Providing Resources For Probationers, Behavioral Health And Substance Abuse, Crystal Rangel

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

San Benito County Probation Department is daily targeted by defendants having an issue with drugs, violations, domestic violence, battery, drug court, Post Release Community Supervision. The main issue is that the defendants relapse into drugs, which can sometimes lead themselves to committing a violation of probation. Due to a certain level of stress, depression and bad influence defendants sometimes make a bad decision and drug relapse or commit a violation. Which them leads them to incarceration, loss of family support and sometimes death because of a drug overdose. A Referral Resource Handout was created from different resources available in the …

Understanding Barriers To Attending Food Distributions, Janell Jimenez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Second Harvest Food Bank provides food access to all of the population through Santa Cruz County. Too many people in the community are suffering from food insecurity due to lack of healthy meals, financial instability, and other living expenses not allowing them to purchase healthy meals. This lack of healthy meals which is leading to people at risk of serious health issues, development, and poor academics amongst children. Distribution sites and nutrition programs are provided on a daily basis at different locations and times of the day at no cost to the community However the number of participants has …

Ensuring Victims’ Rights And Inspiring Hope Through Community Collaboration, Evelyn Rodriguez Martinez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Numerous crime victims who qualify for Victim Witness Assistance Program services through the San Benito County District Attorney's office are not accessing the resources. Research done to support this project revealed that countless crime victims did not utilize the services offered by the program during the time of their victimization. The project conducted was an outreach presentation, which included all the services provided by the Victim Witness Assistance Program, victims’ legal rights, and the qualifications for the California Victim Compensation Board. The outreach presentation was developed to increase awareness of victims’ rights and the Victim Witness Assistance Program to community …

End Of Life Care, Ana Mederos

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Central Coast Visiting Nurses Association is a non-profit agency that provides home health care as well as hospice care for individuals in the counties of Monterey, San Benito, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara. In this region, the Latino/ Hispanic communities are underutilizing the services for end of life care. According to statistics provided by VNA 2019, only around 20% of the populations they serve are Latino/ Hispanics. Education on end of life care services is necessary for an individual to have a better understanding and quality of life during the end stage or confronted with a life limiting illness. In …

Youth Empowerment Summit (Yes), Laura Wright

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Community Solutions is a non-profit agency that serves ages 0-100 in Santa Clara and San Benito Counties. The Solutions to Violence Program operates out of Morgan Hill and houses the CSEC and Human Trafficking Division where the capstone project was developed.The “Chill Room” was created at Community Solutions as a part of the Youth Empowerment Summit (YES) Conference in response to the commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) within Santa Clara County. The YES Conference was created to enhance collaboration among community based, county, & non-profit organizations to provide a safe space for CSEC youth to process trauma. The conference …

Salud A La Salud Mental (A Toast To Mental Health), Arturo Rodriguez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Joven Noble is a youth-development and leadership enhancement curriculum within Sequoia High School in Watsonville, Ca. that recognizes adolescents need for guidance during their physical, emotional and spiritual development into adulthood by engaging them in conversations regarding topics such as teen pregnancy and substance abuse. One of the deficits of the program is the lack of discussion centered around mental health. Youth are more likely to experience mental health challenges during their adolescence that can impair their long term development. In Santa Cruz County, 5 per 1,000 children ages 5-19 were hospitalized for mental health crisis treatment in 2016; rates …

Serving Youth In Santa Cruz County, Lorena Torres-Alvarez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The Community Action Board (CAB) of Santa Cruz County is an agency that serves low-income under-resourced community members in the county. Through their Youth Homeless Response Team (YHRT) Program, they serve youth ages 15-24 who are currently at-risk or facing homelessness. Too many unaccompanied youths in Santa Cruz County are suffering from homelessness and are in need to accessing services. The lack of motivational and support system, along with the unemployment increasing at alarming rates. Illustrating a dark and unsafe future. Some of the consequences include pushing youth to live on the street or inside cars and being in a …

Incompetency To Stand Trial: An Informational Guide, Natalie Baur

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

At Monterey County Behavioral Health, we serve people with a variety of mental illnesses. They range from moderate to severe- whether it be schizophrenia or depression, we provide services that will help them deal with their symptoms. We strive to cultivate positive relationships in the community with our clients and contracted facilities. In this essay, I am going to talk about a certain population of who we serve: those who are found incompetent to stand trial and the toll it takes on them and their families. Moreover, I will be talking about the challenges and uncertainties that clients and their …

Empowerment Workshop: Helping End The Cycle Of Domestic Violence, Brianna Caitlin Anderson

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

The YWCA of Monterey County services victims of domestic violence and human trafficking. Currently too many victims of Domestic Violence cannot leave the cycle of abuse. While there are many reasons for this problem, this project focused on the fact that domestic violence victims cannot escape being controlled because they lack the power to become independent. The capstone project consisted of the development and implementation of a series of empowerment workshops to help clients break the cycle of domestic violence. Surveys collected at the end of each workshop were used to asses if participants had a change in self-esteem. The …

Developing Information On Mental Health And Counseling Services, Katherine Bustamante

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Taylor Farms Center for Learning (TFCFL) is an afterschool program, which is located in East Salinas, serving primarily 76% of Hispanic and Latino children and families. Providing various programs to break down barriers for children to experience success. Every year in the United States, up to 20% of children and youth experience a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder but nearly half of all children receive no mental health services. Due to this few agency-sponsored services address this health issue and TFCFL wants to make sure they are offering the right kind of services for their community. This research project will …

California Rural Legal Assistance Employment Education Outreach Project, Daisy Leon Melendrez

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

California Rural Legal Assistance is a nonprofit law firm that provides no cost legal services to low-income individuals in Santa Cruz County. The social problem is that too many workers face employment rights violations. The agency problem is a reduction in the number of people seeking employment legal services from CRLA. This outreach project focused on spreading awareness of CRLA’s employment legal services by attending local grocery stores and farmer’s market, with the purpose of promoting agency’s services to the community. Agency materials were distrusted and a questionnaire was used to determine why people are not seeking CRLA legal services. …

Increasing Adult's Awareness Of The Importance Of End-Of-Life Care Discussions, Taylor Gardner

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

For many American families, end-of-life care is often not discussed, until advanced illness or injury has fully disrupted everyday life. There are many benefits to discussing end-of-life care prior to any medical complications. Research has shown that individuals who plan their end-of-life processes with a hospice service provider and family members report a higher quality of death than individuals receiving common health care during their final six months of life. In order to make families and friends more comfortable with end-of-life discussions, I will conduct two one-hour educational sessions to students at California State University, Monterey Bay.

Bridge To Inclusion: Honoring Insight From Families With Lived Experience Of Homelessness, Lindsay Peterson

Capstone Projects and Master's Theses

Historically, impoverished families face ridicule and stigma. There is a tendency to blame those who are disadvantage rather than considering the socio-economic inequalities impacting the affordability of stable housing. Thus resulting in a lack of opportunities for meaningful input from those with lived experience. Rebele Family Shelter (RFS) provides emergency shelter for Santa Cruz County residents. RFS staff provide support and coordination of resources toward permanent stable housing. Families at RFS have limited opportunities to contribute to program strategies or voice opinions on policies. Implementing a family satisfaction survey with RFS clients creates an opportunity for families with lived experience …