CARE Work Testimony

CARE more is an organization that I wish existed during my years of school. I am what you may think typically marks the check boxes as far as BIPOC clinician goes. I grew up dancing on the poverty line, in a single-parent household riddled with mental health concerns, in a community with limited resources for BIPOC students. Although I qualified for FAFSA, I still worked three jobs throughout undergraduate and two throughout graduate school to make it. I was not fortunate or privileged enough to have a parent plus loan or even to receive the occasional gas or grocery bill help.

CARE More is a non-profit organization that helps BIPOC students pay for their books who are entering the mental health field. I remember I would spend hours and hours searching for used books online throughout my six years of post-high school education- trying to find the cheapest deal. These books were USED- highlighted, water damaged, and tattered. But this is how I could afford books. So, I did a deep dive on all the used book sites to secure books that at full price for one semester would have been anywhere from 500-1200 dollars and got them for 150-400.  I even bought international copies as they were bound differently, required less pages as they are printed smaller, and would just have to find what page the professor was talking about in these versions.  It would’ve dramatically change my circumstances if my books were even partially covered. Maybe I could have let go of one job or had even more time to study.

I am so thankful that emerging BIPOC clinicians can start to get their break. Even if a BIPOC student grew up in middle class- the stigma, societal standards, working twice as hard for the same job yet less reward/pay/recognition can start to be relieved through a program like CAREMore. The earlier we start impacting those who need it- the better.