At The Empowerment Center, we’re proud to include several University of Nevada, Reno (UNR) interns in the work we do. At both The Empowerment Center and Marvel Way, our interns support our clients and enhance our efforts by leading groups, improving communications around our programs, and sharing their specialized knowledge. What’s more – they tend to stick around. A couple of our interns have transitioned into staff roles!
This summer, Allysan Thomas, Laura Clark, Abner Perez, Fiana Anderson, and Genevieve Delage are supporting our clients in recovery at The Empowerment Center and Marvel Way. Here’s what they’re working on:
Shannon’s Younger Years
Allysan Thomas is currently enrolled in UNR’s Masters of Social Work program. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Behavioral Sciences with a minor in Nutrition. For Allysan selecting an internship that supports women was a huge factor in coming to The Empowerment Center. She’s building out nutrition resources for our clients, including putting together a binder teaching affordable nutrition, healthy choices, and recipes to support wellness in their new, sober lives. After all, at TEC, we see lasting sobriety as part of a broader lifestyle change! She’s also running a support group at Marvel Way.
“One of the things that got me giddy was just seeing Marvel Way’s residents excited about the opportunity for support,” Allysan notes. Within her first couple weeks here, a resident put together a questionnaire to help her survey what types of support would be most helpful – and in doing so, taking an active role in her own recovery.
Laura Clark
In May, Laura graduated from UNR with a BS is Psychology and a minor and emphasis on Addiction Treatment and Prevention Services through the CASAT program. She’s getting ready to attend Seattle University’s Masters program in Clinical Mental Health this Fall. Laura interned at The Empowerment Center during her last semester at UNR and chose to extend her TEC internship to continue to expand her skillset before beginning her Masters. Because recovery can look different for everyone, she appreciates how The Empowerment Center takes a case-by-case approach in working with clients. She’s planning and facilitating group sessions, sitting in on 1:1 sessions, and collaborating with the other interns to increase community engagement at Marvel Way.
To Laura, one of the most rewarding parts of interning at TEC is watching clients phase up through the 5 levels of our treatment program, earning new privileges and opportunities. She explains, “It’s so cool to see them get their self-confidence back, to see them start to incorporate themselves back into society and back into a healthy lifestyle. For a lot of them, this might be the first time they get the chance to live in a healthy, holistic way.” She recognizes the smiles on their faces as they get back from work, and how happy they are to get to work – a different perspective than many of us have.
Abner Perez
Abner has a Masters in Social Work from UNR and is currently doing his CADC-I Internship at TEC. In his undergrad internships, Abner worked with the homeless population. In his Masters program, he began by working in schools before coming to The Empowerment Center. While he hadn’t worked with addiction programs before, he quickly fit in here. At Marvel Way, he focused on developing relationships with residents and building a report through 1:1 and group sessions.
When Abner finished his Masters program, we hired him on full-time. Today, he’s helping with 1:1 counseling, groups, case management, and career coaching – which includes helping residents with their transition and housing plans. He especially enjoys advocating for clients and taking them to outside activities.
One of Abner’s favorite parts about working at TEC is participating in outreach and helping build connections and spread the word about our organization. He’s tabled at the UNR Social Work Internship Fair, the Optimist Club Golf Tournament, and other community events.
Fiana Anderson
Fiana plans to pursue her Masters in Social Work and become a therapist (LCSW). She’s currently working towards UNR’s Bachelors in Social Work and is a Certified Alcohol and Drug Counseling Intern. She understands our clients well, as she’s in recovery herself – 19 years sober as of July 4, 2024. Three years ago, she signed up for CASAT’s Peer Support Program “on a whim.” She describes the program as close to a minor in addiction, but a few classes short. With this program, she interned at TEC and realized how much she enjoyed it. She asked for a job, and of course TEC said “yes.”
After a couple years working as a Peer Support, Fiana went back to school full time. She’s once again our intern. Through her different roles at The Empowerment Center, she appreciates how each has broadened her perspective of the women here and what benefits them the most. She does both 1:1 counseling and group sessions for our clients.
Fiana enjoys being a part of what she describes as “lightbulb moments: when you can see a change happen, when clients incorporate some change and behavior into their lives and you can see what it does for their self-esteem and self-worth. When they think they can stay sober a bit longer or get into a place by themselves. That’s what keeps me doing this job.”
Genevieve Delage
Geneviere is a UNR Masters in Social Work Intern. Before enrolling in her Masters program, she spent 20 years working in the mortgage business and, she explains, “got a little burnt out in corporate America.” She saw a lot of brokenness in the world, quit her job, and went back to school to improve the world we live in. At The Empowerment Center, Genevieve is realizing just how much goes into Social Work and the range of opportunities it holds. She’s once again finding herself drawn to housing – to helping people get back into housing and plan for their futures. She’s developing a financial literacy program that’s in sync with what TEC’s population needs most, seeing how the standard program doesn’t quite fit. She’s starting with the basics: talking about wants and needs, identifying what individuals are already paying for, and finding ways to make talking about saving money interactive, engaging, and even fun.
Genevieve shares, “one thing that’s really heartwarming at both Marvel Way and the Empowerment Center is seeing how people support each other.” When the weekly Marvel Way mobile food bank arrives, she sees residents building boxes not only for themselves, but for neighbors who are away at work. She sees them looking after everyone’s kids and pets together. “Their gratitude for where they are is overwhelming sometimes, and that’s awesome.”
What’s Next?
Our interns have busy summers ahead, and they’re excited for the months to come. They’ll continue to lead and observe group and 1:1 counseling sessions and plan activities and workshops for our clients. For many of our interns, their projects incorporate past work experiences and personal interests, as well as sharing their specialized knowledge with clients. Our interns are helping expand offerings at The Empowerment Center and strengthen Marvel Way’s growing community.
Summer brings more opportunities to spend time outside, and our interns will be participating in many of our events and outings: both onsite gatherings and excursions around town. Keep an eye out for them around TEC and in our community this season, and thank them for a job well done!