For several years, KYCC’s Social Work Internship Program has hosted a number of graduate students in the Master of Social Work (MSW) and Master of Marriage and Family Therapy (MMFT) programs. This fall, our Clinical Services unit welcomed four first-year MSW interns from University of California, Los Angeles and the University of Southern California: Roxana Duenas, Eva Ray, Emmanuel Reyna, and Daisy Ramirez.

For sixteen hours, twice a week, each intern visits their assigned unit or program. Their tasks range from conducting counseling intakes, helping with tenant events at KYCC’s affordable housing sites, providing case management, assisting with policy research, and overseeing homework clubs. Our internship program provides students with interdisciplinary experiences in gang reduction, youth development, resident advocacy, substance abuse prevention and mental health.

“My work in Prevention Education at KYCC involves facilitating workshops for youth and parents to foster open communication, healthy relationships and awareness of drug and alcohol and drug-related issues,” explains Eva Ray, a MSW student at UCLA. “I love the hardworking collaborative attitudes of all the staff I work with at KYCC, and the focus on strength-based youth empowerment.

“I couldn’t ask for a better first-year internship!”

In addition, KYCC provides monthly in-house trainings for the interns where various staff members share knowledge from their areas of expertise such as financial literacy, grant writing, advocacy, and clinical supervision.  We are excited to strengthen our internship program with local universities in order to broaden KYCC’s presence in the community and contribute to the advancement of professionals in the field of social work.