DR. MARIA RODRIGUEZ, FOUNDER AND CEO OF THE SOMERVILLE, NJ BASED CARE COUNSELING CENTER, INSPIRES HER COMMUNITY WITH PASSIONATE ADVOCACY FOR RACIAL EQUALITY AND HELPING IMMIGRANTS

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May 03, 2023, 09:00 ET

SOMERVILLE, N.J., May 3, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- "Let your faith be bigger than your fear." "Do something today that your future self will thank you for." "You matter." "Focus on what makes you unique and perfect it."

On her personal Facebook page, Dr. Maria Rodriguez shares an ongoing series of easy to memorize inspirational memes reflecting the compassionate, hope-filled aesthetic of Somerville, NJ based Care Counseling Center, the thriving full service safe space where she and her dedicated staff serve their community by providing guidance in resolving personal conflicts and emotional challenges for adults and children dealing with everything from mental health issues, trauma and PTSD, anxiety and depression to bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, substance abuse and suicidal thoughts. She and her staff of six specialists are particularly proud of their work providing mental health resources and treatment options for veterans.

Dr. Rodriguez launched Care Counseling Center in 2015 after an impactful nearly 15-year career as a university instructor for psychology and women's and gender studies at her alma mater William Patterson University. She is most passionate about their expansive range of immigration services for families dealing with the legal complexities and emotional traumas of adjusting to life in the U.S. especially for those (like her) with multi-national identities.

Dr. Rodriguez's advocacy for and desire to help immigrants is rooted in her own multi-national identity as the child of Dominican immigrants whose families individually escaped a murderous regime years before they met and married. She was born in the U.S. before her dad took her back to live in the D.R. from ages 2-9, after which she experienced the culture shock of moving back to NY with her mother and her new family.

Believing in the importance of being a role model and showing families that a brighter future is always possible, Dr. Rodriguez actively gives back to the Dominican community, including shipping boxes of good to the D.R. and traveling there to do volunteer work. In 2022, she was named Queen of the Baoruco Province and was feted in the Dominican Parade and Festival in nearby Paterson, New Jersey's largest celebration of Dominican heritage. In 2021, after being outraged at a vote against condemning local racism, she ran for city council to stand up against racism and hatred.

SOURCE Care Counseling Center