Children's Program at Community Connections

The Children's Program at Community Connections is child-centered, family-focused, and community based. Community Support Specialists meet the child/youth and family in their community locales, learn the values and perspectives of the family and joining with them in affirming skills, abilities, talents and hopes. Problems are recognized in context and addressed through collaborative partnerships with the families and their support networks. Children are seen as often as necessary to achieve their stated goals and objectives.

Community Connections usually do not take more than 1 student per year. Community Connections asks that applicants be seriously committed to the job, and asks that interns be responsible and follow through with the determined time commitment. Interns work with child and families with mental health issues who are from disadvantaged neighborhoods. Intern responsibilities include gathering and organizing data and supplies, as well as organizing and helping with support groups. These activities give interns a lot of exposure to what Community Connections does.

Community Connections works very close to the margin and with people who live close to the margin. They are interested in working with students who are a very good match for us and passionate about and comfortable with mental health issues, children with serious emotional disturbances, and interacting with marginalized populations.

To apply: Application process is being reviewed, but Lori Beyer is in charge of the internship programs. Community Connections is interested in working with carefully selected students. Only serious applicants should apply.

• Main office contact number: 202-546-1512

Location: 801 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E., Suite 201 Washington DC 20003-2152 (right next to the Eastern Market Metro stop)

Public Defender Service - Mental Health Division

The Mental Health Division of the Public Defender Service for D.C. offers an investigative and social work internship to undergraduate psychology student. The building is accessible by the metro and they are routinely looking for undergraduate interns.

A social work intern is needed to assist the social workers, who represents persons undergoing involuntary civil and criminal commitment, primarily to Saint Elizabeth's Hospital. The duties for the social work internship include:

• Case management 
• Researching and evaluating community resources for client with special needs
• Locating alternative placement for clients
• Conducing on-site evaluations of court-ordered nursing home clients
• Assessing appropriateness of treatment programs
• Serving as an advocate to ensure clients' rights are protected
• Negotiating with hospital staff and community service providers to secure and improve quality of clients' care
• Investigating social issues affecting clients that arise from individual cases

Minimum 3 day a week requirement. Summer internships are full time. 

To apply, send a cover letter, resume, writing sample and two references by email to mhdinternclerk@pdsdc.org   For more information please feel free to visit our website at www.pdsdc.org or call Carolyn Slenska (202) 824-2860.



An investigator intern assist attorneys in preparing cases for court and administrative hearings. Once assigned a client, the intern and attorney will the fist contact with the client, and the intern will conduct follow up visits independently. Other duties include:

• Background interview with client which take place on the locked wards of the institution. 
• Interviewing process can be difficult as clients are highly suspicious and some may be actively hallucinating and delusional as well as heavily medicated. 
• Interviews treating psychiatrists of the client and hospital staff
• Submit all information obtained in interviews to the attorneys in written reports
• Responsible for obtaining medical and legal documental and abstracting pertinent information
• Meet with attorneys on a daily basis to discuss legal theories, possible testimonies from witnesses and other legal questions.
• May occasionally serve court subpoenas
• Observe and assist attorneys at numerous court and administrative hearings
• Occasionally, interns may testify at these hearings

Minimum 4 day a week requirement. Does take summer internships as well

All interested applicants must submit a resume, cover letter and letters from or other names and phone numbers of at least 2 references: one from a recent employer and one from a professor at the student's present academic institution. Please sent applications as  mhdinternclerk@pdsdc.org   For more information please call Carolyn Slenska (202) 824-2860

Alexandria Office on Women

The City of Alexandria is committed to a comprehensive and strategic approach to addressing needs specific to women and to LGBTQ people. The Alexandria Office on Women is routinely looking for undergraduate interns, but they do have limited space. They typically take 4 students per year.

The population that interns would be working with are Victims of Domestic Violence. Intern responsibilities include answering the 24 hour hotline and helping out in the shelter with the clients and their children.

To apply: Contact Jennifer Enslen at Jennifer.enslen@alexandriava.gov. Applicants need to fill out an application and then do an interview.

Location: The Alexandria Office on Women is located in the City of Alexandria. They are metro accessible, but students would also have to take a bus (because they are about a mile and a half from there).

The DC Rape Crisis Center is dedicated to creating a world free of sexual violence. The Center works for social change through community outreach, education, and legal and public policy initiatives. It helps survivors and their families heal from the aftermath of sexual violence through crisis intervention, counseling and advocacy.

The DC Rape Crisis Center accepts applicants on a rolling basis, but typically have interns coming in starting in January, May, and September. The number of undergraduate student interns they seek varies based on time of year and needs of the organization.

Many interns work within their offices supporting the development, training and technical assistance, advocacy and civic engagement departments. All interns have the opportunity to also serve on our 24-hour crisis support hotline for survivors. The populations vary greatly, and depending on the role they may be going out to a variety of elementary, middle, and high schools in the District, working with volunteers of varying ages and demographics, and connecting with politicians and council members or strategic partners in sponsorship and financial support. 

Interns take on a variety of responsibilities depending on their role. There is a lot of room for administration and research, but the experience is not solely limited to these roles. They may be facilitating trainings in the community or for the greater volunteer corps, building relationships with their strategic partners, posting on social media and discussing communications strategies, and assisting in reviewing legislation. The options depend on the needs of the organization and the desires of the interns. The crisis center works with the interns to create a personalized work plan to both support the agency but also to grow and have access to the experiences they are looking for.

The internship placement can be relatively competitive, but once on board, the DC Rape Crisis Center provides personalized supports as well as community building and engagement, and supplemental learning opportunities related to their issue area of sexual violence and anti-oppression.

To Apply: Complete the application on the website and submit it to getinvolved@dcrcc.org. After the application is received, Cristina Urena will contact the applicant and determine which opportunity would be the best fit. The supervisor of that position will interview them and decide whether or not to offer the position. If you have any questions, you can email Cristina at curena@dcrcc.org.

Location: The offices are located at 5321 First Place, NE Washington DC 20011. It is a one to two minute walk from the Fort Totten Metro stop with access to the yellow, green, and red lines.

The Family Place

The Family Place is a non-profit organization that focuses on Family Literacy for the low-income community in the Columbia Heights area. They offer ESL classes, Spanish proficiency classes, and early childhood education to children ranging from two-months old to three years of age. The three most integral internships offered are:

·      ESL classroom intern

·      Early childhood development classroom intern

·      Case Management/Parent Support intern

The Family Place is routinely looking for undergraduate interns, and they have a fall, spring, and summer semester of their family literacy program. Throughout each semester, depending on time commitment of the interns, they take about 12-15 volunteers a semester. Depending on whether the student wants an internship or volunteer opportunity, the Family Place will discuss availability with them directly.

Students would be working with the low-income community in the Columbia Heights area. They serve a majority of Spanish native speakers, but they are not strictly Latino based. The Family Place started in the 80’s when community members were realizing the needs of the recent immigrants from Central America, and therefore provide ESL and Spanish proficiency classes. They admit anyone who is a DC resident, and require a pre-test to decide what level of English they are currently at.

Depending on the volunteer/intern placement, responsibilities can vary. If a student was working in the ESL/Spanish proficiency classrooms, they would be working with students directly forming lesson plans or one-on-one tutoring. They also have early childhood education classrooms, where volunteers would help with development activities and implementing interacting learning activities with parents and children. Over the summer, there are opportunities for case management and parental support, with a more social work focus. Lastly, they offer a Communications and Development Internship, allowing the student to work with their executive assistant with social media and other duties.

Because the participants are majority Latino, speaking Spanish is a valued skill in this internship. However, students who do not speak Spanish are also welcome, particularly in the ESL classroom intern position. If a volunteer does speak Spanish, they may be asked to do additional hours for the front desk area, which serves the reception area throughout the day for participants and walk-in community members with direct services such as diapers, food, or other emergency services.

To Apply: Email Kiersten Rossetto, Volunteer Coordinator, at krossetto@thefamilyplacedc.org or call her at 202-265-0149.

Location: 26^th Street in Columbia Heights (two blocks away from the Columbia Heights Metro station)

The Family Place is also accessible to many bus systems, such as the S2, S4, and S9 buses along 16^th street, the 42 bus, and the circulator that drops off at the Columbia Heights Metro Station.

The American Association of Suicidology is an organization for those involved in suicide prevention and intervention. AAS is a leader in the advancement of scientific and programmatic efforts in suicide prevention through research, education and training, the development of standards and resources, and survivor support services. Interns work on research project and administrative tasks related to the operation of a small membership organization. All incoming interns will create learning goals, to be revied at the mid-point and close of the internship. If an intern wants, s/he may choose a research project of his or her own that relates to suicide prevention, postvention, research, awareness, or edcation. The following is a list of areas in which interns could be asked to work:

Administrative - Scoring evaluations of workshops, mailings, filing, answering telephones, marketing, conference preparation, and general office functions.

Research - Contribute to the research projects such as psychological autopsies, investigation of suicide clusters, prevalemnce of suicide among certain populations or in specivic geographical areas.

Membership Marketing - Combine marketing and psychology to support the Association.  Assist in the development of a membership recruitment initiaitve, create mailings to organziations and individuals to let them know about AAS membership.

Program Development - Seek information potential research topics and seach for funding. Draft grant proposals.

Youth Suicide Prevention - Support the Director of the National Center for the Prevention of Youth Suicide at AAS, carrying out research and writing tasks.

Interns must work for a minimum of ten hours per week. AAS works with students who must meet academic requirements for hours and/or assignments. Starting in Fall 2015, AAS will give priority to students who commit to two consecutive semesters working between 10 and 24 hours per week, and students who are able to obtain credit for their AAS internship. For more information, you can go the http://www.suicidology.org/students/become-an-intern-at-aas.

To Apply: Send a resume and cover letter to Andrea Price at aprice@suicidology.org.

Location: 5221 Wisconsin Ave, NW., Washington, DC 20015.

The office entrance is located in Friendship Heights at the rear of 5221 Wisconsin Avenue, NW. The building is a white townhouse. Liberty Travel faces Wisconsin Avenue on the lower level in the front. AAS is in the back of this building. AAS is across the street from the Jenifer exit at the Friendship Heights Metro Station on the Red Line. There is two-hour parking available on Ingomar and Jenifer Streets and throughout the neighborhood behind AAS.

A Wider Circle is an organization whose mission is to end poverty for individual or family at a time. They typically take 15 students for fall, spring, and summer semesters, and they are also willing to interview candidates in the middle of a semester. All of A Wider Circle’s clients are living in poverty. Beyond that common denominator, there are single moms and dads, veterans, senior citizens, and disabled people. Internship opportunities are available in a number of different areas: Neighbor-to-Neighbor, Client Relations, Education, Management and Strategic Planning, Research and Writing. For more information about each of these opportunities, you can go to www.awidercircle.org. A Wider Circle looks for students who are energetic and passionate about ending poverty!

To Apply: Send a resume and cover letter to Anne Thompson, Ph.D. at intern@awidercircle.org

Location:

9159 Brookville Road, Silver Spring, MD 20910

The office is within walking distance from Forest Glen Metro (15 minutes) or bus accessible from the Silver Spring Metro.