BECOME A BEHAVIORAL HEALTH MENTOR

Calling All Leaders!

Are you looking to make a difference in our community? Become a Behavioral Health Mentor and change a child’s life! You must be 18 years or older to apply.

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Practicum & Internship

Practicum & Internship

Choose CSC as your practicum or internship site for a comprehensive experience that sets you up for success. We create unique learning opportunities to meet your interests and educational requirements. Through hands-on training and supervision working in multiple settings with a variety of professionals, you will build foundational skills that will make you a standout applicant for future job opportunities. Network with the top human service and legal agencies in Kansas while making meaningful differences in the lives of children and families.We support college students from all backgrounds and departments. Ask one of your professors to sponsor your work in SupportEd so you can receive course credit and fulfill your degree requirements with CSC!

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Americorps

AmeriCorps

Become an AmeriCorps member with CSC! Complete your service hours and become eligible for the Segal AmeriCorps Education Award while helping children and families stay out of court and on track toward success. Ask a professor to sponsor your work in SupportEd so you can also receive course credit for your service hours!

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Volunteer & Service

Volunteer & Service

Give back to the community and gain volunteer or service-learning hours by helping children and families stay out of court and on track toward success. Dedicating just 5 hours per week can change a child’s life! Interested in working behind the scenes? We have opportunities in marketing, administration, volunteer recruitment and coordination, training, fundraising, and more!

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Research

Research

Interested in gaining research experience or participating in a research project? We have plenty of opportunities for you! Refine your skills in data collection and analysis, project planning, literature reviews, grant writing, manuscript preparation, and more! You may add research to any of our clinical positions!

Hear From Our Behavioral Health Mentors!

“This was such an amazing practicum and I will be forever grateful for the experience. It challenged me in all aspects, made me get out of my comfort zone, and most importantly taught me things that I wouldn’t have been able to learn without it.”
Mentor
“Watching the kid’s evolution is the best part by far. When I first started working with my youth, they were having a lot of problems at school and were very anxious about talking with teachers. Since working with them on skills packets and talking with them about joining clubs, they have become much more confident and even took the initiative to mend a relationship with a teacher they were having difficulty with. They have also become better at problem solving and advocating for themselves. It honestly makes me so proud.”
Mentor
“I loved being able to celebrate small victories like my kid not fighting at school or going to school every day for a week because I don’t think they always have someone else in their life who will literally jump up and down and give them high fives for their small wins. I loved getting to let them know that even the small victories were victories and that meant that they were doing great.”
Mentor
“I am so glad that a program like SupportEd is able to help families avoid further court involvement, especially considering the number of students who are truant due to a mere lack of resources. I really appreciate SupportEd’s focus on environmental factors and corresponding behaviors that influence truancy rather than placing any blame on individuals. If more places had this perspective, I think systems in our community would be much more supportive than punitive, producing significantly more positive outcomes.”
Mentor
“The fact that I have been able to support students in their academic journeys, see their growth firsthand, and witness their confidence grow has been so gratifying. I also am thankful to be able to collaborate with all the CSC staff members and grow my network with all the amazing people that work with CSC.”
Mentor
“The biggest lesson we learned is the importance of compassion and empathy. We’ve had some tough cases working with students who, for example, are unhoused, who are facing challenges at home with parents, who have severe mental health issues, and who are being bullied at school. It has been extremely rewarding to graduate students from SupportEd and to see how we positively impacted their lives. Volunteering in this program has changed our lives and knowing that we have changed the lives of students and families is an unexplainable feeling, until you experience it yourself.”
Tian Heinle and Storm Alicie
2022-2023 Behavioral Health Mentors
“One of my favorite things about working with Center for Supportive Communities is all the amazing people, kids, and families I have met and had the opportunity to work with. My perspective on life and the justice system has immensely changed since working with CSC and I’m very grateful.”
Avery Frank
2023-2024 Behavioral Health Mentor
“The biggest lesson we learned is the importance of compassion and empathy. We’ve had some tough cases working with students who, for example, are unhoused, who are facing challenges at home with parents, who have severe mental health issues, and who are being bullied at school. It has been extremely rewarding to graduate students from SupportEd and to see how we positively impacted their lives. Volunteering in this program has changed our lives and knowing that we have changed the lives of students and families is an unexplainable feeling, until you experience it yourself.”
Tian Heinle and Storm Alicie
2022-2023 Behavioral Health Mentors
“I was given the opportunity to work with CSC as my fieldwork placement, and this experience has been life-changing! The relationship they created with the Douglas County schools allows them to make long-lasting, positive behavior change, and it is changing the lives of youths. CSC has taught me the importance of accounting for a person's external environment when evaluating behavior. In collaboration with that theory, I decided to make a training for educators that gives them knowledge about how external environments change behavior. I am hopeful this training will help educators be more empathetic towards their students who may be going through challenging situations.”
Emyee Reed
2023-2024 Behavioral Health Mentor

Highlighting our Mentors’ Achievements

Tian Heinle and Storm Alicie, 2022-2023 Behavioral Health Mentors, won the Top Group Presentation award at the 2023 Service Showcase hosted by the Center for Service Learning at the University of Kansas.

Watch the Full Presentation

Jan B. Sheldon Award For Excellence in Advocacy, Mentorship, and Meaningful Change

In honor of CSC’s Board Member and SupportEd’s Former Director, we developed the Jan B. Sheldon Award for Excellence in Advocacy, Mentorship, and Meaningful Change. At the end of each school year, we award a mentor with this award. Dr. Sheldon is the center of our organization’s mission, and we hope this award will uphold her legacy for many years to come. Dr. Sheldon developed and directed our truancy diversion program for over 40 years. She relentlessly advocated for kids in the juvenile justice system, ensuring they received the education to which they were entitled. Dr. Sheldon instilled in us a passion for equity and social justice. She taught us the importance of creating positive relationships above all else. Even in her final semester before retirement, her devotion continued beyond the classroom, creating a ripple effect of meaningful change within the community. Her dedication to the juvenile justice system left a lasting impact that will continue to positively influence the lives of many.

Mentor Recipients

Madeline Hazlewood & Emylee Reed
Storm Alicie
Tian Heinle

Mentors Through The Years

2024-2025

2023-2024

CSC’s First Cohort of Mentors

2022-2023