I first became involved with A Home Within as a client and recipient of pro bono therapy over 10 years ago. Over a decade later, I became a licensed psychotherapist, opened a private practice and when a former foster youth reached out to me for therapy, I felt compelled and like it was a sign from the universe to inform them of the program and sign myself up as a volunteer to pay it forward and be here coming full circle.

I want to simply share to volunteers and donors that relational pro bono therapy can be life saving. The relational, financial and mental health support of A Home Within has the power to heal attachment wounds, connect individuals to vital resources and provide a very core basic need of consistent, safe and reliable source of emotional support that one may not have otherwise.

I would love A Home Within to expand its support to both clients and clinicians. As a clinician, I would love for funding to allow a stipend for volunteer’s time, more training opportunities, publications, case consultation or certifications to make it possible for Clinicians who are in early career, first-generation and low socioeconomic backgrounds to have more capacity to volunteer. This would help increase more diversity and representation that would greatly benefit clients and their therapeutic alliances. I would also love for A Home Within to be a growing leader and voice for supportive policy and education on the mental health needs for current and former foster youth.

As mentioned above, I am both a client and a volunteer of A Home Within. This organization has shaped every aspect of my life because having access to the hidden powers of therapy has greatly benefited my relational and mental health so that I can go on to achieve many accomplishments while weathering the dire adversities that come with being a former foster youth. This includes graduating from UC Berkeley, obtaining a graduate degree from Smith College, launching a small business, obtaining a career, purchasing a home and building a healthier life, community and future that I was not born into.

I am most proud of my private practice, Vida Libre Therapy in Los Altos, CA. Like the name, “vida libre" which also means " liberated life,” this private practice has been a means of liberation for me in various ways, as I hope it will also be for the clients I serve. It allows me the capacity to manage my own schedule allowing for family planning and civic involvement while earning more money to live and give back. Its launch also marks the end of a 2 year loan forgiveness contract I was in while working for a Federally Qualified Health Center previously and it allows me to serve more compatible clients and in a modality and style that is more aligned with my values and understanding of what quality mental health care may be like.