CARE 2025 NEWSLETTER

CARE President Julie Stankiewicz has begun a collaboration with Rutgers University’s Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Office of Professional Development and Continuing Education. Julie will serve as an instructor in this department, teaching her groundbreaking course, Understanding the Experience of Chronic and Invisible Illness, to clinical psychologists, who will earn formal continuing education credits for completion of the program. 

With additional funding, CARE aims to expand this course to physicians, nurses, and social workers through additional platforms at Rutgers University, making empathy foundational across all of healthcare.

The acceptance of this course at one of the most respected public universities in the United States represents an incredible step forward in our movement to create a more informed and humane healthcare system – it will set a new standard of care that has the potential to improve health and quality of life for patients everywhere.

Here's a quick overview of this innovative program:

Understanding the Experience of Chronic and Invisible Illness

The need for increased education on chronic and invisible illnesses among healthcare practitioners has been broadly recognized - by researchers, providers, and patients. By filling this gap in healthcare education, this course will dramatically improve services for patients who struggle to find effective care, and who are routinely dismissed and even bullied within the current medical system. This comprehensive program will:

• Enable clinicians to understand the lived experience of chronic and invisible illness
• Promote compassion and sensitivity for those experiencing chronic conditions
• Provide clinicians numerous tools to increase resilience and well-being among the patients they serve
• Help clinicians to identify the types of healthcare interventions that are most effective and appropriate for patients with complex chronic illnesses
• Provide evidence-based self-care strategies to empower patients 

This year, CARE would like to express our sincere gratitude to Whole Foods Market in Glastonbury, CT for a grant to fund a new course for the public entitled:

Foundations of Healthy Living

The purpose: To provide evidence-based self-care education that empowers individuals — especially those with chronic illnesses — to improve their own well-being.

Topics include:

• Nutrition & supplementation
• Sleep & recovery
• Sustainable exercise
• Emotional wellness & stress regulation
• Everyday self-care practices

This course may be provided through community organizations, universities, or integrated directly into CARE’s one-on-one coaching model.

Many people with chronic illness want to take steps toward wellness but lack safe, research-based tools tailored to their needs. This program aims to meet that need with accessible, compassionate education.

CARE also created an Individualized Support Services (ISS) program — offering direct emotional support, resource navigation, and coaching for people with complex chronic illness.

For example, earlier this year, a 22-year-old woman who has experienced chronic health issues since childhood came to us looking for support. She had been repeatedly dismissed by physicians and expressed fears about her future. Since she contacted us, we have been working with her to help her find medical resources, discussing potential ways that she can become financially independent in spite of her health challenges, and providing validation, hope, and encouragement. With increased funding, we hope to be able to expand our services for her and for every person who comes to us seeking support for the numerous challenges that accompany chronic and invisible illnesses.

For individuals with complex chronic illness, personalized one-on-one support is essential - because when someone finally has a caring, knowledgeable advocate in their corner, everything can change.

Your Support Brings Compassion to Life

Your donations help CARE:

• Expand our educational programming for healthcare providers
• Deliver evidence-based healthy living education
• Provide emotional support and advocacy for individuals struggling to be believed
• Build a more empathetic, hopeful, and healthy future for patients everywhere

This has been an extraordinary year — one that shows what’s possible when compassionate people unite behind a shared mission. We have built real, measurable momentum, and together, we are transforming the future of care for people with chronic and invisible illnesses.

We would be incredibly grateful any amount of support that you could provide to help us continue to fulfill our mission, and all donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent of the law. If you believe in our mission, but are not in a position to provide a financial donation, please consider helping our cause by sharing our newsletter and fundraiser with your family and friends. Together, we can create a world where chronic illness is met with compassion rather than stigma. 

👉 Donate here to support CARE’s mission

With sincere gratitude,

Julie Stankiewicz and The CARE Board of Directors

CARE for People with Chronic and Invisible Illnesses
https://careaboutinvisibleillness.org/

info@careaboutinvisibleillness.org