Alethia Y. Douthard, BSW
Alethia Y. Douthard, BSW, is an experienced Life Coach and Family Life Specialist based in Cleveland, Ohio, with over 15 years of professional experience in social services, customer service, and behavioral health. She currently serves as a Life Coach II at CareSource, where she has worked for nearly six years supporting members across Ohio and extending services down to the Kentucky border. In her role at one of the nation’s largest Medicaid and Medicare organizations, she provides critical support connecting individuals and families to housing, educational resources, utility assistance, and emergency services. She is widely recognized as a resource specialist within her team, often going above and beyond to ensure members receive the support they need.
Alethia brings extensive field experience from her previous work in the mental health and developmental disabilities sector, where she served as a Qualified Intellectual Disabilities Professional and social worker for approximately five and a half years. During that time, she managed three residential homes serving 24 adults with disabilities, providing direct care coordination, supervision, and daily support services. The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound personal and professional impact on her during this period, as she experienced the loss of residents and colleagues while working tirelessly to maintain safety, stability, and care during an unprecedented crisis. This experience ultimately shaped her transition into a more sustainable, remote-based role in healthcare support.
Today, Alethia is deeply committed to advocating for vulnerable populations, with a strong focus on housing insecurity and access to essential resources. She maintains active relationships with 211 systems and community organizations across Ohio, including Cuyahoga County, Dayton, Cincinnati, and Columbus, to better serve her members. Known for her persistence and dedication, she takes pride in “digging, pulling, and turning over every rock” to find solutions for those in need. Her guiding mission is simple yet powerful: ensuring that individuals and families are supported, stabilized, and never left without hope or resources, especially in times of crisis.
• Certified in Communications and Life Coaching
• Tube feeding certification
• First aid certification
• Insulin
• MEDIC First Aid
• Medication Administration Certification
• Cleveland State University - BA, Social Work
• Cuyahoga Community College - AS
• Alumni of John Hay High School
• Alumni of Cleveland State University
• Autism advocacy
• Child abuse prevention and family support
• Advocacy for young women
• Supporting families escaping domestic violence
What do you attribute your success to?
My mother. My mom was the... my mother was the biggest advocate for her three daughters. You know, we didn't have much... you know, I will say this. I came from a proud two-parent household. My thing is, I wouldn't give anything... change any of that for the world. And I know a lot of... now these days, a lot of kids don't come from that. But I will say, my mother made us very humble. We didn't... We didn't have more than what we deserved. We had exactly what we needed. what we needed, that's right. it got us to where we are. You know, it wasn't like my mother had to buy all three of us a car when we turned 16. If she didn't have it. She didn't have it. We rode the bus. These kids, nowadays, they don't feel they need to ride the bus. Exactly. No, like. No, we walked. You know, we caught the bus to the mall with our friends, we hung out at the mall and everything. So, no, just being humble. That's one thing I love about... I miss not having my mom here. one thing. That she taught us being humble and being focused on what you have now. Because what you have. have now, it's who make... who... who and what is how it's going to shape you. So, even though, like I said, we didn't have extravagant things. The simplest. things shaped us to who we became, the young... the women that we become, the mothers we are, the aunts we are, the great aunts we are. Godmothers we are. Because shaping me is what made me take my godson in when he was going through... I took in my godson when he was... 8, 9 months old.
What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Be humble. Definitely. Because my thing is... what people are going through now, this could be you too. You know, and my thing is always humble yourself when it comes to helping somebody else, because that one in person at you're helping, they are looking at you for help no matter what, and they don't want to be judged. So, Daphne, be humble, and don't judge. Because, again, this could be you in another year, you know? That's right. calling for help, like, I don't have life. I don't have a house anymore. So, definitely being humble and not judging, definitely.
Locations
CareSource
Cleveland, OH 44124