My name is Alexis Ramsey, I am a licensed mental health counselor, and I work with the intellectually and developmentally disabled community as a full time job. I have worked with the Arc for 6 years now and love coming to my job every single day. I now supervise a program which provides Psychosocial Rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities. This population is extremely vulnerable to abuse, neglect, and exploitation which requires them to be supervised for the entirety of the day. They are deemed “unnecessary to serve” in the mental health field which is just another representation of the neglect that they experience on a regular basis. This population experiences the same emotions and daily events that a typical person experiences leading them to also need mental health services and supports. This is why equitable access to mental health support matters to me. To bridge this gap I also work with BetterHelp as a platform to provide as a service to those who are unable to access care in the community I live due to full caseloads or incomparable needs. BetterHelp assists in removing barriers to mental health care and provides a greater access to those in need by making the platform easy to navigate. They also assist in giving anyone, without discrimination, the opportunity to access mental health services. There is an ease to finding a counselor that fits with your personality, needs, and wants by being able to choose a provider based on their counselor profile. This platform also provides group therapy to those who need services better fit for a group setting. One of the most utilized tools that Betterhelp provides is the worksheet library. This worksheet library provides vast array of mental health domains that can be addressed in the counseling relationship. Insurance has now been accepted through BetterHelp providing even more access to those who need services in the community. BetterHelp is a nation wide platform that provides therapy services to over 50,000 people. I feel very lucky to use this platform to give access to those who need mental health services in the community. With the multitude of options such as chat, phone call, video and messaging better help provides the most diverse way to communicate with clients in need of mental health services. Personally I have a student loan that I took on to make it through my masters program at the University of North Florida. With the uncertainty of repayment options and loan forgiveness I become worried this payment will be financially unmanageable. I would like to continue to support my community and further my education but refuse to pass on any debts to my children if possible. Being a mother of two I want to invest in their future not make it harder for them in the long run. I am unable personally to take on furthering my education at this time until I can pay down and pay off my student loans from graduate school. This grant would substantially assist in my repayment of my loans and drastically change my trajectory of my future with making it a possibility to further my education and help in the mental health community. I am grateful for the opportunity to be considered for this grant and hopeful for a bright future.