Meet Melissa, our new Student Engagement Assistant!

Melissa joined CCSR in October of 2014 as an intern assisting with our student engagement and VISTA projects.

Not long out of college, Melissa graduated from Northern Michigan University (NMU) in May 2013 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education. While at NMU she was a member of the varsity track and field team; participating in the pentathlon and heptathlon. She also has been an avid equestrian her entire life with a special love for rodeo. For the last five years she volunteered with the Great Lakes Rodeo as the queen and court coordinator after passing on her own crown in 2009. When she’s home in Michigan, she competes in barrel racing, team penning, team roping and bull riding with her two geldings, Kenny and Scotty. (Pictured)

Melissa is attending Wichita State University and taking graduate classes in sport management. In her free time she volunteers as a coach for Wichita State University’s track and field team and gives horseback riding lesson to children at a local stable.

Meet Alison Acridge, our social media intern

Alison Acridge, goes by Allie, has joined the CCSR team as the social media person. She is a communication major and is graduating with her Bachelor’s in December. She has always loved social media and is now putting it to use for CCSR.

She loves to travel. She has been to 23 states and three other countries. “I loved South Carolina, I’d love to move there someday. You just kind of fall in love with places when you travel so much,” she said, “I hope to some day see all 50 states.” She went to Nova Scotia with her great-grandma, dad and step-mom over fall break. “This year I went to Cozumel, Mexico, South Carolina, Wisconsin, Oklahoma and Maine.” She has applied to the Peace Corps and hopes to travel more after graduation.

In her spare time she loves Netflix, reading, sailing, going to the gym and taking photographs. “I’d love to take a whole class on photography. It just hasn't worked out while in college,” she stated.

Meet Emily, one of our new interns!

Emily Chace recently joined our staff as a Masters of Social Work student. She is helping with our Home & Community Based Services Medicaid project and contributing to the Trauma-Informed Systems of Care (TISC) team. Emily earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology with minors in sociology and Spanish at Wichita State University.

Emily Chace

To complete her degree in Spanish, she recently took a 6-week trip to Mexico. “I loved it,” she said. “I liked the people especially. I found them to be very family orientated, loving and accepting. “

Emily appreciated the cultural differences she encountered on her trip. “I think that different cultures can bring different things to experiences,” she said. “By accepting people you can have great relationships.”

This semester she is researching what other states are doing in the area of trauma. This work may possibly contribute to her future interests as she one day plans to continue her education toward a PhD in clinical psychology.

Hunting is a favorite pass-time for this girl who grew up in the country. She’s hunted just about everything, especially deer. We’ll want to watch what dish she brings to the office potlucks because she said that the only thing in her freezer is deer meat. “For fun I like yoga, visiting my one-year old nephew, JW, and being outdoors.”

Meet Zachariah, Our new student at CCSR!

Zachariah McCallister is one of the Wichita State students working at the Center for Community Support and Research this semester. A senior studying social work from Wichita. He graduated from Southeast High School with a focus on math, science and music.

“A near-death experience and an extended recovery caused many changes in my life and I found a new path for myself in the field of social work,” said McCallister. “Many of my life experiences have shown that people can get trapped in challenging situations because of circumstances they cannot control. I want to be an advocate who helps others discover ways to get the resources they need in order to have the quality of life everyone deserves. I decided that becoming a social worker would be the best path for me to succeed, and I have been excited every step of the way.”

CCSR Selected for VISTA Intermediary Sponsor to Address Poverty in Kansas

Public Health Initiatives VISTA Fellows Austin Burke, BS

The Center for Community Support and Research (CCSR) was recently selected by the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) to serve Kansas as an AmeriCorps VISTA Intermediary Sponsor. AmeriCorps VISTA is a national and community service program administered by the CNCS placing volunteers in poverty-fighting organizations across the United States.  Through this award, CCSR will create WSU VISTA Fellows connecting them with nonprofits, government, and public health serving agencies statewide. This project is an innovative way to connect WSU with community organizations that address poverty.

Through the VISTA Fellows Project, WSU graduates will engage in one year of hands-on service in their community while applying knowledge, expertise and skills they learned during their educational experience. “It’s a way to put their degree to use while giving back to their community,” said Teresa Strausz, MSOD, LMSW, CCSR Community Engagement and Learning Coordinator. WSU VISTA Fellows help build capacity of nonprofits and other organizations whose missions and/or services impact those who are economically disadvantaged.

The inaugural group of VISTA Fellows arrived in Kansas on July 18 serving Peace Connections/Circles of Hope in Harvey County, Communities In Schools of Wichita/Sedgwick County, Rainbows United, Inc. and CCSR’s Public Health Initiatives team. You can find these Fellows engaged in a variety of activities including program development, marketing/communications, fund development/grant writing, and volunteer management. 

Scott Wituk, CCSR’s Executive Director said, “We are honored to be selected by CNCS to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA Intermediary Sponsor.  This is a great opportunity for recent WSU graduates to apply what they have learned through their WSU coursework. I think they will learn a lot more through this applied experience and it will also position them to be more engaged citizens for the rest of their lives.  I also know we have a lot of hard, challenging work in front of us, but are hopeful that in a few years, dozens of WSU VISTA Fellows will be actively engaged in addressing poverty throughout Kansas.”

WSU VISTA Fellows serve 40 hours per week for one year, receiving an educational stipend in addition to a modest living allowance. CCSR accepts applications anytime from organizations interested in hosting VISTA Fellows as well as students or graduates interested in serving as a WSU VISTA Fellow.  

More information is provided online at www.wichita.edu/CCSR/AmericorpsVISTA. For the application process or to discuss VISTA contact Teresa Strausz at teresa.strausz@wichita.edu or 316-978-6778.

Positive Changes to Certified Peer Specialist Training and Certification

In order to expand and strengthen peer support in Kansas, CCSR is partnering with the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services to advance peer specialist training and certification. The details are still being worked out, but here is what we know for sure:

• Multiple levels of certification will be offered to provide a career path for peer specialists (those currently certified will keep their certification)
• Entry level peer support training will be open to all those interested who self-identify as having direct, lived experience with a mental health recovery
• Those hired to provide peer support under Medicaid will now have one year to complete billing-level certification via an “in training” status
• Peer support training will be offered regionally, details to follow

The CPS training team is excited to be able to support a stronger career path for peer specialists and welcomes your input. Please contact Lael Ewy, MFA, CPS, at lael.ewy@wichita.edu with suggestions or questions as the process moves forward.

Hands-On Expereince: Public Health Intern Contributes To Billing Initiatives Project | by Elizabeth Toney

Elizabeth Toney

In the beginning…all I knew about the Center for Community Support and Research (CCSR) was what I could assume from the name of the organization and its association with Wichita State University. Community suggested one’s local neighborhood, support spoke of helping, lending a hand, and its association with WSU spoke of education. When I found that CCSR had a current public health initiatives project that involved medical billing and coding I was excited to get the chance to learn how public assistance programs functioned. Through their billing project I hoped to gain a better understanding of the public health reimbursement process. This was going to be an opportunity to put into action the skills I learned from my bachelor’s degree in Health Services Management and associate’s degree in billing and coding.

Working with the Public Health Initiatives team of Sonja, Aaron, Vanessa, and Kristina along with Executive Director Scott Wituk I have had an opportunity to become exposed to a public health program that helps those who struggle with access to health care. CCSR is currently involved with a Local Health Department Billing initiative project for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) and Kansas Association of Local Health Departments (KALHD) towards maximizing sustainability of the local health departments. The Billing initiative provided opportunity for me to utilize my skills in determining types of valuable training programs that would help improve the billing practices and processes of health departments and minimize claim denials.

After research, the necessary information was utilized to create a two page training and professional certification guide that can be used when deciding to invest in training for billing staff to become certified. The guide provides sources for online training programs and a choice of medical biller certifications available. Though certification is not required it can benefit staff at the facilities obtaining reimbursement. This hands-on project gave me an opportunity to improve my research, decision making, planning, and communication skills.

This practicum opportunity allowed me to improve upon my own leadership skills. I had the opportunity to attend meetings of local coalition groups like Interfaith Ministries and Visioneering Wichita and participate in the discussion of past and upcoming public programs to assist those in need. All of my core competency skills have been improved through observing the leadership style of the Public Health Initiative team and the CCSR staff. It has been a real pleasure to have the opportunity to work with a group of dedicated people.