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Safe Space Radio

The show about subjects we'd struggle with less if we could talk about them more.

  • Mental Health
    • Bad Mother Anxiety
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    • Mental Illness in the Family
    • Medical Trauma
    • Parenting Kids on the Spectrum
    • PTSD Among Women Veterans
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    • Trauma
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    • Yoga and Mental Illness
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    • Female Sexual Difficulties
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    • Recovery from Sexual Trauma
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Trauma

Yoga For Trauma with Matthew Sanford

December 26, 2016 by ssradmin

Matthew Sanford is a yoga teacher focused on trauma recovery. Matthew was paralyzed from the chest down at age 13 in a car accident that killed his father and sister. As a teen, he was encouraged to “overcome the silence” of his paralyzed body. He learned that he could listen to his body instead, and …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health, Waiting Room Project - Psychiatry Tagged With: disability, Recovery, Trauma, Yoga

Breaking the Silence with Carl Russell

November 21, 2016 by ssradmin

Episcopal priest Carl Russell talks about the childhood sexual abuse he experienced at the hands of his family’s own priest. He remembers the catalyst on his own path to healing: a radio story about sexual abuse in the Boston Archdiocese. At 72 years old Carl decided to press charges, and broke a silence that had …read more »

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Filed Under: Mental Health, Sexuality Tagged With: Abuse, archdiocese, childhood, priest, Sexual Abuse, Sexuality, Trauma

Recovering and Surviving with Meosha Thomas

June 13, 2016 by ssradmin

Navy veteran Meosha Thomas talks about the injuries she suffered in Iraq when her convoy hit an IED, and how she lost and regained her desire to live in the long recovery period that followed. She also talks more about the concept of moral injury, and how she wrestles with guilt over the choices she …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health Tagged With: healing, military, military trauma, survivor guilt, survivors, Trauma, veterans

Reporting and Retaliation with Kate Weber

May 16, 2016 by ssradmin

Kate Weber was raped by a fellow soldier within her first weeks of deployment overseas in 1993. She discusses the helplessness and isolation she felt when she discovered that no one, from the staff doctor, to her friends and fellow soldiers, would take her seriously.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health Tagged With: military, Military Sexual Trauma, Rape, Sexual assault, sexual violence, Trauma, veterans

Military Sexual Trauma and the VA with Kathy Russin

May 9, 2016 by ssradmin

Kathy Russin is the Military Sexual Trauma Program Coordinator for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Maine. In this episode she talks about the prevalence of Military Sexual Trauma among veterans, and explains that it is not limited to rape, and affects both men and women. She explains how MST is different from combat PTSD …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health Tagged With: Military Sexual Trauma, Rape, Rape Culture, Sexual assault, Trauma, veterans

The Challenge of Seeking Asylum with Alice B

November 30, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Alice B, an asylum-seeker from Burundi who now lives in Portland, Maine. She talks about her work to support and empower women who have faced cultural silencing and endured trauma in both Burundi and the U.S. Alice and Anne explore ways that refugees might be connected with therapists …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health, Sexuality, Social Justice, Waiting Room Project - Psychiatry Tagged With: asylum seekers, Immigration & Refugees, Legal System, mental health, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers, Sexual assault, Therapy, Trauma

Leaving Syria with Ana

November 23, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Ana, who escaped Syria while 8 months pregnant in 2013 and now lives in Maine. She talks about trading the daily threat of bombings and kidnappings for a life of uncertainty as she and her husband applied and waited for asylum—and how the experience changed her understanding of …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Family and Lifecycle, Social Justice Tagged With: asylum, asylum seekers, Immigration & Refugees, Refugees, refugees and asylum seekers, Trauma

Non-Native Allies

October 19, 2015 by ssradmin

This episode highlights the Maine-Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Safe Space Radio speaks with non-native allies who are working on how to best respond to the needs that the TRC brought to light, and why these issues matter to them personally.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Social Justice Tagged With: ally, apologies, community, maine, Maine Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commission, native, Restorative Justice, Trauma, Truth and Reconciliation

The Education of a Child Welfare Worker with Penthea Burns

October 5, 2015 by ssradmin

Safe Space Radio talks with Penthea Burns, co-director of Maine-Wabanaki REACH, about her background in child welfare and the difficulty of deciding whether the benefits of removing a child from abuse outweigh the additional trauma of severing family and community ties. Penthea’s work on these issues in Wabanaki communities has led her to a deeper …read more »

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Filed Under: Family and Lifecycle, Social Justice Tagged With: Adoption, child welfare, Family, forced removal, indigenous, maine, Maine Wabanaki Truth and Reconciliation Commission, native, Restorative Justice, Trauma, Truth and Reconciliation, Wabanaki

Dementia in a Holocaust Survivor with Marushka Glissen

September 9, 2013 by ssradmin

Psychotherapist Marushka Glissen talks about her mother, a survivor of Auschwitz who now has dementia. Marushka describes how her mother’s experiences complicated her relationships with her own children and husband, and raises the possibility that for some who are haunted by painful memories, dementia may actually provide a bittersweet respite.

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: Caregivers, Dementia, intergenerational trauma, internal family systems, judaism, memory loss, Parents, Trauma, world war II

Abuse Survivors as Caregivers with Julie Colpitts

May 27, 2013 by ssradmin

Julie Colpitts is the Executive Director of the Maine Coalition to End Domestic Violence. In this episode of Safe Space Radio, she discusses how survivors of abuse are often drawn to social service and first responder jobs, and how these roles are connected to the process of recovery. Julie, herself a survivor, discusses choices she …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Caregivers, Domestic Violence, jobs, resiliency, Trauma, work, workplace, workplace health

Recovery Through Music with Michael Skinner

May 20, 2013 by ssradmin

Songwriter Michael Skinner used music as a way to heal from the abuse he suffered as a child. Michael talks about his adult experiences with PTSD, his often-frustrating encounters with the mental health system, and his efforts to resist the stigmatizing label of “mental illness.” He also explores songwriting as an important healing tool in …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: art, childhood trauma, healing, mental health, mental illness, music, PTSD, surviving trauma, survivors, Trauma

Beyond Survival with Rachel Grant

May 13, 2013 by ssradmin

In this episode of Safe Space Radio, Rachel Grant talks about the sexual abuse she suffered as a ten-year-old and the work she has done to counteract its lasting impact on her life. Rachel became a coach because she wanted to be able to use her own story as a way to help others.

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Filed Under: Mental Health Tagged With: Child Abuse, childhood abuse, coaching, healing, Recovery, resiliency, Sexual Abuse, sexual trauma, survivors, Trauma

Restraints in Mental Hospitals with Bob Stains

March 18, 2013 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Bob Stains of the Public Conversations Project. He talks about the use of restraints on patients in mental hospitals and discusses facilitating a series of conversations in which both the workers who apply restraints and the people to whom restraints have been applied are able to talk about their experiences …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Mental Health Tagged With: Caregivers, medical encounter, Medical Trauma, mental health, mental illness, psychiatric care, psychiatric trauma, restraints, Trauma

Yoga for Survivors with Deirdre Fay

January 2, 2013 by ssradmin

Yoga teacher and therapist Deirdre Fay talks about her experience of discovering her own trauma history through yoga, which softened her defenses to the point that her body began to relive previously forgotten memories of trauma. She narrates the journey of using yoga to navigate PTSD and how she advocates for and supports survivors now.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: advocacy, body memory, childhood trauma, healing, internal family systems, meditation, PTSD, survivors, Trauma, Yoga, yoga for depression, yoga for PTSD, yoga for sexual abuse, Yoga therapy

Yoga for Trauma Survivors with Dave Emerson

December 19, 2012 by ssradmin

This episode with Safe Space Radio features yoga teacher and author Dave Emerson, who co-wrote Overcoming Trauma through Yoga about the development of “trauma-sensitive yoga.” Dave discusses how trauma is held in the body, and can be addressed through the body, often in conjunction with talk therapy.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body memory, meditation, Therapy, Trauma, trauma sensitive yoga, yoga for trauma, Yoga therapy

Parenting Life-Threatening Depression with Rachel

October 31, 2012 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Rachel talking about her son’s severe depression and multiple suicide attempts. Rachel names the sense of ambiguous loss she feels now that her son lives in a state mental hospital, and how her daily visits to him can bring their own sense of shame and self-doubt. She offers …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: ambiguous loss, depression, healing, mental hospitals, mental illness, mothering, NAMI, National Alliance on Mental Illness, Parenting, psychiatric care, psychiatric institution, Shame, son, Suicide, Trauma

PTSD in the Intensive Care Unit with Nancy Andrews

May 2, 2012 by ssradmin

Safe Space Radio interviews film-maker Nancy Andrews about her experience as a patient in the surgical ICU. Upon her release from the hospital, Nancy noticed that she kept having “weird experiences,” which her doctor recognized as post-traumatic stress disorder. Nancy’s film, On a Phantom Limb, explores the horror and disorientation of being an ICU patient. …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: control, hospitalization, ICU, intensive care unit, Medical Trauma, mental health, PTSD, surgery, the ICU and PTSD, Therapy, Trauma

How Health Care Providers Can Prevent Domestic Violence with Cathy Plourde

April 18, 2012 by ssradmin

Safe Space Radio interviews playwright Cathy Plourde, Founder of Add Verb productions. Her play, Major Medical Breakthrough, was written to inspire health care providers to screen their patients for domestic violence—especially important since only 10-19% of doctors report that they screen their patients routinely for domestic violence. Cathy gives a thoughtful description of why providers are …read more »

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Filed Under: Mental Health, Sexuality Tagged With: add verb, difficult conversations, Domestic Violence, medical encounter, medical practice, medicine, providers, screening, sexual trauma, Trauma, treatment

Holocaust Survivor Testimonies with Lawrence L. Langer

October 12, 2011 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features Professor Lawrence L. Langer discussing his book Holocaust Testimonies: The Ruins of Memory. Professor Langer developed courses on the literature of atrocity to try and help people find a way to imagine the Holocaust, using stories from survivors. He remembers hearing stories of such horror that the teller …read more »

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Filed Under: Conflict, Emotions, Social Justice Tagged With: communication, difficult conversations, empathy, Holocaust, intergenerational trauma, oral history, storytelling, survivors, survivors guilt, Trauma

Secrets, Confiding, and Health with Jamie Pennebaker

September 28, 2011 by ssradmin

This episode features an interview with author and social psychologist Jamie Pennebaker about his research into the benefits of confiding painful experiences. Jamie suggests that one of the reasons that childhood sexual abuse may be so destructive is because it is so often kept secret. He describes experiments where people are invited to write for …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: childhood trauma, communication, confession, difficult conversations, healing, Secrets, Sexual Abuse, Trauma, writing

Telling Difficult Stories with Laura Simms

September 21, 2011 by ssradmin

Storyteller Laura Simms worked as a narrative therapist in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake. She talks about the power of stories to remind us of what is good inside us.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: difficult conversations, earthquake, Haiti, narrative therapy, natural disaster, PTSD, storytelling, Trauma

Trauma, Fear and Denial with Jessica Stern

February 16, 2011 by ssradmin

Research professor Jessica Stern is an expert in the connection between trauma and terrorism. In this interview she talks about her experience following a rape at age 15, and how her story was not believed by the police—resulting in more than 40 other children being targeted. Jessica describes living with PTSD, and experiencing a confusing …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: Anxiety & Fear, childhood trauma, healing, Loneliness, mental illness, police, PTSD, Rape, Rape Culture, Sexual assault, sexual violence, survivors, teenagers, terrorism, Therapy, Trauma, triggering, triggers, Violence

Tantra and Sexual Healing with Betta de Boer van der Kolk

February 9, 2011 by ssradmin

This interview features body psychotherapist Betta de Boer van der Kolk about Tantra as a way to heal from sexual abuse. Betta describes Tantra as an exchange of energy that brings presence, connection, safety and play into sexuality.  She leads the listener in a technique for couples to harmonize their breathing in order to give …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Sexuality Tagged With: body memory, body work, ejaculation, healing, internal family systems, massage, orgasm, Recovery, Sexual Abuse, sexual violence, survivors, tantra, tantric sex, Therapy, Trauma

Aftermath of Sexual Violence with Susan Brison

February 2, 2011 by ssradmin

Philosophy professor Susan Brison survived a sexual assault and attempted murder. She describes the transition from needing to tell the story, to finding the story increasingly boring as she healed—and how group therapy, self-defense classes, and jazz singing all helped her recovery.

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Filed Under: Mental Health, Sexuality, Social Justice Tagged With: assault, healing, Rape, Rape Culture, Recovery, self defense, Sexual assault, sexual violence, storytelling, survivors, Therapy, Trauma

Sexual Healing after Sexual Abuse with Wendy Maltz

January 5, 2011 by ssradmin

This interview is with couples therapist and certified sex therapist Wendy Maltz about the impact of sexual abuse on sexuality, and ways to reclaim pleasure, safety and intimacy. She reports that taking a vacation from sex is sometimes necessary, because when sex feels like an obligation, it can often trigger difficulties from the abuse. She …read more »

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Filed Under: Family and Lifecycle, Sexuality Tagged With: Couples, healing, intimacy, partnership, pleasure, relationships, sex, sex therapy, Sexual Abuse, sexual violence, survivors, Trauma, triggers

Trauma and the Brain with Bessel van der Kolk

December 22, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with psychiatrist and trauma researcher Bessel van der Kolk about the impact of trauma on the brain. Bessel outlines the way in which traumatic experience in children shapes the development of the brain, and how our brains can get hijacked by triggers that make us feel we are in a life and death …read more »

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Filed Under: Mental Health Tagged With: brain, childhood trauma, developmental trauma, EMDR, healing, internal family systems, neurofeedback, neuroscience, research, Therapy, Trauma, trauma in the body, trauma response, traumatic repetition

Trauma and the Body with Pat Ogden

December 15, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with Dr. Pat Ogden about working with the body in healing from trauma. Pat uses several clinical examples to describe how she works with the body to help people re-engage the physical defenses that got overwhelmed and shut down during trauma. She describes the process of allowing people to move and tremble and …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body memory, body work, clinical research, healing, PTSD, Therapy, Trauma, trauma in the body, trauma response

Trauma, Attachment and The Body with Deirdre Fay

December 8, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with psychotherapist Deirdre Fay about the deep relational disruption that is a hallmark of trauma. Deirdre recounts how, as an adult she only became aware of her own trauma in the context of safe relationship.  She describes the use of meditation techniques to help a person become aware of traumatic memories, to stay …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body memory, coping techniques, healing, meditation, relational disruption, relationships, Trauma, trauma in the body, triggers

Group Therapy for Trauma Survivors with Judy Herman

December 1, 2010 by ssradmin

Judy Harmon is a psychiatrist and Harvard Medical School professor. She talks about how group therapy for trauma can reduce shame and support survivors to take action that reduces helplessness. Dr. Herman describes the deep shame and isolation that accompany trauma, and how group therapy creates a community where members can give and receive empathy.

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Filed Under: Mental Health Tagged With: group therapy, isolation, psychiatric care, psychiatrist, Psychiatry, Shame, survivors, Trauma

Trauma and Dissociation with Janina Fisher

November 24, 2010 by ssradmin

An interview with psychologist Janina Fisher about dissociation in the face of trauma. Janina describes “structural dissociation” as the process where parts of our Self respond to traumatic experience not only with Fight or Flight, but also by terrified freezing, calling for help, and desperately seeking to attach out of fear of abandonment, and total …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: body memory, dissociation, psychology, surviving trauma, survivors, Therapy, Trauma, trauma in the body, trauma response, triggering, triggers

Trauma and EMDR Therapy with Celia Grand

November 17, 2010 by ssradmin

Therapist Celia Grand is an EMDR facilitator and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy trainer with trauma survivors and their partners. Celia blends her expertise in Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing therapy (EMDR) with her extensive experience working with the body in trauma.  She describes three phases of trauma recovery and how EMDR in particular can change the way …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: EMDR therapy, healing, identity, internal family systems, patient experience, psychotherapy, Recovery, relationships, Therapy, Trauma, trauma in the body

The Ingredients of Recovery with Mary Auslander

November 10, 2010 by ssradmin

This episode of Safe Space Radio features therapist, advocate and trauma survivor, Mary Auslander. She discusses the nature of trauma, the ingredients of recovery and what a person can realistically hope for as they heal from trauma. Mary describes giving up her child to adoption after a history of childhood sexual abuse, and the painful …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: advocacy, Child Abuse, childhood trauma, healing, healthcare system, psychiatric care, psychiatric system, psychiatric trauma, Recovery, Sexual Abuse, survivors, Trauma, trauma in the body

The Suicide of a Close Friend with Mary Clare

April 28, 2010 by ssradmin

Therapist Mary Clare talks about the anxiety, depression and suicide of a close friend. Mary Clare describes how difficult it was to stay close to her friend as she became more depressed, and how helpless and angry parts of her felt that her friend would not stay in treatment. She discusses the agonizing decision about …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: anger, death and dying, depression, difficult conversations, Friendship, internal family systems, intervention, patients, psychiatric treatment, Suicide, Therapy, Trauma

The Suicide of a Child with Patricia Ellen

April 21, 2010 by ssradmin

Patricia Ellen’s son killed himself when he was fourteen. Patricia describes the process of trying to understand what led up to it, and the signs that were and were not there. She describes the bullying incident at school that she believes led her son to suicide. Patricia movingly describes the many years long process of …read more »

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: blame, Bullying, children, death and dying, death of a child, grief, grieving, loss of a child, Parenting, Parents, Shame, sons, Suicide, teenagers, Teens, Trauma

The Legacy of Suicide with David Treadway

April 14, 2010 by ssradmin

Family therapist David Treadway talks about his mother’s suicide, which happened when David was 20.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Family and Lifecycle, Mental Health Tagged With: adult children, death and dying, grief, grieving, loss of a parent, mothers, sons, Suicide, Trauma

The Limits of Therapy with Jeanne Safer

October 14, 2009 by ssradmin

Psychotherapist Dr. Jeanne Safer about her experience struggling with her own wounds that did not heal in therapy. She discusses the impact this had on her sense of self as a therapist.

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Filed Under: Emotions, Mental Health Tagged With: difficult conversations, doubt, feelings of failure, healing, identity, psychotherapy, Therapy, Trauma

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Generously supported by:

  • The Annie E. Casey Foundation
  • The Lucy R. Sprague Charisma Fund
  • The Equity Fund
  • The Fleming Family Foundation
  • The Hope and Grace Fund
  • Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation
  • The Lerner Foundation
  • The Matthewson Foundation
  • The Pinkerton Foundation
  • The Pink House Foundation
  • The Rines Thompson Fund
  • The Sam L. Cohen Foundation

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