Name
Esther Caro
Age
34
Company/Organization
Caring Connection–Empowerment Center
What Does Your Company/Organization Do?
Caring Connection Empowerment Center serves survivors of sexual and domestic violence. We are the only domestic violence shelter serving all of Berrien County. We offer shelter for those fleeing intimate partner domestic violence, legal advocacy, counseling, support groups, resource referrals, and we have a 24-hour crisis hotline (269-925-9500). All these services are completely free to survivors of sexual assault and intimate partner domestic violence. We also work with an amazing team of forensic nurses at Corewell Health to offer medical advocacy to survivors of sexual and domestic violence in any of the Berrien County hospitals (St. Joseph, Niles, Watervilet).
Education
I have my Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling and am currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology.
Accomplishments
I am a contributing author in a book dedicated to inspiring individuals of Asian heritage to overcome cultural trauma, rise above challenges, and embrace their full potential. I am also the co-founder of a mental health speaking group formed with fellow therapists. We provide presentations to organizations, schools, and churches on a variety of topics related to mental health awareness and prevention.
What else do you hope to accomplish by the age of 40?
I hope to have my Ph.D. completed by then or even hopefully before then; however, I attend school and work full-time so I guess we’ll have to wait and see…
Current City
Berrien Springs
Place You Were Born
Canada
What was your first job?
I was a waitress at a Thai restaurant.
What’s the best advice you ever got?
Turn your pain into purpose.
Who inspires you most?
The survivors I work with on a daily basis. They are the reason I am in this line of work.
That one thing about you we’d be most surprised to learn.
I was kicked out of public high school for failing too many classes and had to attend continuation school to graduate with my high school diploma. I think I got an “F” or “D” in almost all my freshman and sophomore year classes. I’m surprised they let me move to the next grade level at the failing rate I was going.
What do you love to do in your downtime?
Nature walks, run, read, play the piano/guitar, and plan social events. Someone once asked me what I do to help myself de-stress from all the compassion fatigue and vicarious trauma I may experience on the job. Here’s my favorite way to decompress–walk mindlessly around Costco and eat samples 🙂
What book are you reading now?
A book about the brain (one of my favorite topics!).
Volunteer activity you love the most.
Giving free mental health presentations around the community.
What motivates you to give back to your community?
My lived experiences and the survivors I work with at the Empowerment Center.
What Superpower would you most love to have?
I would want the power to heal people from any sickness (cancer, diabetes, heart disease, pneumonia, etc.). After experiencing the death of my father earlier this year, I believe that health is wealth.
What would you like to leave behind as your legacy once you are gone?
I hope to leave behind a meaningful contribution to research in the areas of sexual and domestic violence. It is my sincere desire to advance knowledge and prevention efforts and create lasting change in this area.
What does the honor of being named to the 40 Under 40 most mean to you?
The honor of being named means that I am hopefully making even the slightest impact in the community. There’s still more work to be done and I hope to continue working with courageous survivors all over Berrien County!
