Date of Award

4-2023

Degree Type

Capstone Project

Degree Name

Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)

Department

Occupational Therapy

First Advisor

Jonny Anderson

Second Advisor

Holly Grieves

Abstract

Creating an opportunity for the homeless population to learn life skills, and improve their engagement in meaningful occupations is critical in helping people reintegrate back into the community. Through the development of Life Skills workshops the homeless population could learn appropriate life skills, receive education and advocate for their basic needs to be met. The needs addressed were increasing participation in occupations such as work, socialization, leisure activities, and promoting the importance of maintaining their health. The objectives were: (1) developing professional reasoning skills through scholarly exploration, (2) achieving greater resiliency by implementing goal attainment scaling, (3) utilizing evidence based occupation focused resources, (4) using CliftonStrengths and the Intentional Relationship Model to manage interactions with members, (5) advocating for the distinct value of OT to clients, staff, and community members, (6) helping 5 or more clients achieve competency in life skills (7) recruiting/building rapport with members for the program (8) and maintaining productivity in workshops by facilitating small group discussions. Results and outcomes were measured through pre and post test surveys. They showed the efficacy of information and skills learned, the positive outlook/motivation on achieving their goals, a sense of community and safe space for growing.

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