New Mainers Yoga

The refugees and immigrant community in Portland, or “New Mainers”, are an underserved group with unmet healthcare needs. Many are survivors of war, physical and psychological trauma, and are high-utilizers of the medical system. Outpatient services such as physical therapy, counseling, nutrition, a mainstay of primary care, are often out of reach. They are expensive, and there are many logistical obstacles such as lack of transportation and, for women, difficulty finding childcare. There is an opportunity here to provide better care for new Mainers, strengthen community, and reduce overall cost of care in order to break down barriers to care.

With this in mind, we started a trauma sensitive yoga class for our clinic immigrant women at the YMCA with Sea Change Yoga. The response was amazing. One participant last session said:  "This class makes me happy, and it makes me feel important. It makes me feel like I have a reason to put on clothes in the morning. I have friends here... and it's helped my shoulder pain." 

That is one powerful yoga class! 

While we finish our seed funding, we're ask for any help to continue to fund the class- which goes to teachers, materials, transportation assistance, translation materials. Every little bit will help!