First Place Partnership Benefits Homeless Families

A shared commitment to making a difference in the education and lives of homeless families has brought together Seattle's First Place and Antioch University Seattle (AUS).

The new partnership joins AUS psychology students with First Place, a nonprofit service agency that provides quality education and social services to children and families who are homeless. Starting this fall, students are serving in a variety of clinical, advocacy and research roles that strengthen services provided to children suffering the effects of homelessness.

For Antioch students, it's a superb opportunity to contribute to the welfare of vulnerable children in the community. Homeless children between ages six and 17 struggle with high rates of mental health problems such as anxiety, depression or withdrawal, according to the National Center for Family Homelessness.

Pat Russell, Psy.D., director of health and mental services at First Place, said families have added access to services as a result of the new relationship. "We can offer more in-depth services to our families. Prior to the Antioch partnership, to find someone to do an assessment and to craft an intervention, we would have to go out-of-pocket into the community. Now we have what we need onsite so we are able to react more quickly to families in need," she said. Russell is a graduate of Antioch's B.A. in Liberal Studies completion program and the psychology doctoral program.

Jane Harmon Jacobs, Ph.D., associate dean of psychology and director of clinical training at Antioch, said that the partnership is a great fit for Antioch. "The philosophy of First Place is congruent with Antioch's, particularly the sensitivity to multicultural awareness. Sometimes we talk a lot about giving students the ability to work and move in a multicultural world. It's one thing to talk about it and another to have the experience. We need experienced clinicians to deal with an ever-growing diverse population," she said.

AUS students will work collaboratively with First Place staff. Students are observing in the classrooms and participating in a community action research program. Students doing an advanced practicum serve at First Place for nine months, long enough for them to establish a stable, therapeutic relationship with children who have endured the insecurity and distress of homelessness.

The new partnership evolved more than a year ago when AUS President Cassandra Manuelito-Kerkvliet, Ph.D., and Doreen Cato, Ed.D., executive director of First Place, came together to act on Cato's vision. Cato pictured psychology students working together with First Place staff to develop a model of mental health services. A joint committee with representatives from AUS and First Place worked together for the past year to hammer out the specifics of the partnership.

Within just a matter of a few weeks, the children at First Place were reaping the benefits of the new partnership. The very first Antioch student placed at the agency performed an assessment that stands to make a huge difference in the life of one child. Russell explained that the assessment pointed to evidence of trauma. This spared the child a diagnosis that, in some settings, would have led to medication and a label of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

"This kind of label can follow child into the public school setting, so an accurate assessment is extremely important," said Russell.

The partnership between Antioch and First Place will also foster research that evolves directly from the community's needs. Student research will be done with the participation of everyone in the First Place community including staff, children and parents. The community will help determine what could be done better, or done differently. The research will be a collaborative effort that springs from experiences of the families and children who are at risk or already are homeless. "I think it's a collective team approach, a holistic approach to research," said Russell.