New Ethnic Counselor Website Uses Diversity To Make A Difference
EthnicCounselors.com is a new internet service EthniCorp., Inc. is developing, that offers as its main feature a searchable online database of licensed professional counselors from various ethnic, racial, religious and cultural backgrounds. "Users will also have access to message boards, chat tools, classified ads, events calendars and counseling resources and information too”, explained President & CEO Hasan Johnson. “Our goal is to not only build a database of ethnic counselors but to build an online community where all members can network and interact too”.
(PRWEB) July 21, 2004 -- Five years ago, Hasan Johnson was a social worker at
a Substance abuse treatment program when he decided to start EthniCorp, Inc., a
New Jersey Based multi-media and consulting company dedicated to providing
ethnically oriented professional services. “I was frustrated wanting to help
people and not being able to because I didn't understand certain languages,
cultures and religions,” he explained. "I knew there had to be an easier and
better way to deal with this issue".
Johnson says he started keeping a
sheet of paper with the contact information of local counselors that were
multilingual and knowledgeable of various cultures and religions. "I would call
them any time I needed help with a certain client", said Johnson. He says he had
grown tired of scrambling for translators and other "culturally competent"
counselors. That's when he got the idea to start EthnicCounselors.com.
EthnicCounselors.com is a new internet service EthniCorp., Inc. is
developing, that will offer as its main feature a searchable online database of
licensed professional counselors from various ethnic, racial, religious and
cultural backgrounds. “We want people to have access to the largest database of
culturally and ethnically diverse professional counselors online”, says Johnson,
President and CEO of EthniCorp, Inc. “If a person speaks a certain language or
has certain cultural or religious beliefs and practices, those things should not
keep him or her from getting the help he or she needs. Our service allows that
person or others to search for a counselor that can best meet his or her needs”.
The first phase of the website was launched on July 14th 2004 and has
seen steady traffic since then. Full roll out of the project is scheduled for
late August or early September of 2004. Currently, the company website provides
visitors with background information on the project, the company and its
services. Interested counselors and consumers can also submit their comments and
suggestions, get membership information, tell their friends about the site and
even join a mailing list for updates on the site’s official “Full Service”
launch date.
Membership is required to access the sites features. A basic
membership is FREE. There is a fee for professional and Institutional
memberships but these members have the added ability of creating “professional
profiles” that other users can search. “We’ve gone high tech to also provide our
members with message boards, chat tools, classified ads, events calendars and
counseling resources and information too”, explained Johnson. “Our goal is to
not only build a database of ethnic counselors but to build an online community
where all members can network and interact too”.
Johnson says his company
is actively reaching out to psychologists, psychiatrists, marriage and family
counselors, licensed professional counselors and clinical social workers
nationwide to invite them to become members. “We’ll be using our mailing list to
offer some membership incentives to kick off the launch of the site” said
Johnson. “I’m certain that counselors across the nation will see the need and
value of the services we are offering."
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Source : http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/7/prweb142719.htm