Charlene Dickerson

Charlene Dickerson is a frontline home care worker who has done caregiving in both agency and private pay settings for 30 years. After she started working at the age of 10, Charlene first entered the field of caregiving as a way to support her family without a college degree. She has always worked two to three jobs to survive, and her lived experiences within the field have shaped her commitment to changing long-term care. Charlene is passionate about improving the conditions within long-term care for caregivers so they can perform their essential work with dignity, and dismantling the historic racial inequities within caregiving which disproportionately impact Black women.

Charlene’s advocacy against structural racism within long-term care includes lobbying state officials in Massachusetts to pass legislation to improve wages and conditions for healthcare workers. In addition to her legislative advocacy, Charlene is an active volunteer with Springfield No One Leaves, a member-led community organization that defends residents against housing displacement. She is also active in HC Rising, a project of 1199SEIU MA.