Sharon Shapiro-Lacks

Sharon Shapiro-Lacks is the Executive Director of Yad HaChazakah-The Jewish Disability Empowerment Center. Led by Jews with disabilities, Yad HaChazakah-JDEC provides guidance, resource information, advocacy, and community for people with obvious or hidden disabilities as we promote access to Jewish community life. www.yadempowers.org; 646-723-3955; info@yademowers.org.

Marriage and Relationships

Stigma: A Barrier To Rewarding Relationships

By Sharon Shapiro-Lacks

Frailty and differences in other people often scare us. Why? They scare us because we see a reflection of what we fear in ourselves or because we just don’t know how to respond. Since we can’t live with this discomfort for too long, we make assumptions about and apply labels to those we fear.