A Different Way Forward for Doulas and Care Workers: The Community Care Co op

Let us start with the truth: People doing care work are tired.

Not just tired in a need-a-nap kind of way. Tired in a bone deep, nervous system fried, carrying too much alone kind of way. The kind of tired that comes from trying to build a life, a business, a family, and a sense of meaning inside systems that were never designed to support women or queer folks in the first place. All of this while we watch the world crumble around us. 

We see it everywhere in our community. Doulas who love their work but feel isolated. New practitioners who finished a short training and now feel overwhelmed and under prepared. Folks who want continuing education but cannot afford another expensive certification. People craving connection that is not salesy, not centered on productivity or hustle.

Social media is loud and the news is heavy AF. Burnout is treated like a personal failure instead of a predictable outcome of broken systems.

So we asked ourselves a simple question.

What would it look like to build community as a form of care?

We put our creative heads together and spent some time on this…and voila, the Co op was born!

Why the Community Care Co op Exists

The Community Care Co op exists because loneliness is not a personal problem. It is a public health issue.

Research consistently shows that social isolation is linked to increased rates of depression, anxiety, cardiovascular disease, and early mortality. One large meta analysis published in Perspectives on Psychological Science found that loneliness can increase the risk of early death by more than 25 percent. That is not because people are failing to cope but rather humans are wired for connection. We need one another. 

At the same time, we are watching care workers burn out at alarming rates. Doulas in particular are often under trained, under paid, and expected to hold enormous emotional labor without adequate support. Many leave the field within a few months or years, not because they lack skill or passion, but because they are doing it alone. And that suppppper bums us out because the world needs more birthwokers. We need more care workers. And those folks were really jazzed to help families, took a doula training, then did not get the support they needed and deserved. 

We believe that community is not optional… it is essential.

We also believe that learning does not have to be rigid or expensive to be meaningful. Healing does not have to be hidden behind closed doors. Joy is not a reward that you earn after you are productive enough.

Joy and fun and laughter together are how we survive.

The Community Care Co op is us putting those beliefs into practice.

What the Community Care Co op Is

The Community Care Co op is a series of free and pay what you can, community centered workshops and gatherings hosted inside the bebo mia ecosystem.

These are not networking events.

These are not sales funnels disguised as care.

These are real spaces to learn, rest, play, reflect, and be together.

Inside the Community Care Co op you will find a wide mix of offerings. Some are practical and skill based, supporting real life and real work. Some are grounding and restorative, supporting nervous system care and emotional processing. Some are creative and playful, inviting laughter, curiosity, and connection.

Every session is designed to be accessible. You are welcome exactly as you are.

This is community care!

The Kinds of Events You Can Expect

One of the most exciting parts of the Community Care Co op is the variety. Care looks different depending on where you are in your life and work, so the programming reflects that.

You will see practical workshops like understanding how insurance works for doulas and care providers. This is the kind of information that is rarely taught in doula training but makes a huge difference in sustainability and access. Knowing how to navigate insurance systems can open doors for both you and your clients.

There will be skill based sessions like infant feeding beyond the basics. Not just latch tips, but nuanced conversations about feeding decisions, cultural context, trauma informed support, and how to hold complexity without judgment.

You can expect continuing education style offerings that feel nourishing instead of overwhelming. Things like birth processing sessions where doulas and birth workers can reflect on experiences, integrate lessons, and tend to emotional residue that so often gets ignored. This kind of space is essential for longevity in care work. It can feel so restorative to heal in community. 

There will be creative and expressive spaces too. Spoken word workshops where storytelling becomes a tool for meaning making and release. Crafting circles where hands are busy and conversations unfold naturally. Art spaces that invite play instead of perfection.

We are also bringing in grounding practices like yoga and breathwork. These are not fitness classes, they are nervous system care. They are reminders that your body is part of this work and it needs some TLC for this to be sustainable. 

You will see offerings like using herbs for winter health. Practical, accessible knowledge that connects us back to seasonal rhythms and collective care. These sessions center empowerment and teach some new skills you may not know. 

And this is just the beginning. The Community Care Co op is intentionally spacious so it can respond to what our community needs most.

How It Works

Every Community Care Co op session is free to attend. Full stop.

Participants are invited to contribute on a pay what you can basis if they are able. Every dollar collected goes directly into the bebo mia scholarship fund.

Those funds are used to provide doula training and education for no and low income women and queer folks in 2026 and beyond. This includes funding additional places in our Maternal Support Practitioner cohorts.

This is how free continuing education and free doula classes become part of a larger ecosystem of redistribution and access.

Instructors who lead sessions are invited to share their work and let participants know how they can continue learning or working together beyond the session. This is ethical visibility and is mutually beneficial for all.  

Our Goals for the Community Care Co op

We have four core goals guiding this work.

First, we want to reduce isolation: That means creating consistent spaces where people can gather, be seen, and feel less alone in their work and lives.

Second, we want to make learning and healing more accessible: Free continuing education should not be a radical idea, it should be critical in care work from training organizations!

Third, we want to redistribute resources: Education should have as many barriers removed as possible.  Our scholarship fund is a direct response to that reality.

Fourth, we want to model a different way of doing business: One rooted in care, reciprocity, and community impact rather than extraction and burnout. We believe this matters for the future of doula businesses and values led education.

PIN IT

What We Stand For

The Community Care Co op is grounded in the same values that guide all of bebo mia.

• We believe care work matters.
• We believe community is essential.
• We believe women and queer folks deserve access to education without burning out or going into debt.
• We believe healing and skill building belong together.
• We believe instructors deserve ethical promotion, to be paid a living wage and aligned clients.
• We believe mutual aid and education can support one another.

This is not charity. This is solidarity.

Looking Ahead in 2026

The Community Care Co op is not a one time project, but rather a long term practice.

In 2026, this initiative will directly support expanded scholarships, deeper community programming, and more accessible pathways into doula training and education. Our goal is to fund at least four additional places in the MSP program for no and low income folks through this work in each cohort. This means we want to raise $23,000 in 2026. 

This is how we build sustainability that is collective.

This is how free continuing education and doula business support become part of something bigger.

This is how we say you are not alone.

An Invitation

The Community Care Co op is an invitation.

An invitation to learn without pressure.
An invitation to rest without guilt.
An invitation to have fun and be held by community.
An invitation to imagine a different way of doing this work together.

If you have been craving connection.
If you have been feeling burned out or isolated.
If you want free doula classes that actually nourish you.
If you believe community is care.

This space is for you.

This is how we build the world we want to live in.

Together.