Center For Family Services
Title: The Village Initiative: Camden Community Outreach at Center For Family Services
Student Interns:
Madeline Pitera
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
Academic Preceptor:
Mara Gordon, MD
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
Anthony Rostain, MD, MA
Cooper Medical School of Rowan University
Community Preceptor:
Andrew Adams
Re-Engagement Center, Center For Family Services
Megan Lepore
Chief of Staff, Center For Family Services
Veronica Ramos-Cruz, MS, MSW
Vice President, Center For Family Services
Community Site:
Center For Family Services (CFS) connects the residents of Camden, NJ, to social services in counseling, addiction recovery, education, family support, housing, and workforce development. Its mission is to support and empower individuals, families, and communities to achieve a better life. CFS’s community hub is located at the Wiggins Center (400 Mt. Vernon Street, Camden).
Team’s Experience:
Through the Village Initiative Program, the Bridging the Gaps student intern and a CFS social worker partnered with the Camden County Police Department to visit homeless encampments throughout the city and offer social services and transportation to social services. They collected contact and personal information from clients and provided sanitary kits, wound care kits, and refreshments. The BTG intern was responsible for following up with the provided contact numbers 30, 60, and 90 days after the first contact to see if those individuals were able to access services, chiefly at Living Proof Recovery Center. The BTG intern helped close all the cases from the previous year and all the cases prior to April.
Reflections
“I learned so much during my summer with Bridging the Gaps. Going into my first outreach session, I was prepared to be met with a lot of pushback from the community. Riding around with the police, I was unsure if anyone would trust us enough to talk to us. To my surprise, the first people we reached out to were interested in our work and wanted to create a plan with us to access services. That set the tone for the rest of the day. We were able to meet with tens of people and provide transport for a few. The bond built by the clients, social workers, and police was inspiring and gave me a deeper appreciation for the Camden community.”
Madeline Pitera