Students and staff from the USC Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy joined with at-risk community youth to create a mural at the Interstate 5 overpass on Mission near Marengo. Photo By : Jon Nalick House With a Mission Combining a unique educational environment with opportunities for volunteerism, USC's Occupational Therapy House has quickly become a program as popular with the students who live there as it is with the community. by Jon Nalick Founded in 1994, the occupational therapy housing program was designed to create a place where students of similar interests could live and study together, but it quickly expanded to incorporate regular volunteer work in the community, for which it has since received numerous honors.
The year after its creation, OT House adopted the Sunshine Mission-a shelter for low-income and homeless women-and began conducting regular programs to expand the kinds of activities that promote better health and well-being among women at the shelter. These programs have ranged from arts and crafts projects for confidence and skill-building to field trips to expose residents to occupational resources at the public library and modes of public transportation.
Fred Hollister, executive director for the Sunshine Mission, praised OT House, saying the program "is just great. The students really seem to enjoy what they do and look forward to their time here. And I know our residents enjoy it."
He says the students let residents of the Sunshine Mission "know that there are people out there who are interested enough and care enough to come and spend time with them. That's really important for some people and it's a kind of social interaction that they don't always get."
Shanti Blanton, spokesperson for the USC Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, says that being active in the community helps people outside the discipline understand what occupational therapy is all about.
"It's really a health and rehabilitation profession in which therapists work with clients who-because of mental, physical, developmental, social or emotional problems-need specialized assistance to lead independent, productive and satisfying lives," she says.
"The programs that OT House residents coordinate at the Sunshine Mission help these women to practice problem-solving skills, planning, organizing and expressing themselves-tools we all need to build meaningful lives," she adds.
In its first year, OT House received the Phoenix Award, which recognizes newly created programs that show promise of becoming a valued USC tradition. In 1996, the program won the university's Student Organization Volunteerism Award and also received a Teamwork Challenge Award from the Saturn Car Company for the OT students' work in the community. It recently received a Good Neighbors Award to fund a community garden project to provide a type of "horticulture therapy" for both students and Sunshine Mission residents.
OT House also provides its residents with an innovative learning environment by maintaining a built-in community with shared professional goals.
Victor Medina, OT House 1999 residential advisor, says that graduate students at OT House "definitely influenced my decision to pursue a master's degree after completing my bachelor's. Living at OT House has been an important part of my educational experience at USC."
A 1995 survey also showed that residents of OT House maintained grade point averages higher than non-resident OT students.
The program, which began with fewer than 20 students, is now home to nearly 50 OT majors. For about one-third of entering students, OT House becomes the residence of choice. Due to its popularity and to accommodate continuing growth of the program, OT House recently moved to a new site. Now located across the street from the Sunshine Mission, the upgraded facility houses more residents and bolsters the sense of program solidarity.
For more information about the USC Department of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, call 1-800-USC-CARE (1-800-872-2273).
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