'Portland Press Herald' publishes ā€˜Maine Voicesā€™ column by UNEā€™s Shelley Cohen Konrad

Shelley Cohen Konrad

A ā€˜Maine Voicesā€™ piece by Shelley Cohen Konrad, Ph.D., LCSW, FNAP, director of the School of Social Work and the Interprofessional Education Collaborative (IPEC), has been published in the Portland Press Herald.

Titled ā€˜Finding oneā€™s true voice in the most challenging of times,ā€™ Cohen Konradā€™s article discusses the recent changes in immigration policy and how the travel ban echoes events from our history.

ā€œThese shameful acts from our past and the one we are now experiencing have short- and long-term impact,ā€ she writes.

Cohen Konrad notes the ripple effects seen in Maine, in programs such as the Center for Grieving Children in Portland. At this organization, ā€œyouth enact the unresolved grief and pain of their families as well as their own. At the same time, these children and families testify to their resilience. They teach us the power of culture, custom and connection.ā€

She continues, ā€œFor now, broad-scale mandates are most notably affecting Maineā€™s immigrants and refugees. But as history tells us, any group or population may be subject to direct and indirect discrimination at any given time. As a social worker for 40 years, I know that the current mandates and rapid-fire changes shake everyone to the core.ā€

 

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