occurring in various states; most recently the "Don't Say Gay Bill" In North Carolina. If you would like to donate to the ACLU or learn more visit this website.
February's Focus:
- We are supporting LD 632 An Act To Amend the Social Work Education Loan Repayment Program by encouraging others to submit written testimony of their support; see here for information.
- We have pledged our support for Every Library Action and are committed to vote in a way that supports libraries and does not endorse criminalizing librarians.
January's Focus:
- We have signed a petition to demand to end qualified immunity; please see here for more details.
- We are in opposition of LD 109 passing which could harm recovery housing in Maine; get more information here and learn how you can help.
Ongoing Commitments:
- We provide free and/or low cost letters for gender-affirming medical care. If you are seeking a letter for gender-affirming surgery, please contact us. We have received training on both the WPATH standards and Informed Consent standards.
- We are available for pro-bono assessments for asylum seekers. Please see Immigration Legal Advocacy Project for more information and learn how to support their initiatives.
- Lastly, we are committed to contributing to equity in health care access; therefore, we are working to obtain interns for all of 2024, so that we can provide free and/or low cost mental health services to community members with limited financial means and/or insurance access/coverage. Please visit our Clinicians page to see if we have an intern available.