Students in Belmont’s Master of Science program in Occupational Therapy recently lent their time and expertise to Nashville’s Campus for Human Development and the Odyssey program.
The Campus for Human Development was formed in 1995 by Room In The Inn and is the city’s only single site of services to the homeless, offering an array of assistance. The Odyssey program was designed to help chronically homeless individuals through a progression of basic steps that establish a stable and productive life including healing, education, life skills, recovery, job readiness, and housing. Men who qualify for the program are homeless and have been unsuccessful with substance abuse treatment in the past. Odyssey provides housing and therapy for these individuals over a two year period of time.
The School of Occupational Therapy developed a relationship with Odyssey through Professor Yvette Hachtel. Dr. Hachtel provides services, as needed, to program participants to help them increase their success in job situations, to acquire and maintain comfortable living situations and to develop new healthy habits.
The students assess the needs of participants and then provide groups depending on the current need and level of the client. In the most recent visit the students worked with the men to plant flowers and help in their assimilation back to a more normal lifestyle.