A Message From the Director

duda • June 4, 2025

Welcome

Dear JCA Community and Supporters,


To say the last few months have been the most difficult of my career would be an understatement. For those of you who don’t know me and my background, I have worked with newcomer communities for the last 13 years in Maine and the state of Washington. 


By the time the Trump administration was inaugurated in January of 2025, I had met countless brave men, women, and children who have survived, persisted, and went on to thrive despite torture, war, violence, and atrocities that are frankly unimaginable to most of us. I had supported teens with their applications to financial aid, to be the first in their families to attend college. I had organized with community leaders to advocate for healthy and affordable housing. After traveling for many days and halfway around the world, I was the first face families saw when they exited the airport. I have seen three presidential administrations, two that welcomed unprecedented numbers of newcomers, saving hundreds of thousands of lives. I had already persevered through four years with an administration that demonstrated with each new policy and passing year that they would welcome fewer and fewer of those men, women, and children. In 2017  53,691 refugees were admitted to the US, that number fell to just 11,454 refugees in 2021– which at the time, was the lowest number of refugees admitted since the inception of the US Refugee Admissions Program in 1980.


Despite all of my experiences, nothing could have prepared me for the devastation I have seen in the Refugee Resettlement Program since January 2025. In the articles below, I hope to share the current challenges for our clients, their families, and friends. We will highlight how our staff have shown up every day, in the face of uncertainty, job insecurity, and in some cases, amidst their own immigration challenges. 


We will share how our agency and the Refugee Resettlement and Newcomer Services Program at the JCA are shifting, evolving, and adapting to continue to serve the most vulnerable and deserving of humanitarian support. We will discuss the impact of our programming and how the JCA volunteers, community, and supporters have shaped people’s lives and exemplified the Jewish values of “Welcome the Stranger” and “tikkun olam” (repairing the world).


While I am uncertain of many things, I am steadfast and resolute in one - our newcomer brothers and sisters bring untold resilience, talent, and creativity to communities across Maine and we are committed to doing everything in our power to continue to show up and support them for as long as we can.


In solidarity, and with love and gratitude,


Siobhan Whalen

Refugee Resettlement and Newcomer Program Director

National Diaper Need Awareness Week 2026

September 15, 2026
The Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine Marks National Diaper Need Awareness Week, Celebrating Community Support for Maine Families As Maine recognizes National Diaper Need Awareness Week, September 14–20, Michael Klahr Jewish Family Services (KJFS) at the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine (JCA) is highlighting the ongoing challenge of diaper need and the extraordinary network of volunteers, donors, funders, and community partners who make the KJFS Diaper Bank possible. Across the country, one in two families with young children struggles to afford enough diapers to keep their children clean, dry, and healthy. Diapers are a basic necessity, but they are also an economic issue for families: many childcare and early education programs require parents to provide an adequate supply of diapers, meaning diaper need can create another barrier to parents’ ability to work. Here in Maine, the KJFS Diaper Bank works to ensure that families throughout the state have access to this essential resource. As an essential component of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, KJFS approaches this work in the spirit of Jewish values—the belief that caring for our neighbors and helping people meet their most basic needs is a responsibility we share. The Diaper Bank puts those values into action by serving families of all backgrounds throughout Maine. In 2025, the JCA distributed 290,050 diapers to an average of 965 children each distribution month. Currently, the Diaper Bank serves clients in Lewiston, Gray, Raymond, Mechanic Falls, Brunswick, Saco, Biddeford, Gorham, Windham, Standish, Buxton, Steep Falls, Scarborough, South Portland, Portland, and Westbrook. As we continue to see the impacts of inflation, diapers continue to be a barrier for families, and without clean diapers, babies are exposed to potential health risks and toxic stress, and mothers are at risk for increased maternal depression. In a letter recognizing National Diaper Need Awareness Week, Maine Governor Janet Mills thanked the state’s diaper banks, staff, volunteers, and donors for their service and specifically recognized the JCA among the trusted community-based organizations working to distribute diapers to families throughout Maine. “We thank Governor Mills for recognizing the work of so many across our community to address diaper need,” said Susan Cohen, CEO of the JCA. “Jewish tradition reminds us that we are responsible for one another, and that caring for our neighbors is both an obligation and an expression of our deepest values. Through this work, we seek to ensure that every family has the dignity, resources, and opportunity they need to thrive.” The work of the KJFS Diaper Bank is only possible because of the community behind it. In 2025, the Diaper Bank had over 80 volunteers, including 50 individual volunteers as well as many corporate and student volunteer groups who donated over 700 volunteer hours. Volunteers help receive, organize, package, deliver, and prepare diapers for distribution, while individuals, businesses, foundations, government partners, and community organizations provide the financial and material resources needed to keep shelves stocked. Margaret Mailander, Director of Michael Klahr Jewish Family Services shares that "addressing the immediate diaper need is important and as the National Diaper Bank Network has made clear through their research, diaper need is a systemic issue caused by economic and social systems and therefore requires our collective support to find solutions that are structural." During National Diaper Need Awareness Week, KJFS encourages Mainers to learn more about diaper need, organize diaper drives, volunteer, and support the continued availability of diapers for families throughout the state. Please donate to the Jewish Family Services Diaper Bank at Diaper Bank . About Michael Klahr Jewish Family Services KJFS is the social services department of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine, providing programs and resources that support individuals and families and strengthen communities throughout Maine. Guided by Jewish values and open to people of all backgrounds, KJFS works to meet immediate needs while fostering dignity, connection, and well-being. About the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine The Jewish Community Alliance (JCA) is a central hub for Jewish life, education, and community support. We provide meaningful programs, essential services, and opportunities to connect. Rooted in Jewish values, history, and our connection to Israel, the JCA cultivates and sustains a welcoming and thriving Jewish community in Maine and strives to build a better world for all.

A Call for Peace and Responsible Rhetoric

July 31, 2026
A Call for Peace & Responsible Rhetoric

Remembering, Rebuilding, and Resilience: JCRC Hosts Eugene Damlich

July 15, 2026
Last week, the Jewish Community Relations Council of the Jewish Community Alliance of Southern Maine welcomed Eugene Damlich, a survivor of the 1994 Genocide Against the Tutsi in Rwanda, for a special lunch and community dialogue. Eugene shared the story of losing his family, surviving unimaginable violence, and rebuilding his life in the years that followed. The only surviving child in a family of five children, Eugene later immigrated to the United States, where, as an adult, he found love and belonging with a Jewish-American family. The gathering was not simply a testimony program, but a genuine exchange between communities. Eugene asked participants how the Jewish community has preserved Holocaust memory while helping survivors and their descendants live with hope, dignity, and purpose. He also invited discussion about forgiveness, justice, healing, and the responsibility to transmit memory across generations. Several people at the table were children of Holocaust survivors—one JCRC member, Anna Wrobel, shared that her mother was also the sole survivor of her family—profoundly relating to Eugene in a way that few others can.  In preparation for the lunch, the JCRC held its first movie night, where participants watched Sometimes in April, a 2005 historical drama about the Rwandan Genocide. Last week’s lunch also built upon the JCRC’s participation in this year’s Kwibuka, which annually commemorates the Rwandan Genocide; JCRC members walked in the memorial procession, and a post-Kwibuaka gathering for Maine’s Tutsi community was held at the JCA. We are deeply grateful to Eugene for sharing his testimony, and we look forward to continuing to strengthen the relationship between Maine’s Jewish and Tutsi communities.
Show More