President's Message

Funding the Future

Jenni Wilson, LMFT, President

I grew up without a strong legacy of financial literacy or stability. 

After my parents divorced, things became tighter.

During high school I lived with my father who had a good union job but beyond title promotions, was repeatedly told he couldn’t get a raise because he lacked a college degree – he was also brown-skinned, which in the ‘80s was too often an obstacle.

Almost daily I scrounged in the loose change jar on the kitchen counter, hoping to find my father had emptied enough from his pockets the night before that I might be able to buy myself something for lunch. Asking him for money was hard, because there was never enough, and I knew the scarcity embarrassed both my father and me if I did. Needing and asking for money has never been easy.

There were dark times and dark days, when my father’s depression and transgenerational trauma converted to rage, reinforcing in me that the goal was to get through and get the hell out. When things became really tough at home, parents of friends took me in for months at a time, fed and sheltered me, offered me safety and stability.

Because I was good at organizing and typing, parents of friends gave me admin work - they helped me open a checking account, pay my taxes, and balance a checkbook. My ex-boyfriend’s mother threw me a graduation party and when the time came, she traveled with me and dropped me off at the Occidental College campus which I’d never seen beyond the brochure, in this amazing city I’d only seen on the screen. 

Another friend’s mother, unbeknownst to me, had advocated for me to receive a “Mother’s Club” scholarship upon graduation, a small grant that allowed me to arrive at school with enough money in my pocket to buy my textbooks and maybe cover a phone bill or two. These elders changed the course of my life, one small gesture at a time.

I have carried these kindnesses with me my entire adult life and aspired to pay it forward. Whenever I found myself with the privilege to help a friend with a meal, a small loan or gift, or a couch to crash on - I did.

I’m not an expert in financial literacy to any extent, but over time I learned to set boundaries and limits for myself, “Never loan anyone anything you can’t afford to lose”. 

So, here goes… I’m asking you, my fellow members, to consider donating what you can afford to lose to LA-CAMFT this year and possibly ease someone’s daily burden. 

As most of you probably know, LA-CAMFT is an all member- and sponsor-funded organization. The chapter doesn’t receive state or federal funding. Programming and initiatives are traditionally funded by sponsorships and revenue brought in from events and memberships. 

Unfortunately, rising administrative costs over the past six years has led to a reassessment of what LA-CAMFT can responsibly offer members, as some initiatives were set in motion without a solid plan to fund them moving forward.

The Financial Committee has been considering where expenditures can be eliminated, reduced, and/or funded by new revenue streams, and ways we can afford updates and modernization to chapter systems without losing valued programs. 

Following the example of other CAMFT chapters, LA-CAMFT will be launching a Donation Page this year - the intent being to consistently fund LA-CAMFT’s award grant programs without depleting our reserves. 

While the chapter is retiring the TOC Grant Award, due to solvency issues, as well as to protect the chapter from unnecessary legal exposure under this current federal administration, we are driven to set up a Donation Page to raise enough for LA-CAMFT to pay-out a minimum of three yearly grant awards– at $500/each. 

When a minimum of $3000 has been raised, the following grants will begin to be offered to pre-licensed and newly licensed members: 

1. The first will be THE FORTITUDE GRANT awarded in the SPRING (late February/Early March) to an applicant who is an Associate, Trainee, or Student in a clinical psychology graduate program, who meets the eligibility requirements, and who identifies as belonging to an underrepresented group in the mental health field (example: BIPOC or LGBTQIA+).
2. THE UNITY GRANT will be awarded to an eligible applicant who is an Associate, Trainee, or Student in a clinical psychology graduate program and would be awarded in the SUMMER (late June/Early July).
3. And lastly, THE LOTUS GRANT will be awarded to an eligible newly licensed LMFT applicant who has been licensed less than 3-years (up to 3-years post-licensure) in the FALL (late October/Early November).

Your donations or sponsorships will help fund grant awards for these future and newly licensed therapists.  Your gifts matters as they will allow LA-CAMFT to keep expanding networking and career-strengthening opportunities for all our members.  Together we can continue to build and bolster our LA-CAMFT community.

In the end, if every licensed member gifted a minimum of $10/year to help fund these award grants, LA-CAMFT would be truly investing in the future of our profession. So, when you see the Donation Page on the website, or a Donation Button upon event registrations, I encourage you to join me in pledging some tax-deductible support – whatever you can. Even a small gift can go a long way and could make all the difference in the world.

As a teenager I had this quote taped above my bed: “Be Kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle”. If we can help ease someone’s fight, even just a little, we may be contributing to something much larger - a long line of good deeds that we may never know about, but the Universe will.  

I am inspired by the parents of my friends who took me in, my alma mater’s Mothers Club, the friends who picked up the tab or floated me until my next paycheck when I struggled to find my way in Hollywood, and all those I’ve never known who generously donated to scholarships that helped me afford undergraduate school when I had nearly nothing and no one to help me pay my way. Perhaps you or someone you know has experienced similar? 

I’d love to hear your stories and am excited to see those of you who can make it to the SPRING CELEBRATION AND NETWORKING EVENT on Saturday, May 16^th, sponsored by Lightfully Behavioral Health at the Cheviot Hills Park in Picnic Area #1 (by the pool and tennis courts, not by the archery courts!).

I’ll also be joining other LA-CAMFT members at the CAMFT Annual Conference in San Diego May 1^st and 2^nd. 

Lastly, be sure to sign-up soon for the free member-only dining series lunch at The Strand House in Manhattan Beach on May 21^st at 12noon – SEATING IS LIMITED, so keep your eye on your inbox and register ASAP.

And don’t forget to check out the Diversity Committee and 3000 Club offerings on the website, too!

Paz y Amor, my beautifully generous colleagues!

JJVW - Jenni June Villegas Wilson

Jenni J.V. Wilson, LMFT (she/her): As a collaborative conversationalist passionate about empowering and advocating for marginalized groups and underrepresented voices, Jenni uses an integrative approach based on post-modern principles to provide culturally-mindful and trauma-informed therapeutic services and clinical supervision. She works with creative, anxious, mixed race/culture, and co-dependent clients on improving and eliminating toxic relationships, while increasing authentic expression. She has a BA in theatre from Occidental College, an MA in Clinical Psychology from Antioch University LA, and is trained in EMDR, Brainspotting, and certified in Narrative Therapy. She is an accomplished writer, has produced/co-hosted multiple podcasts, worked in addiction treatment for nearly a decade, and sees the “worried well” in her private practice in Sherman Oaks. Website: www.JenniJVWilson.com