New Tampa Bay Nonprofit Enhances Caregiver Support across Tampa Bay

We featured Jennifer Henius, LCSW in The Hustle last year when she launched her community care project Yoga4Caregivers to support Caregivers during COVID19. Jennifer is a sought-after healthcare consultant, change maker, business owner and emerging leader across Tampa Bay to get to know. She’s continued to expand and enhance her social impact project since then effecting real change and support for Caregivers across Tampa Bay. She lobbied the City of St. Petersburg and the City of Dunedin to pass a resolution to improve supports of Caregivers of wounded warriors in partnership with the Elizabeth Dole Foundation in Washington, DC which serves as a large advocacy group for Caregivers of service members and Veterans. The city leadership supported her efforts and both city councils passed the resolution wit full support.

Now Jennifer has launched a nonprofit startup called the Caregiver Wellness Collective Inc. and expanded her mission and vision of the work she is doing to impact the holistic health and wellness of Caregivers. This includes family caregivers, chosen family caregivers and medical professional caregivers. Jennifer is joined in her mission of service with Ellen MacKay and Sonjya Quijada. Together through the Caregiver Wellness Collective Inc. they have been offering corporate yoga to medical staff through the pandemic to decrease provider burnout and teaching yoga to Caregivers of wounded warriors to expand their tools for selfcare. They also run a successful Yoga4Caregivers Project online with the support of volunteers from across the country many who are also Caregivers or have been caregivers. They also held numerous wellness webinars with speakers from across the country to educate caregivers on various holistic wellness topics.

Jennifer has worked hard to outreach to underserved populations to advance health equity by fostering a community that values diversity inclusion and equitable access to holistic wellness support for Caregivers. During Pride Month, June 2021 Jennifer established an online LGBTQ Caregiver resource hub www.lgbtqcaregivers.org with her social work colleague Zander Keig, LCSW. This new center aims to raise awareness of the unique challenges faced by LGBTQ Caregivers and those who care for LGBTQ individuals, empower LGBTQ Caregivers to live with pride and dignity and serve as a conduit for education, wellness, training and research. The Center provides information and resources, delivers training and innovative services to enhance the health and wellness of LGBTQ Caregivers. This new LGBTQ Caregiver Center is an initiative of the Caregiver Wellness Collective Inc. that is guided by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer individuals, advocates and allies who share a passion for improving Caregiver health and wellness. They have already partnered with Caregiver Advocate Leeza Gibbons and conducted LGBTQ Cultural Competency training for Leeza’s Memory Care Foundation.

In 2020, the National Alliance for Caregiving estimated there are 53 million unpaid adult family Caregivers. Caregiving is a public health crisis and COVID has exacerbated the challenges Caregivers experience including social isolation, anxiety/depression, financial pressures and other stressors that often lead to chronic health disease. During COVID, the CDC reported that Caregivers have an elevated risk for substance abuse, mental health conditions and suicidal ideation more so than non-Caregivers. This further motivated Jennifer to stay the course and develop resources that are aimed at improving their overall well-being across Tampa Bay and beyond.

The Caregiver Wellness Collective Inc. is still pending their 501 C3 tax emption but is a registered nonprofit, able to accept donations and is eager to network with community leaders and business that share a desire to support this unique at-risk population.

Contact: jenniferhenius@gmail.com

Social Links and Website

New Website
www.lgbtqcaregivers.org
Caregiver Wellness Collective -coming soon!

Facebook Pages
www.facebook.com/lgbtqcaregivers
www.facebook.com/yoga4careigvers
www.facebook.com/caregiverwellnesscollective

Twitter
www.twitter.com/lgbtqcaregivers
www.twitter.com/yoga4caregivers

YouTube:
LGBTQ Caregiver Center https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQvS0nBJkMJjDU63Hhp6E9Q
Yoga4Caregivers https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCzVsyixbUh2bzMIarKuDzkw

Pinterest
Yoga4Caregivers https://www.pinterest.com/yoga4caregivers/yoga-for-caregivers-yoga4caregivers/

LGBTQ LinkedIn Show Case
https://www.linkedin.com/showcase/77343832

LinkedIn LGBTQ Caregiver Advocates and Allies Professionals Group
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/12546498/