DOING HER PART TO FILL A NEED


SPRING 2021


DOING HER PART TO FILL A NEED


the nonprofit also hopes to, in the future, provide more resources that will include actionable steps for communities to achieve whole-body wellness.


‘A need that’s not being filled’


Benson had been laying the groundwork for CREW in Charleston and the South. At the same time, friends and acquaintances were approaching Benson and asking for her advice: Do you know of a Black therapist? A Black OB-GYN? A Black psychiatrist who speaks Spanish?


“It became abundantly clear that this is a need that’s not being filled, and I [CREW] can fill that need,” Benson said. “I did not expect for it to be what it is already. My expectation would be that I filed my corporation paperwork and then slowly, throughout my senior year, start to build the foundation of the organization.”


Clara Benson found her life’s purpose through jobs in retail, make-up and the restaurant industry – particularly when a customer tossed a sandwich at her through a drive-thru window.


While most would react to that situation with anger and shock, Benson, a psychology major from Charleston, found clarity: “I kept trying to figure out what I wanted to do. Psychology is my first love, so I thought, why don’t I do that?”


“A majority of us love psychology because we’re trying to understand our own trauma, understand the behaviors of people acting the way they do in order


14


to understand ourselves,” Benson explained. “The better I understand myself, the better I can understand —


and help — others.”


She is now helping others through her nonprofit Community Resources for Enduring Wellness (CREW) and its first initiative, the Black Wellness Project. Born in June 2020 out of a need for accessible, equitable and welcoming public health resources within underserved communities in South Carolina,


“It’s really important for Black folks, people of color and underserved people to be able to go somewhere where they feel safe and heard,” she said. “It’s about, for example, not having to go to a therapist where you will have to explain why a micro-aggression is upsetting to you. It’s the familiarity. It’s the cultural intelligence you’re looking for. You want the doctor to


But within two months, Benson landed a $40,000 grant from the Southern Power Fund through the Highlander Research and Education Center.


“They essentially said, ‘Your work is necessary. We want to fund it, especially in the middle of the pandemic, to get these resources out to people,’” Benson said.


The Black Wellness Project serves as an online resource for people to find Black health and wellness professionals across the state. Benson explained that while white medical professionals are important, they’re also abundant and easy to find, which isn’t the case for Black medical professionals.


believe you and listen. A lot of times when we go to doctors who don’t look like us, that’s not necessarily our experience.”


Right now, Benson is working on building the Black Wellness Project’s inventory through research, discus- sions with the CREW advisory board, networking with health alliances, conversations with the community and more – all while being a full-time student.


Her non-traditional path


Benson earned an associate’s degree from Trident Technical College in 2017, but “I had no idea what I wanted to do or who I was.” That led to her experiences in customer-facing fields, which she called humbling.


“It’s definitely helped me understand people, helped me to understand the intersections of class and race, the impact of capitalism on working-class people,” she said. “Before, I had a textbook definition of how life was... We’re all more alike than we like to think. It’s made me a better listener. I learned a lot by observing and being open to the experience.”


As a non-traditional student at 33 years old, Benson at first found it hard to relate with her younger peers, until she made friends with a fellow Transfer Orientation Leader…eventually becoming one herself.


“I love Winthrop,” she said. “I’m so glad I came. The community has been so welcoming. There are so many resources.”


After her May 2021 graduation, she hopes to hire an assistant director and a paid intern for CREW, expand the Black Wellness Project and add curriculum-building as a resource from the nonprofit.


“I love this work, and I’m grateful that I’ve already found it and my lane of movement,” she said. “I’m just out here trying to do my part.”


15


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16