Off the Streets® — Cincinnati Union Bethel

Caroline Skulski, Summer 2019

Before interning at Off the Streets, all I really knew of the organization was that they served women with a history of substance use and prostitution. I quickly discovered that by functioning as both a homeless shelter and substance use treatment facility, Off the Streets provides a safe place for vulnerable women to rebuild their lives and supports these women throughout their recovery. By building upon the foundations of safety and recovery, Off the Streets is able to empower women to escape the cycle of substance use disorders, homelessness, and sex trafficking.

Day to day, my primary responsibilities at Off the Streets involved assisting social workers in case management. Each day was different, but some of my typical activities included transporting clients to appointments, accompanying clients to court, distributing medications, assisting with social service enrollment, and arranging grocery runs. Whenever I spent time with a client and got to know her and her story, I wrote a case management update for her chart to reflect her progress and what we talked about. In addition to these duties, I attended daily group therapy and life skills sessions, participating as appropriate. Finally, I observed mental health assessments and new client intake procedures.

In addition to assisting in case management, part of my project time was dedicated toward facilitating group life skills sessions. I found the inspiration for my group's theme, empowerment in health, after an Off the Streets staff member reflected that “the healthier I become, the less likely I am to think of using [drugs] as an option.” The literature confirmed what the staff at Off the Streets intuitively knew: living a healthy life is not only possible in recovery but integral to the process. I focused my group sessions around different topics in health, particularly mental health, women's health, and disordered eating.

Finally, the last part of my summer involved helping write a community needs assessment for a grant Off the Streets received from the Office of Trafficking in Persons. The purpose of this document was to describe organizations in Cincinnati area who provide services to human trafficking survivors and probe for gaps in the system. As part of this assessment, I surveyed 20 Off the Streets clients and interviewed five staff members, asking about perceptions of community needs, services being provided, and barriers encountered by people in need of services.

The most important part of my summer experience was the time spent with the clients of Off the Streets. While taking someone to a doctor's appointment or administering medications or even doing a puzzle during down time, I was able to learn the clients' stories and share mine with them. I shared their joy when a woman finally moved into an apartment after months spent working diligently in employment and recovery; I shared disappointment when another returned to the streets. I will remember this experience less for what I did but more for who I met and and the lessons they taught me.

Download Caroline's poster (.pdf)